A pretty, pretty game.
GRIS
Nintendo Switch Lite ǀ Nomada Studio ǀ 20 April 2021
GRIS is one of the indie games that I really wanted to play, simply because of the color tone. Turns out, this has more to share.
It started as a young woman who fell and lost her ability to sing, in a grey, colorless world. There are no text nor dialogue throughout the game, so I kinda had a hard time figuring out what I should do…turns out this is what this game is all about. I have to think on my own based on pictures and symbols, discover and solve puzzles. It was easy at first and becomes more and more challenging as the story progressed. It requires fast think and good reflex in some puzzles, but still manageable.
In the end, there are no clear explanations of what was the journey all about. But maybe this is what the developer wants, to make our own conclusions. For me, I think GRIS is about a young woman with certain trauma in the past, willing to overcome the fear, rejections, and failure one by one, projected with how we solve puzzles and ended up with more puzzles. As a reward, her world becomes more and more colorful every time we finished a stage. Which makes this game visually beautiful.
GRIS is an artsy game with a soothing soundtrack, feels a bit lonely, but complements the game environment. It has beautiful message too, on how we, as a woman, able to overcome our own fear. I’ve finished GRIS in about 4 hours, so I’d recommend this game to non-gamer friends too! 🙂 The minimalist aspect reminds me of games like Journey and ABZU. With beautiful hand-drawn artwork, it’s a pretty game for sure, and I have a pleasant time playing it through the end.
nerdykiddo 