GRIS is a game about grief, and I thought that now that I’m grieving the loss of my dog it may be a good time to play it. In GRIS you play as a young girl going through the stages of grief via puzzle platforming. Each stage gives you a new ability leading her to acceptance. It is one of the most beautiful games I have ever played. Each stage brings a color back into the world and the ambiguous nature of the game and environment means you can play it at any stage of your life.
The game consists of solving platforming puzzles to reach stars that will create a path you can follow to the next stage. Each stage gives you a new ability to help you navage the level easier. You can’t “die” in GRIS but you can mess up jumps and get frustrated. The game is extremely short, only taking around four hours to complete. There isn’t a lot of replay value but I guarantee your first experience will be a memorable one.
When I heard GRIS was a game about grieving I thought it would be something I wouldn’t be able to pick up unless I was in that headspace myself. This is not true, I recommend playing this regardless of what you are going through. When heartbroken we tend to try and find things to relate to, patterns and an artsy game like this one is full of them. This game is short and simple and free to interpret whatever way fits your current situation. Although I may advise you to wait if the sorrow is fresh, the platforming can get frustrating at certain moments. But maybe that will distract your mind from whatever is bothering you. GRIS is a personal journey, a game to help you process your emotions. It’s truly a work of art telling you I see you and I understand your pain, it’s going to be okay.
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