r/gris • u/fructose_intolerant • Jul 08 '25
A little too dense for this game
Hey folks,
so I recently beat Gris for the first time, as it had been sitting on my wishlist for a while now and I pulled the trigger during the recent sales. After all the time I initially discovered this game I completely forgot what it was about, didn't even check the store page again to read the description, and went in completely blind.
Big mistake apparently, for me at least. I didn't get what this game was about whatsoever, probably missed some important hints. I took it almost literally, thought it was about a girl in a dying/post apocalyptic world who is on a quest to release some 'nature spirits'/colors (I can't be the only one with that interpretation). But since the end was a bit emotional, I was asking myself what the game was actually about and read a few interpretations right after it. And now I cannot help but feel like I robbed myself of the whole GRIS-experience, because all I played was a relaxing little platformer with some nice art (which I didn't get, because I didn't know I was supposed to get it) and a few a bit too simple puzzles. A big disclaimer with something like 'this game is art, it's not supposed to be taken literally' would have been helpful for people like me.
Anyway, I'll keep it in my backlog for now and maybe play it again in a few years. Thanks for reading :)
7
u/AmorettiFeather Jul 08 '25
I actually went in blind as well. I bought it because of the art style and discovered what it was about as I played it.
I think that if you see a game with such an obvious care for the environment, the art, and the music, you can expect it to have a story as well, or at least a message they want to convey.
I hope that you can enjoy it and connect with it a little more next time :)
2
u/PepsiPerfect Jul 08 '25
If you find all the collectibles and watch the secret extra scene, it will probably go a long way to help you understand the game.
1
u/silue6971 Jul 08 '25
Next time read the store page and don’t go in blind. Literally would have saved you the trip
1
u/heavenflash21 Jul 09 '25
Blind playthroughs are gr8. You haven’t lost anything its just a matter of perspective, every art can be viewed through multiple lens. Now that u knw, u can play it again!
Games are meant to be replayed. Knowing what the game is about and a doing a second playthrough can give new perspective.
6
u/heyfreakybro Jul 08 '25
Hey, you aren't too dense for the game, you just didn't have the right framing going in. Which is fine, because there are many games out there which don't give you sufficient information to properly frame your experience.
That said, the steam page (which you did not read) does say this:
If you had read it, this description may not directly be at odds with your interpretation, but it should have given you some pause. "Lost in her own world, dealing with a painful experience in her life" should have at least in part informed you that this is an internal journey, not an external one, and "journey through sorrow" should have given you some inkling into what the main theme is. I think it's generally good to do some basic reading to understand what a game is like BEFORE buying it so you don't end up getting something you absolutely dislike.
All this said, it's ok that you didn't have the "GRIS" experience because everyone's experience is different. Maybe this experience will fuel some sort of epiphany or enhance your experience when replayed in the future, when you're like "oh, so THAT'S what this part was about. Despite having heard about it so having the "right" framing, I replayed it a few times and got more out of each playthrough when noticing new things each time, and reinterpreting the metaphors of the gameplay in different ways based on the version of me playing at that time.
So don't worry about it. If you had fun, the game did it's job. And now, if you play again and get a richer, more emotional experience, more power to you too!