GRIS

This game is so beautiful it hurts, literally. The design, music, sounds, colors it's perfect. And even if it's not the most complicated and gameplay rich game, it has something other games can't even dream of. It touches Your soul. Unforgettable experience. Well done Nomada, well done...

been a long time i havent cried in a video game, well done .

Artsy fartsy, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and a cello. This game is a painting with a sad girl and no fellow. Gris is visually enticing. The audio is beauteous and blends nicely with the visuals. The gaming aspect is, by contrast, strikingly bland. Gris is a platformer with some light puzzeling interspersed throughout the game. The controls are sluggish in that your speed feels unduly inhibited and your interaction with the anemic environment is sparse. The visuals are what make this game; without them Gris is rather stale. The Story: Despite glowing reviews for this title, Gris is a narrative failure. I managed to not read the plot prior to playing this game so as to see if my interpretation of the material matched the intended story. This was a story about sorrow and loss? I instead thought it was about a young lady coming to terms with her femininity. Art is of course open to interpretation. It is my opinion that Gris’ lack of plot clarity is due to there being no established symbolic lexicon or syntax within the context of its story. What do the colours mean? How is yellow different than red? Why does one appear before the other? What is the significance of voice/song in Gris? What initial symbolism shows us a connection between Gris and statue lady? What are the meaning of the animals how do they aide in the telling of this story? Everything looks good but means seeming little. I am equally perplexed at the exclusion of death or danger in a game that is trying to express loss and one’s journey through it. There are bosses in this game which are neutered of any menace, and ultimately significance, as there is no risk of harm to your character regardless of your input. Death need not be equivalent to violence as, many deaths happen non-violently. Gris could have depicted death symbolically and metaphorically by having an in game consequence/reward if you are captured by one of the bosses. Participation Trophy/10 (Taken from my steam review; 7.5 hours of game play)

I played it through in a three sittings despite finishing the game in 3 hours 15 minutes. The previous sitting was nine days ago. The last one just now. I was relieved to have reached the end. Then increasingly worried, as it seemed the game would keep dragging on. It's extremely pretty and at times a good game. However, as much as it's pretty it's boring and bland. If it looked like Super Mario no one would give it even a 3/5. Or perhaps they would, but because of the music. The level design is poor. Most places look more or less the same and play out in more or less the same way. Because it's kind of semi-linear at times it's very confusing finding the right place to go, as the world is constantly changing with the new colors added to it.Puzzle design poor. Mostly just the same few puzzles repeated time after time but with minor twists. Pretty much nothing happens throughout the game. I'm relieved to have finished it. Not to say I didn't enjoy it. Parts of it were good. I'd recommend playing it before sleeping.

I consider this game both visually and audially- ART.