Video: Platformer Gris is so delicate I won’t spoil it with my honking voice
A metaphor for something sad, probably
I imagine many of you see the word video in the headline and assume it’s just going to be Noa or me gabbling over game footage. And while gabbling/footage hybrids do make up 98% of its output, the RPS Video Department knows when to put a sock in it. One such occasion is the arrival of Gris, a wistful adventure that new Spanish outfit Nomada Studio is calling a narrative platformer. I think this means you jump about a bit but the jumping is secretly a metaphor for something sad. Why not watch this gorgeous 15 minute demo - free of any foghorn-like analysis - and work it out for yourself...
Isn’t it lovely? I was worried that the hand-drawn animation style might make it feel a bit rigid to play, but it’s very responsive. Particularly the bits where you dance through a field of tiny paper birds or fire yourself from floating bodies of water. I like that Nomada have the confidence in the feel of their movement that they can give you spaces to mess about in, and test those moves out. It’s a similar vibe to Super Mario Galaxy (the gravity-resisting water is a straight lift) which is about as good a vibe as you can aim for.
I should note that the demo isn’t indicative of the final pacing of the game. This is three areas stitched together, so the arrival of new skills, and the challenges that teach you to use them, will be more leisurely in the final game. I also mentioned a likeness to Metroid, which entirely relates to gathering new powers. There’s a smidgen of backtracking - we return to the forest twice in the demo - but the I’m told that the route is linear and prescribed. Nomada don’t want you getting lost in a maze, but gliding through, as magical cape girls are wont to do.
Gris swoops/stomps/splashes onto PC in December this year. For more fun videos like this - albeit with more nattering - why not subscribe to the Rock Paper Shotgun YouTube channel or check out our wall of moving picture delights in the video section of the site.