Gris Review

 (Originally published to Glitchwave on 11/7/2024)

[Image from glitchwave.com]

Gris

Developer: Nomada Studio

Publisher: Devolver Digital

Genre(s): 2D Platformer, Puzzle Platformer

Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One

Release Date: December 13, 2018

At first glance, Gris reminds me of the critically acclaimed title Journey. Typically, this would be a clear reason for most gamers to seek out Gris. However, in my case and what seems to be my case alone, it’s a core reason to avoid this game completely. Sony’s pretty walking simulator is another subject of my critical scorn that contradicts the status quo. I don’t inherently dislike games that drive their narrative through sparse, non-action-oriented linearity. I quite enjoy the existential deep sea horror of Soma, the surreal dark mystique of Limbo and its anti-fascist younger brother Inside, and the fourth-wall fracturing of the Stanley Parable. In the case of Journey, which ironically seems to be the most well-regarded of the genre, there was no narrative to speak of. In fact, there was very little of anything in Journey that would ideally hold anyone’s interest. There were no puzzles, enemies, obstacles, or any other element that comprise the anatomy of a video game. Platforming was involved intermittently, but jumping on the few suspended circles of foot support was hardly comparable to a Super Mario-style ascent. This emaciated experience ended just as soon as it started, probably because the game was so starved of any gaming fundamentals that it felt faint and collapsed. Due to its fun-sized length and lack of any memorable moments interspersed before its abrupt end, I was flabbergasted at how Journey won over the hearts of the greater gaming population. The game was even the subject of my first “dud review,” a jokey, brief type of written analysis reserved for games that are either notoriously awful or have little to no substance to divulge. Yes, I’ve placed Journey in the same category as Action 52, Sonic R, and Bubsy 3D. What are you gonna do about it? I shouldn’t have bothered to humor Gris since it shares many similarities to the beloved game I’ve been disparaging. However, my interest in Nomada Studio’s interpretation of the walking simulator/cinematic platformer was entirely due to how it reminded me of Journey, for I was optimistic that another developer could reconfigure Journey and inject some much-needed content into the experience.

While the objective of this review is to divulge the gameplay substance of Gris and compare it to Journey, I’d still feel remiss if I glossed over the fact that Gris is gorgeous. Never have I ever heard anyone express a distaste for watercolors, so Gris achieves its elevated visual scope with arguably the most agreeably pleasant paintwork from an aesthetic perspective. A few games have managed to achieve the look of the warm and vibrant art style in the third dimension with the aid of cel-shaded graphics, but rendering Gris with the same expressive visual tint would’ve been needless on account of its 2D perspective. Eschewing the buoyant pop of cel-shaded graphics with the watercolor palette on an X-axis restriction really captures the look of a painting, seeing as all of the esteemed watercolor artworks throughout history are also two-dimensional. Watercolors are inherently alluring, but the developers take full advantage of their choice of aesthetic by rendering some spellbindingly beautiful landscapes. The expressionistic color choices not only display the ethereal atmosphere of a dream, but the most pleasant dream ever experienced that you’d never want to wake up from. Journey’s 3D environment may impress on a technical level, but the flatter dimensional perspective of Gris exudes the sense of playing an interactive work of art in almost a literal sense.

Seeing Gris in its full, immaculate splendor is a treat that needs to be unlocked by the player. In what is either a cruel tease or an enticing incentive, the mission of Gris is to replenish the game of its color. The game will begin with The Protagonist walking through a blank and brittle world bereft of any glowing shades alluded to in the previous paragraph. Soon, the color “red” will start to blossom once again, and every other color of the rainbow will splash the screen incrementally like a chapter-based progression. The restoration process is a linear path from one color to the next that is rarely interrupted. Well, unless the player is struggling with one of the puzzles interspersed between progression milestones. If violent conflict does not gel with the awe-striking immersion of a walking simulator, then I can’t think of a more complementary fit than environmental brain teasers to add a layer of gameplay meat. Many of the thought-provoking impediments in Gris revolve around the abilities that The Protagonist unlocks with every color restored. The Protagonist will inflate her cloak to the shape and size of an anvil to manipulate the leaning direction of rickety platforms and smash through cracked floors. Her cloak will also allow her to glide for short distances once she obtains the requisite platforming maneuver of a double jump. Some platforms near the end of the game are immaterial, so she’ll have to trigger a move that blossoms them to tangibility. Her swift acceleration boost while swimming certainly helps during the prolonged underwater sections. If the player finds themselves faced with a moment that halts progression, cycling through these abilities and applying one is bound to solve the roadblock. Gris doesn’t showcase the most complex of puzzles, but at least they’re stimulating enough to spruce up the straightaway trek.

Beneath the vivid domain and the hike lies the subtle narrative depth of Gris. Or, at least I’d like to believe that this adventure has some sort of profound point to it. I couldn’t deduce any greater substance from Journey, and the fact that the title of the game is so bluntly literal is another reason not to bother reading into its subtext (if it had any). Gris, on the other hand, at least gives the player something to chew on so the game’s flavor will last a bit after they complete it. For starters, one of the only pieces of contextual evidence we have is that the title translates to the Spanish word for grey. This murky tint that lies between white and black is the only prevalent shade at the beginning of the game. The significance behind that particular color most likely relates to The Protagonist’s internal dissonance. She’s not literally reinvigorating the world around her with the glow of its former radiance: it’s a replenishment process for her mental state. Only by partaking in this spiritual trip will The Protagonist find her inner brightness once again. What caused all the color to literally and metaphorically drain out of her life? Perhaps there is some relevance to the stone statue that The Protagonist finds at every progression milestone, climbing into the palm of its hand which releases another color into the atmosphere. In all likelihood, the figure is an effigy of someone who was close to her and has passed on, and their death was the primary cause for their broken state of being. It might be a stretch but hey, there’s at least something to extrapolate.

What a surprise–I found Gris to be a more substantive gaming experience than the game that draws constant comparisons. Then again, for as positive as the general consensus is for Journey, I believed that surpassing it wouldn’t be a herculean undertaking. Honestly, Gris’ adequate quality is entirely contingent on the parallels to Journey. Without noting its comparatively stronger graphical style, gameplay elements, and narrative depth than Journey, Gris still feels a bit empty by the end in all of those departments. If Journey is a hot chick who turns out to be nothing but a boring, vapid airhead underneath her surface, Gris is like her equally beautiful younger sister who studied abroad for one semester of college. You’ll get something of interest out of her for a brief period, but she'll start to falter into nothing once she exhausts the script.