Gris Review Transcript:
Playing through Gris was a memorable experience. With a soundtrack that enhanced the emotions of each scene to spectacular heights and the sketchbook-like artwork that flowed seamlessly from scene to scene, you’ll have a tough time finding a game with a stronger audio and visual presentation.
Unfortunately, when it came to actual gameplay, Gris is quite unremarkable.
At its best, Gris is a light puzzle platformer. The small protagonist can spread her dress out and solidify into a large, heavy square; imagine a dandelion warping into a paperweight. The increased bulk is often the solution to most of the game’s puzzles. Is it windy? Inflate yourself. Do you need a counterweight? Inflate yourself. At points later in the game you’ll be able to use a mirror image of yourself as a platform, which I thought was clever, but that was about as interesting as the gameplay got for me.
Just like the gameplay, the story in Gris pales in comparison to that of the audio and visual presentation. In short, the story is a dream-like sequence where the protagonist finds herself bogged down by her own despair (for reasons unknown). The player’s job is to guide the protagonist through various realms so the protagonist can collect stars to build a constellation bridge that presumably she can use to escape the dream-like world. The game’s ending is an anticlimactic realization that a simple joy can fend off despair, and then the credits roll.
The story was too metaphorical for me to really enjoy. I spent the first half of the game curious about what was going on, but after having to tip-tap around lonely landscapes for a few hours, I was more than ready for the story to get interesting. Unfortunately, it never did.
Gris struggled with the pacing. There were large stretches of the game where nothing exciting happened. I felt like Gris didn’t respect my time. It had a story to tell, but it really felt like there was about two hours of filler injected in that story for the sake of making the game longer. The shadowy antagonist made an exciting appearance early on in the game, but when it returned near the end of the game, it was all within a cinematic that I was forced to watch. The cinematic ended, I swam around for a little bit, and then the shadow creature returned and I had to sit and watch the excitement, again, rather than be a part of it.
By the end of the game, I was left with one strong opinion: Gris would have made an excellent 20 minute, animated film. As a game, Gris was way longer than it needed to be and that, unfortunately, held back what could have been a positive recommendation from me. Instead, my recommendation is to buy the soundtrack and skip the game.
Gris was reviewed using a retail copy of the game purchased by Epic Brew.
