(This review is one I wrote a while ago, just posting it here now.)
Gris is a beautiful, touching work of art. The watercolor-Esque animation this game employs is nothing short of phenomenal. Each frame is a picture-perfect painting teeming with little details for you to observe. These visuals combined with the great sound design and top-notch soundtrack provide you with an experience that you won’t soon forget.
This game is a journey through a character’s grief and how they cope with the world that surrounds them. Dream-like in design, it’s a surreal trip through a mysterious world.
Gameplay
The gameplay is simple. Platforming and simple puzzle elements are the only challenges you’re going to find in there and of those two, neither is super challenging. A few great and interesting puzzles aside, nothing here really stands out. However, it makes masterful use of the few mechanics the game has in a variety of ways.
Your initial play-through is going to take you roughly 4 hours, it’s not a very long game and feels paced fantastically to me.
Graphic Design
Detail! Detail! Detail! This game is a master at its usage of detail and that’s something you can say about the whole journey. You start in a world of grays, blacks, and whites with the only little bit of color otherwise being the little blue-green hair that sits upon the heroine's head.
As you progress through this world you’ll notice a lot of vacant areas. Areas that were left vacant for a reason. Early on it really hammers in that sense of loneliness the character feels. As you progress though, each chapter adds new color to the world. Literally, just one color (Well, shades of a color), and the game is broken up into four chapters. Red, Green, Blue, Yellow.
The game makes great use of color to speak metaphor for the story and for just visual feasting of the eyes. Each set piece is properly zoomed in or out, and as you progress through the game it just becomes more and more alive. Little fantastic creatures scuttle about in the foreground and background. Rain, wind, etc. come and go throughout the game.
And the animation itself. It’s so fluid. Some of the best animation work I've ever seen in a game. Each thing you do has a new animation attached to it, even if you’re only going to see it for the briefest of moments. Carefully crafted and seemingly flawless, this world is alive and you’ll want to sit and just look at it for many moments during your play through the game.
Sound Design and Soundtrack
I can not give more praise for the siren-like singing and ethereal presence the soundtrack commands of you. It also has much flair for the dramatic. Big swells during major scenes and quiet moments that let the character sit.
The sound design itself is so great. Each thing that happens has its own sounds and you hear all of it. The little scurrying of a rock creature as it paths itself across the ground, the dripping of water, the flutter of birds, etc. The game is packed full of things to notice and observe. The sounds of the game really complement the visuals well.
Story
And combining these elements together you are going to get the story of the game. Now it’s vague but it isn’t hiding what it’s about. It’s about the main Heroine and how she deals with loss going through stages of grief. There’s no dialogue, instead, the story is told through level design, world-building, sound design, musical cues, and so forth as you traipse through the organic world it provides. You’re going to want to go through this whole game in one sitting and it’s a worthwhile way to experience it.
I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m going to keep it brief, but really play this game. It’s mournful and touching, succinct yet everlasting. The way it’s portrayed puts it ahead of many other games that try to accomplish the same thing.
Once you go through your initial playing of the game, remember to use the now-given level select feature and go ahead and pick up on any mementos you might’ve missed out on. You’ll be able to access a secret cut scene that really ties the whole thing together.
Gris is a fantastically gorgeous game and one I recommend wholeheartedly to anyone looking for an artistic journey of emotion.
Gris is a beautiful, touching work of art. The watercolor-Esque animation this game employs is nothing short of phenomenal. Each frame is a picture-perfect painting teeming with little details for you to observe. These visuals combined with the great sound design and top-notch soundtrack provide you with an experience that you won’t soon forget.
This game is a journey through a character’s grief and how they cope with the world that surrounds them. Dream-like in design, it’s a surreal trip through a mysterious world.
Gameplay
The gameplay is simple. Platforming and simple puzzle elements are the only challenges you’re going to find in there and of those two, neither is super challenging. A few great and interesting puzzles aside, nothing here really stands out. However, it makes masterful use of the few mechanics the game has in a variety of ways.
Your initial play-through is going to take you roughly 4 hours, it’s not a very long game and feels paced fantastically to me.
Graphic Design
Detail! Detail! Detail! This game is a master at its usage of detail and that’s something you can say about the whole journey. You start in a world of grays, blacks, and whites with the only little bit of color otherwise being the little blue-green hair that sits upon the heroine's head.
As you progress through this world you’ll notice a lot of vacant areas. Areas that were left vacant for a reason. Early on it really hammers in that sense of loneliness the character feels. As you progress though, each chapter adds new color to the world. Literally, just one color (Well, shades of a color), and the game is broken up into four chapters. Red, Green, Blue, Yellow.
The game makes great use of color to speak metaphor for the story and for just visual feasting of the eyes. Each set piece is properly zoomed in or out, and as you progress through the game it just becomes more and more alive. Little fantastic creatures scuttle about in the foreground and background. Rain, wind, etc. come and go throughout the game.
And the animation itself. It’s so fluid. Some of the best animation work I've ever seen in a game. Each thing you do has a new animation attached to it, even if you’re only going to see it for the briefest of moments. Carefully crafted and seemingly flawless, this world is alive and you’ll want to sit and just look at it for many moments during your play through the game.
Sound Design and Soundtrack
I can not give more praise for the siren-like singing and ethereal presence the soundtrack commands of you. It also has much flair for the dramatic. Big swells during major scenes and quiet moments that let the character sit.
The sound design itself is so great. Each thing that happens has its own sounds and you hear all of it. The little scurrying of a rock creature as it paths itself across the ground, the dripping of water, the flutter of birds, etc. The game is packed full of things to notice and observe. The sounds of the game really complement the visuals well.
Story
And combining these elements together you are going to get the story of the game. Now it’s vague but it isn’t hiding what it’s about. It’s about the main Heroine and how she deals with loss going through stages of grief. There’s no dialogue, instead, the story is told through level design, world-building, sound design, musical cues, and so forth as you traipse through the organic world it provides. You’re going to want to go through this whole game in one sitting and it’s a worthwhile way to experience it.
I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m going to keep it brief, but really play this game. It’s mournful and touching, succinct yet everlasting. The way it’s portrayed puts it ahead of many other games that try to accomplish the same thing.
Once you go through your initial playing of the game, remember to use the now-given level select feature and go ahead and pick up on any mementos you might’ve missed out on. You’ll be able to access a secret cut scene that really ties the whole thing together.
Gris is a fantastically gorgeous game and one I recommend wholeheartedly to anyone looking for an artistic journey of emotion.