For me, Gris was simply the right game at the right time. I picked it up near Christmas in 2018, at one of my lowest points, and I fell in love with it from its starting scene. It's watercolour palette and the use of the orchestra alongside the main voices and sparing use of organs stole me away, and I haven't looked back.
A lot of these reviews on this site critique its mechanical depth and how one dimensional it can be at times, but would it really have made it better? The fundamental misunderstanding, I feel, is that this isn't a platformer with nice music and art, it's designed to be centred around the synthesis of the art and music into a singular sublime experience - the platforming is simply a way to move through that. When I see the discussion on this subject, I ask myself "would this game be better with something like Celeste's focus on execution?" and I find myself always coming to a resounding no; a complex mechanical system would take focus away from what I think the game was supposed to truly be about.
On the subject of this ostentatiously named "singular sublime experience", I think it is rather wonderful. I've never really had a game which made me feel quite as Gris does, without the use of any real characters to speak of. It's somewhat heavy handed messaging on the five stages of grief and working through depression by the titular Gris is all too familiar and while the story treads a beaten path, the way it was told is unique to this game, using almost exclusivley the soundtrack and the art to tell it. I adored this, and I can understand why it's divisive - you either love it or find it dull as hell.
Personally for me, Gris is a game I've kept close to my heart nearing 4 years. I replay it every now and again, just to hear the starting song (Gris, Pt 1) as the title card is unveiled, or Perseverance match with the sandstorms' heights, Unagi in underwater caverns (yes I know the names of the OST songs shut up). Its undoubtedly my favourite game, but by far not the best I've played.
A lot of these reviews on this site critique its mechanical depth and how one dimensional it can be at times, but would it really have made it better? The fundamental misunderstanding, I feel, is that this isn't a platformer with nice music and art, it's designed to be centred around the synthesis of the art and music into a singular sublime experience - the platforming is simply a way to move through that. When I see the discussion on this subject, I ask myself "would this game be better with something like Celeste's focus on execution?" and I find myself always coming to a resounding no; a complex mechanical system would take focus away from what I think the game was supposed to truly be about.
On the subject of this ostentatiously named "singular sublime experience", I think it is rather wonderful. I've never really had a game which made me feel quite as Gris does, without the use of any real characters to speak of. It's somewhat heavy handed messaging on the five stages of grief and working through depression by the titular Gris is all too familiar and while the story treads a beaten path, the way it was told is unique to this game, using almost exclusivley the soundtrack and the art to tell it. I adored this, and I can understand why it's divisive - you either love it or find it dull as hell.
Personally for me, Gris is a game I've kept close to my heart nearing 4 years. I replay it every now and again, just to hear the starting song (Gris, Pt 1) as the title card is unveiled, or Perseverance match with the sandstorms' heights, Unagi in underwater caverns (yes I know the names of the OST songs shut up). Its undoubtedly my favourite game, but by far not the best I've played.