GRIS

Restore color through artful puzzles and graceful touch controls

GRIS is a striking puzzle platformer from Devolver Digital that tells a personal story through image and sound rather than text. You guide a young girl who has lost her voice, moving through a world drained of color as she searches for healing. Narrative beats unfold wordlessly via animations, universal icon prompts, and evolving hues, making it approachable no matter what language you speak.

Across four distinct regions, each tied to a dominant color, the game constantly refreshes its ideas. One moment you are bracing against sand squalls across crumbling platforms, the next you are threading through watery groves or navigating spaces where gravity turns on its head. Set pieces stand out, including a tense dance around a towering bird and airy passages where swarms of butterflies lift you into glides. You begin with only the basics, move and jump, but new abilities arrive at a steady clip, reshaping how you traverse earlier obstacles and keeping the journey engaging.

Controls lean on gestures rather than fixed virtual buttons. Pressing the left side of the screen moves Gris, tapping the right makes her leap, and context-sensitive prompts handle special actions. This approach feels clean and flexible, reducing mis-taps and letting the painterly environments take center stage.

The presentation is the star. Handcrafted art frames every scene like a living watercolor, while a symphonic score swells and softens in step with the protagonist’s emotional arc. The music and visuals work in tandem to sell the themes of grief, loss, and renewal without a single line of dialogue.

If there is a trade-off, it is longevity. Optional challenges add some bite, but once the story concludes, there are few incentives to replay. As a single, cohesive voyage, though, GRIS is captivating, graceful, and memorable.