Beautiful things don't ask for attention

Beautiful and charming are not two words associated with a game from a small developer. These two words are more often directed at giant games with big budgets that are designed to replicate real-world conditions, from textures to the quality of lighting. That when dynamic weather effects appear or the change of day makes the lighting effects look realistic at various angles, this is the kind of reaction and praise that the audiences will give. However, it is not uncommon to encounter situations where indie games, with all their creative abilities, actually appear stunning in this aspect. Not taking the same approach as most AAA games, but offering something unique, beautiful and strong at the same time. And Gris is the definitive example of this made by Nomada Studio.

Like most games with an "art" approach like this, GRIS is a game that from the start of playing clearly has a strong metaphorical meaning. That the real story is not what you see on the screen, but the metaphorical meaning that flows from every action, consequence and storyline that flows. Everything is conveyed implicitly, without really clear dialogue. Above the surface, you play as a nameless female character who at the beginning is seen trying to restore the colorless world around her, which is also represented by a giant statue of a nameless woman. In the midst of the confusion that occurred, he fell from the giant's hands. A situation that makes him, like it or not, have to keep moving to find a definite solution. The woman finally found a special point that allowed her to move in four different directions to collect a point of light that symbolized the stars in the sky.

Beautiful is the first reaction you might have when you see what Nomada Studio has achieved with Gris. The visual approach is made in such a way that you feel like you are playing a painting that now moves interactively with the actions you take with the existing keyboard or controller. The details offered are not aimed, for example, at capturing the main character's body anatomy as realistically as possible, but rather at trying to capture an atmosphere that suits the world he is facing. What you will find is a character with a face full of details, attractive color design, fantastic motion animation, but only moves with legs and arms which are simply drawn as straight lines. Something that really suits her abstract world.

With an implicit story approach like this, the only way for you to understand what the developer wants to convey via Gris is simply to "feel". Through empathy and sympathy, trying to understand what kind of struggle the main character has to go through to fix so many things can end up being a symbol of a problem faced in the real world. However, considering that this style of storytelling will not require specific clarification to justify or blame, you are given the freedom to make your own interpretation. Well as for me myself, Gris seems to be aiming at a portrait of a woman who is experiencing complicated problems and has a messy body image who is struggling, in the midst of her sadness and anger, to rediscover her self-confidence and self-love. The positive emotions presented by this nameless main female character.

Appreciations of course has to be mention for the sound and music in Gris which really captures the emotional side without dialogue that he wants to inject, while building the right atmosphere to build the playing mood. The approach and quality must be given a thumbs up because there are several moments that strangely, with the help of music, managed to make us tense, sad, and even get goosebumps with the hair on the back of our necks standing up when faced with certain scenes. For a game with no dialogue and only offering motion and facial animations as expressions, this is an achievement worth talking about.

At the start, Gris feels like a walking simulator game, where you just have to run and jump over various obstacles. However, as the story progresses, there will be more challenges that require a little of your brain power. Slowly but surely, the girl will gain new powers that will help her overcome various obstacles at once, accessing deeper, higher or further places. At the start, she can turn her dress into a heavy and hard block. Changing this dress means she can't be hit by strong winds for example. You can also use it as a crack floor destroyer or just a weight to make the building structure unbalanced or slightly stressed. The girl will then be strengthened with the ability to float, swim and sing. Levitation can be used to access higher ground and singing can make specific nearby plants bloom and reveal new puzzle solutions or platforms to jump onto.

Of course beautifulness does not make Gris run away with its flaws. In terms of gameplay, there are several areas where exploration can be done freely, this game does not have landmarks or maps that are really clear about the locations that you have actually explored before. Unlike other similar puzzle platformer titles like Inside or Little Nightmares, Gris doesn't have a game over system and because of this the decision to create a boss fight that has a scary design with such sweet animation and visuals ends up having no consequences and actually eliminates the sensation of threat that exists. Even for sequences where you are faced with a clear threat, there is a some kind of like safe zone with automatic animation cuts that make the girl automatically dodge. There's nothing that feels urgent, there's no sensation that you want to protect this girl out of concern, which ultimately makes it lose its meaning.

But after reflecting it a little bit, i think that is what made Gris stands out from others. Gris is a platformer game that can be called "relaxing", where despite the challenges, it is still a game that has a purpose and that is to make you enjoy the world and its atmosphere well. The presentation is amazing in terms of visuals and audio, making it a charming indie platformer game that is ready to amaze the audiences from the very first sight. It can lead to an emotional and powerful playing experience, even though you end up not clearly understanding what the definitive story and the message are actually trying to offer. Everything is covered in level design that is beautiful and remains challenging at the same time.

its the easiest thing to credit for a reason - the artwork of this game is gorgeous in ways that video games generally don't get into. the watercolor settings, cute & oddball creatuers (some are just like pikmin which is good), and stunning lighting are all on full display at all times. the sound design pushes this forward too with light yet powerful pieces floating in the wind as you move along your way. in my opinion gris does such a great job communicating feeling and story without using language in any way.

now sure, if my eyes and ears could play video games, games nowadays nearly always be 10/10. but i cant do that, i have to use my hands to play (like a loser). so, what do my hands think about the gameplay?

its just.. fine. sometimes i felt lost. gris does an intersting thing where i simultaneously felt like i was never in the right spot at any given time and also always in the right spot in any given time. i cant explain it, i dont understand it myself. sometimes i'd miss small cues that tell me what to do or where to go because they were so small, the camera was zoomed out, or i could've went in a one of a few different directions and chose the wrong one, namely when ascending tall buildings.

conclusion? breathtaking visuals carry this calming, low-stimulation story that almost plays itself at times. gameplay/puzzles are engaging enough to keep you going, but that isn't why you play. its about the art.

estou fascinada pela beleza e sutileza desse jogo. ele consegue ser simples e complexo ao mesmo tempo. gris tem alguns puzzles e mapas para explorar, tem seus desafios mas o propósito é ser tranquilo, sequer existe possibilidade de morrer ou perder. ele te estimula a admirar as paisagens e observar as mudanças que elas sofrem no avanço da história. é fácil de compreender a mensagem do jogo embora encontrei outra forma de interpretar e acho que isso o tornou ainda mais mágico. vai impactar de formas diferentes mas sempre trazendo a ideia de superação.

E mais uma vez a arte em forma de joguinhos eletrônicos me deixa maravilhado.

Terminei recentemente esse jogo e não acho que somente essa review vai ser suficiente para expressar tudo o que senti jogando, GRIS é um misto de emoções, arte e expressividade, eu sempre considerei esse jogo bastante bonito por toda sua aparência mas não tive a oportunidade de joga-lo antes, mas creio que essa espera não foi ruim, GRIS é um jogo lindo, em todos os seus aspectos, e principalmente em seu enredo, o próprio ambiente e objetivos do jogo te faz entender a história e lhe passar uma mensagem sobre os sentimentos da personagem sem precisar de texto algum na tela, o que torna ele ainda mais fascinante.

No jogo você é orientado a procurar cores pelo mundo e recuperá-las, no começo é tudo branco e cinza e repleto de estátuas quebradas, a própria personagem aparenta ser alguém já fragilizada logo no começo do game, e isso já transmite um pouco do que a história se trata e qual o objetivo e razão das cores. É um tema pesado, porém da forma que foi construído e apresentado com o decorrer fica perceptível todo o carinho e delicadeza que os criadores colocaram nesse jogo.

Gostaria de citar duas coisas que me chamaram bastante atenção durante a gameplay, ambas aconteceram quase no final, a primeira se trata do monstro do jogo, no qual ele aparece representado por um pássaro ou uma cobra, porém no final ele aparece com o formato do rosto da personagem principal, para mim esse monstro sempre foi a ilustração dos sentimentos negativos no qual vinha sendo um obstáculo durante todo o jogo. E a segunda vem a acontecer quando aparece uma estátua de uma mulher em um túmulo que se você cantar perto dela você ganha uma conquista com o nome de “Aceitação”, que para mim foi a cena que mais representou toda a trajetória e todas as emoções apresentadas desde o começo do game.

E em poucas palavras, GRIS é uma história sobre luto, amor, perda, superação e autoconhecimento, e que sem precisar de qualquer diálogo conseguiu ser um jogo maravilhoso.

Can probably name a dozen or two other indie games that this feels and looks and acts like, but, I mean, it is not doing those any worse (or better) than any one of those games whose name I put into this hat. Let’s pull one out, now, hm… Oh, it’s She Remembered Caterpillars, a colorful little puzzle game that’s light on story and heavy on themes. Let’s try another, here, um… Ah, yes, it’s Florence, an early Annapurna game that had players engaging with a sweet story using minimal gameplay and sweet, hand-drawn styled graphics. Okay, you get my point. For me, Gris’ biggest deal is that a lot of it feels pretty automatic. This puzzle-platformer is not much of a brain-scratcher or a hand-twitcher. Though, it most definitely stays true to this genre in being designed to entice players to 100% it or try and complete it as fast as possible. There’s a type of game that’s experimenting with little to no UI and trying its hand at guiding the player in ways other than the tried-and-true. I think Gris is interesting, and had curious and thoughtful designers at the helm, but it also feels merely like a stepping stone for a bourgeoning studio. This game was on deck to be crossed off my backlog and I could tell it would be a short stint, so I took some hours out of a vacation day to float through it. Would probably just recommend looking up speedruns for this game. It’ll be just as engaging and probably a bit more exciting, and you’ll see all you’d want to see, anyways.

Beautiful beyond its eye catching artwork.

I have no particular interest in platformers or puzzlers but was captivated by this one from start to finish. Lovely pace to the game, could easily imagine a determined player getting through it in a sitting. Took me about a week of playing 30 minutes here and there. No frustration to be had, simple and straightforward hand holding through the game makes me think about presenting it to lapse or new gamers. A seeming lack of a fail state to the game helps keep the player engaged.

The art design is gonna be the draw for a lot of people understandably but absolutely delightful soundtrack and great immersive experience through a Dualsense.

Definitely one to spend an afternoon with. Treated this myself as a palate cleanser and absolutely fitted that bill.

Recently I played Journey and Firewatch, they were also on sale with at least 80% off and described as relaxing games or walking simulators. I was worried about Gris for being described similarly as well. Those games disappointed me a bit but Gris is different. It remembers that it’s also a video game while being an awesome piece of art.

The game is a 2D puzzle platformer. There are 5 completely different levels that are fairly long in length (aside from the first one). There are 4 ability upgrades that you will unlock to solve some puzzles, a few ‘boss’ sections and actual platforming with some timing involved. There is also one collectible type in each level and a couple of secrets mostly related to the achievements. Playing the game extensively took less than 5 hours, an extra hour was spent on getting the rest of the achievements.

The game simply looks gorgeous thanks to its art. I often felt like I was in a garden straight out of heaven whenever I was playing this. What’s nice is also the little touches that make the areas feel lively. The music (and sound) support the graphics to create some unforgettable moments. The music is also used to help with gameplay on rare occasions. You’d think the gameplay would fall behind when the rest is so good but WRONG. The controls are incredibly responsive with a controller. The gameplay is engaging enough, there are sections you need to think briefly to solve them and there is some skill required to perform certain jumps. It’s almost never frustrating though. The developers opted for a nice balance to satisfy a bigger group instead of pleasing one group above the rest. The game auto saves and it always saves when you find a collectible or secret. This is especially handy for achievement hunting. This has been made easier after completing the game. You unlock chapter select and can even continue from some checkpoints so you don’t have to backtrack too much.

That said, I didn’t really get the story or the metaphors until I unlocked a secret cutscene. It doesn’t explain everything but it gives some idea of what’s going on. I don’t find that to be wise to lock something like this behind a secret. The story should have been clearer to make you understand why you’re playing. There are also rare moments where I find the music to be used excessively. It gives me some pretentious vibes when the violins are loud to force you into an emotion. But that might be just me!

This is not a hardcore game, so don’t expect to sweat to complete it fully. It’s still trying to be relaxing but at least it feels like a game where a bit of effort is required from the player. It was a very enjoyable experience. It felt like the length was just right even though I wouldn’t mind playing more of this. It’s definitely worth a buy when it’s on sale again. Full price might be worth it if you have the cash and don’t care about a game’s length.