So I played Gris (or "*Batista voice* METAPHOR!")

Okay, I played Gris, which is a weird little platformer about recovering from grief that is very pretty! It's got swirly watercolour backgrounds and a very dreamy soundtrack, and playing it felt weirdly like a guided meditation but with jumping puzzles and occasionally a giant bird that hates you. It sort of feeds you mechanics and new abilities in a way that suggests that your little character is recovering and learning to cope with her ever-changing emotional state/environment. (Like, I got to the first proper level, where there are buffeting winds that throw your character across the map and I was just like "Oh, it's a metaphor!" The game makes much more sense once you realise it's a metaphor.) And I liked the way that the colours come back and mix and change as you go through! ... Although I'm a little wigged out by the protagonist having a proper face, but tiny stick figure arms. I understand why that design choice was made, but.

It's cool, and I liked it, but I need to sit down with people and discuss what we think is actually happening because I didn't realise that my reading was universal until I read this Sidequest article about it and became three confusion gifs in a trenchcoat. (Spoilers, obviously.)

( Read more... )