Video Game Review #614: Gris

Gris

PlayStation 4

Before Playing:

I don't have any kind of interesting history or backstory with this game. In fact, I didn't even know about this game until a week or so ago, when I was scanning through the PS Plus library looking for something fun to play. Gris caught my eye. I'm a fan of 2D platformers. The artwork looked really cool. I looked up some reviews online and saw that they were mainly positive. I decided to give the game a shot.

And that's how we got here.

Story:

I feel like I am immediately going to get off on the wrong foot with all the Gris fans coming here looking for a fun or interesting interpretation of the game's story. I don't have one.

I'll be the first to admit: symbolism isn't my thing. I am not a huge fan of David Lynch, or movies like mother! that rely on imagery and symbolism to do the heavy lifting. I am also not a huge fan of games like Inside, Limbo, Braid, or Shadow of the Colossus. Games that are more dreamlike and abstract than anything based in reality, where the ending (and sometimes the entire game) is open to interpretation. I like a straightforward, coherent plot with fully fleshed out characters and a determined beginning and end point. This game doesn't really give you that.

You take control of a young woman named Gris. She is picked up by a statue in the palm of its hand. The statue is of another woman, her identity unknown. The main character falls. She lands in this barren, dreamlike world where she has to pick up stars and use them to make bridges out of constellations so she can advance to the next part of the game. She encounters the female statue often. Jumping into the palm of its hand often triggers a cutscene or a shift to the game's next stage. The relevance of the statue is never truly explained - and again, I am terrible at reading into symbolism. One level, you're underwater being chased by dark eel shark things. Another level, you traverse through the desert, where giant red, angry storms erupt out of nowhere to try and knock you off your feet.

All the levels have an eerie, dreamlike quality. Nothing is ever really explained. At the end of the game, you go through a visually stunning area full of obstacles and cool shit to look at, while emotional music plays. You encounter the giant woman statue again. There's lots of cool special effects. Weird stuff happens. And then the game ends. Wait, what just happened?

I'm not normally one to look online for story recaps of games, but I had to in this instance, simply because I had no idea what I just watched. The story is up for interpretation, but the main theory is that the statue is the mother of the main character. She has recently passed away. The entire game consists of you traversing through levels that are represented by the 7 stages of grief. At the end you gain acceptance, and that is why the game ends. Hmm. Okay.

The story of the game didn't really hit the mark for me. I think I'd be better suited waiting a year or two, and then coming back to play this game again, knowing what I do in advance. I wonder if that would help me appreciate it a bit more.

Gameplay:

This is an extraordinarily simple game to play. It's also one of the easiest games I've played in recent memory. I don't think there's really a way to die. You can't get lost either, as the game is fairly linear in its progression. I've heard it described as an artsy, side-scrolling walking simulator. I can't really argue with that.

There are some platforming elements involved, such as jumping from ledge to ledge. You can't attack. There aren't any enemies to fight. Mainly you just walk forward, occasionally doing an easy platforming section. The toughest it gets is disappearing platforms, or platforms that can change shape as you jump over them. Nothing too complex. 

The closest the game gets to puzzle solving is when you have to collect stars to create your constellation bridges. Let's say you reach a dead end. Clearly you can see a path where you are supposed to go - but you can't yet. What you want to do is take a different path. This will probably lead you to a hidden star or two. Come back to the path where you were supposed to go. The game automatically makes the bridge for you. So all you are really doing is exploring the stage looking for stars. Picture collecting all the K O N G letters in Donkey Kong Country. It's like that, but with none of the challenge.

There's some interesting swimming segments later on in the game. I didn't think I'd be making any Ecco the Dolphin comparisons when I first started playing this, but this is where we are in my review. The controls are very Ecco-like. Especially the charge move. You often have to charge out of the water and leap over to a new body of water. Some of these bodies of water are suspended in the air. Which is funny, because I recently got done playing Ecco: Defender of the Future. Hanging Waters immediately came to mind when playing through these stages.

There are some other small things I've neglected to mention, like the ability to sing or turn yourself into a block of stone. These are small gameplay wrinkles that mainly help you solve puzzles and move onto new areas. They are barely even worth mentioning.

Graphics:

Screenshots of this game don't really do it justice. This is a game you have to see in action to truly appreciate. The artwork is beautiful. The animation is superb. I may not like an abstract storyline, but I don't mind an abstract setting. The game is simply mesmerizing to look at. It is very immersive. Even my wife, who isn't a gamer, commented on how much she liked the look of this game. It's great. I'd recommend turning down the lights and playing this in the dark with your headphones on. It's a magical experience.

Sound:

The sound is very atmospheric as well. Like I said, you need to play this in the dark with headphones on. It makes the whole experience very atmospheric and surreal. When there isn't music, the eerie silence and ambient sound effects help make the game an immersive experience. 

When there is music, it always fits the action onscreen perfectly. One standout moment is during the desert level when the sandstorm rolls through. The screen turns red, and this terrifying music starts playing. It intimidated the hell out of me the first few times I experienced this. And right at the end of the game, there is a segment that nearly had me in tears just because of the swelling music and the intensity of the moment. I didn't know what the hell was going on in the storyline, but I could just feel it was something extremely profound. All because of the music.

Overall:

This is a super hard game for me to grade. If I was going on the visuals and the atmosphere of the game, it would be a 10/10. But to me, graphics aren't everything. In fact, they have historically been very low on my totem pole of importance to me when doing these game reviews. It's the gameplay I'm here for. And I hate to say it, but the gameplay is a bit mediocre.

Take away the cool graphics and the music and put this in some generic 16-bit side scrolling world, and this would be a completely forgettable game. It's short. There's no challenge to it. It's not even that intriguing mechanically. It does nothing new or exciting. It's very... average.

I have to be consistent when doing these reviews. I can't let myself be suckered in by the awesome visuals of the game. It' all about the gameplay for me. And that gameplay is very, very average. I feel as if this should be reflected in the review score. What better what way for me to get my point across than to give it a....

THE GRADE:

C

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