Devolver Digital’s upcoming indie platformer Gris release date has been announced. The game is developed by Barcelona based Nomada Studio and will launch on December 13 for Switch and PC for $16.99.
The delicately beautiful 2D platformer follows the story of a young girl called Gris who’s trapped in a world of her own sorrow. As players progress through the puzzles and platforming scenarios, Gris will gain new abilities to aid her in her emotional journey. This is meant to reflect her growing understanding of her emotional state and the world she has created.
Gris seems to encourage a sense of exploration throughout its levels. It asks players to find their own way and doesn’t offer many hints which help enforce this notion of self-discovery and feeling lost.
It’s mostly designed to be a calming and narrative experience as players can’t die or fail in the traditional sense. This isn’t to say the game isn’t generally challenging. The puzzles are not always immediately obvious and her growing ability set adds new layers to the gameplay. Gris also contains other optional challenges to test players skill for those who are after something more difficult.
Its evocative watercolor art style is from artist Conrad Roset and the fitting and evocative original score is from the Spanish band, Berlinist. The developer, Nomada Studio, prides itself on consisting of developers and artists who have disciplines outside of video games, which isn’t always the case for video games.
We played the game at PAX West and walked away wanting more. It’s a calm, soothing title, one that prides itself on its beauty over complex, intense game mechanics. However, the demo we had used its beauty well and was an enrapturing experience that felt reminiscent of Journey, Inside, or Limbo. It makes sense since Senior Artist Ari Cervelló Polo stated that those games were huge inspirations for Gris.
