GRIS

Gris is a game in the style of Journey and Abzu. If you're looking for a pretty puzzle platformer with strong mechanics, this isn't it. Go buy Ori and the Blind Forest or Rayman Legends. This is a game where your main incentive for pushing forward is getting to the next jaw-dropping piece of music or artwork. I spontaniously said "WOW" quite a lot. That said, there were enough clever uses of the mechanics to make the puzzle platforming aspect of the game enjoyable and moderately challenging. So that's my reccomendation. If you're down with what amounts to a very pretty piece of interactive artwork, absolutely buy Gris. I loved it. If you're coming for a solid "game", look elsewhere or wait for a strong sale.

Gris is... well, rather hard to describe. It is, as the screenshots make perfectly clear, an absolutely beautiful experience. The visual design, including the introduction of more color as you continue the game, is stunning. Deserts, forests, underwater tunnels, and even crystal palaces... every time you think you've seen all Gris can throw at you, it stuns you with another beautiful set piece. More than once I just stopped to admire the view. This art design is complemented by a great soundtrack, which underscores the emotional situation of your character as she explores this beautiful world. As with the visuals, for the most part it is a relaxing and serene experience, treating your ears as you explore the world at your own pace. When you're dealing with the corrupting force overtaking the world, it speeds up. Gris' story is surreal, yet painted in generally broad strokes. The main character, Gris, is a young woman whom you begin to control after she falls into a white void. Over time, she explores the world and discovers that a deep black force is corrupting the world, trying to sap the color out of it. Gris restores the world's color, with each color restored opening up new areas to explore. The narrative, of course, is highly symbolic, and worth a ponder after you finish the game. Gameplay itself is fairly simple, with the main task of each area -- collecting white points of light -- being completed through very light platforming and some simple puzzles. Never was I stumped by these, nor by the more difficult challenges that net you larger orbs of light, although some of the latter were easy to miss. The only shortcoming I can see is the short playtime; you'll be finished the main story within three to four hours. But considering the sensory pleasure that is Gris, I think it's well worth buying.

I've finished the game yesterday (4 hours) and was very impressed by the visual style and the dreamlike, surreal worlds. But in contrast to other artistic games like "Inside" it has shortcomings in gameplay, story telling and excitement. The experience would be almost the same if I had just watched a Let's play video on youtube. Nevertheless I am happy to support projects like this with my money.

Enjoyable exploration with simple (but satisfying) puzzles and platforming. This world is crafted with beautiful visuals and sound design. The only problem I've come across in my first 90 minutes is when transitioning between different colors (the colors are like a level change of sorts). The music will cut out, in this moment, for a split second; this is only noteworthy because it sticks out relative to how superb the experience is the other 99.9% of the time. This game is definitely worth the price if you want to explore a gorgeous 2D world while soaking in sounds and music perfectly tailored to the experience.