GRIS: A Story of Healing and Release
I never intended to bawl like a lost child who finally found her home, after completing the journey called ‘GRIS’, but I did. I ended up feeling more love for my partner and mother, made him play the ending again and made her listen to the OST with me. Never thought I’d write a videogame review either, of all things, but here we are.
‘GRIS’, a platform-adventure videogame created by the Spanish company, Nomada Studio and published by Devolver Digital, is a pure stunner hiding in plain sight, a treasure whose full experience you must unearth. It is the story of a girl with the titular name, Gris- the meaning of her name being, quite literally, the colour ‘Grey’ in Spanish. And just like her name, her world becomes almost grey, near-lifeless and shattered after she loses her mother, and consequently, her voice. Gris and her mother (represented as a huge stone sculpture), shared a deep connection only through their singing, and their synchronised vocals were the only way for them to communicate their love to each other. But as soon as her mother passed away (represented as the sculpture shattering into innumerable fragments), Gris’ immense grief stole the only remaining souvenir from her mother: her throat was left empty. The game thus becomes Gris’ journey towards seeing her mother come to life once more, and to achieve her goal, she wanders in strange lands, braves herculean tasks, faces her sorrow and inner demons that appear in terrifying forms, and crosses hurdle after hurdle, courageously, and all by herself, to find every single little star that will later create a constellation bridge to finally lead her back to her mother, and her voice.
When it comes to the visuals, each and every scene of the game is meticulously drawn and coloured, and the level of intricacy will astound you enough to leave a lasting impression. In the beginning, the scenes are all shades of a single colour, but as the game progresses, the challenges get harder, and the more Gris gets closer to her destination, the colours, and the complexities of every frame, increase, with the last level appearing especially enchanting with its bright, jewel tones and vivid, glowy, multicoloured artwork. There are deserts, trees, waterfalls, flowers, fireflies, ornate geometrical portals and exquisite, almost ancient, architecture; all of them created such that they remain considerably relevant to real life for the viewer’s comfort, yet appear to have a strong tinge of fantasy and alien-ness… the game surprisingly fashions elaborate sights out of simple designs. The one scene that trumps them all, though, is the ending: the colour seeping back into Gris’ once dull life, and beautiful tunes, adorning her throat once again, making everything appear lovelier than ever. Without making a desperate effort to impress with loud hues, unnecessary complication, over-the-top imagery and excessive characters, ‘GRIS’ charms the eyes more than sufficiently, and gives the player enough reason to keep their eyes glued to the screen. This game has got to have the most unique and impactful artwork I have ever seen.
And the music! Oh my goodness, I cannot possibly describe the depth, the near-spiritual essence and the multitude of emotions in every single piece that is part of the game’s OST of 27 tracks, brilliantly brought to us by Barcelona-based band and music producer, the Berlinist. The entire soundtrack is a masterpiece, with ‘Perseverance’ perfectly exuding calm and chaos, peace and danger, at once; and then, ‘Unagi’ bringing fear and adrenaline to life, while Gris is desperately trying to flee a shadowy eel chasing her; to name only a few examples. It is the climactic track, ‘Gris Pt 2’, however, that takes the cake; this standout, beautifully composed piece leaves you with chills and goosebumps with its enthralling tune and otherworldly vocals; it might even move you to tears and make you deeply emotional, probably even lead to a lot of life-changing realisations. The music, if especially savoured with eyes closed, regardless of location, is sure to transport the listener to alien, marvelous worlds that every track creates individually. Rich crescendos and delicate notes, unabashed grandeur and reserved simplicity, the trills of a piano and the thrill of electronic music, the energetic percussion and the calming lack of it- everything amalgamates into an evergreen, even legendary soundtrack to remember for life.
On the other hand, the controls are blotchy sometimes, and frustratingly, there is also no text at all to help you around; because you have to figure everything out on your own, the game may prove to be highly confusing. For experienced players, the game might still be quite navigable, be it on the phone, PC, Nintendo Switch or PS4; but for newbies (or noobs, as they are called in the gaming world), it might prove to be the most daunting experience that might quite often push you to the very edge. Yet, so is it equally rewarding, for some quests are set to just the right difficulty, and finally completing them does provide scintillating cut-scenes, and a sense of euphoria that lasts quite a while. And of course, the story and sights more than make up for it.
‘GRIS’, the game, is very much like life itself, with its various hues and colours, highs and lows, personal quests we are all trying to resolve; and just like it always happens, you can’t grasp the value of it all until it comes to an end… you finally realise that you want to go back and so everything again, but you can’t. I regret wanting the game to just end because it was proving to be difficult and left it because I couldn’t fight anymore; while my expert gamer boyfriend never gave up, and played through all the obstacles and challenges right until the end; it is only because of him and his persistence, and through his eyes, that I had the joy of not being entirely absent from witnessing all the glory that awaited us. The game is actually one-of-its-kind with respect to every single aspect, but the fact that this game deals with trauma, processing grief, depression and healing, makes it probably the only game to do so, helping ‘GRIS’ clearly outshine every other combat, horror, simulation, or more such generic videogames.
Ultimately, I am deeply moved by the game and it’s sheer beauty. The beautiful symbolisms: the swallow, the eel, the dark forces that want to consume her, they are nothing but her grief that appears so. And at the last before she finally finds her healing, her sadness takes her own form and she can’t escape anymore. But it is only when she faces herself that she is at last liberated. I find ‘GRIS’ also symbolic of my journey, from pain to healing, although, unlike her, mine is a journey of many destinations and far from over. Sometimes I wish life would be like the statue of her mother that finally comes together: gentle, loving, shedding a tear for the poor soul that had to bear all the pain… but I must wait for that to happen, for there are many more miles to go, much more to seek and much more to retrieve before I finally take my last breath without anything to chain me to what I would leave behind, not a single teardrop, not a single regret. With this game, I also finally properly forayed into the world of gaming, and whatever negative preconceived notions I had about videogames and gaming have been successfully quashed, and I have been converted into a lover of great stories and even better experiences. ‘GRIS’ is indeed the story of all of us, but especially so for some of us, and I am truly glad I got to experience this spectacular, brilliant, marvelous journey in my lifetime, transformed into a new person for good.
Would I play the game right from scratch? Would it be worth all the difficulties? Most likely not. But will I carry the learning I received, in my heart, with the greatest admiration? Most definitely yes. Every level, every challenge represents each stage in the resolution of grief, and as you play, you will see that it is not any abstract, two-dimensional character who is finding her way in the game… it is you. So do it. Play ‘GRIS’, as Gris, and the only thing you will regret is not having played the game earlier. It will take a lot of time and a lot more patience to complete, but the game is worth a try.
P.S. : Watch out for the secret ending ;)
