Ah

I really needed that.

Hard to be cynical, hard to analyze what I needed emotionally in the moment. Something to plug a hole I didn't realize was bothering me. Sometimes the verisimilitude of a hike that I can't currently get right now is the best medicine for my mental state. The lighthearted soul of something really warm, uplifting that makes my heart soar. I cried to very small, very clearly crafted, earnest messages. I wandered, I explored, I went to the ends of the island and back, and I got something to remember this day forever.

Thank you for the gentle reminder to look forward head high.

Suggested by Phantom. Thank you

-get sucked into an idle game for a few days and check it constantly
-eventually get to the point where you prestige and start over with new benefits
-immediately lose all interest because youre back at the beginning

Many such cases!

Gris is a beautiful game. I do love it as an artsy depiction of grief without being on the nose about it. There's not a lick of dialogue involved in this game. That's all well and good, but the big problem here is that the game's theme isn't really clear throughout. I wasn't sure what it was about until I looked it up afterwards. And I don't think that diminishes the game's message, but I have to give it flak for that since it just kinda felt like "Oh cool, that was pretty" at the end. I feel like an Indie game missing the mark on its messaging is... strange. I feel like even if you knew it was about grief going in, you'd still see it wasn't obvious. All of the comments on the video of the secret ending I watched (which is missable due to collectables being required) were just along the lines of "Ohhh so that's what it's about" and I think that's a problem. Fine enough game though and the art is really genuinely beautiful.

Score: 80

My dad bought himself a Switch recently and fell in love with Gris. He sent me $5 to buy this during a sale a few weeks back. He loves the idea of a platformer starting out grey and gaining more and more color.

I liked that aspect in this game, too. I liked the silent story telling and gorgeous visuals mixed into one. I liked the spread out reward of new move-sets, and how not everything is given to you at once. I liked how it makes you take it slow, and pay attention to all the little details put into the game, really making this more of a playable coloring book.

I went into it not expecting much more than a short, pretty game, and that’s what I got. Worth the $5 and is now a nice game to talk to my dad about.