Gris
Gris is a 2D platformer developed by Nomada Studio and published by Devolver Digital. It is a visually striking game that follows the journey of a young woman named Gris as she navigates a world of grief and loss. The game features no dialogue, relying on its hand-painted art style, evocative music, and environmental storytelling to convey its themes. Gameplay involves exploration, light platforming, and puzzle-solving, with Gris gaining new abilities as the story progresses. It received critical acclaim for its artistic design and emotional depth.
What it feels like
The core experience centers on navigating grief and loss through a color-drained world that gradually regains vibrancy, evoking wistful sadness and quiet beauty in decline. The game's lack of dialogue, visual storytelling, and environmental design invite unhurried reflection on themes of emotional recovery and personal transformation. Despite depicting sorrow, the narrative arc is one of earned optimism—the protagonist's dress gains colors and abilities, symbolizing gradual healing and renewal.
What it's about
Grief and loss are the explicit subject—the protagonist's journey through sorrow directly manifests in her visual transformation and the world's visual state. The passage from emotional darkness to self-knowledge and healing reflects a deeper maturation through a painful experience. The dress as ability-granting garment and visual manifestation connects self-definition and identity recovery to the emotional journey.
How it plays
Light platforming challenges are present and evolve as the protagonist gains dress-based movement abilities, though they remain secondary to narrative and atmosphere. Puzzles are woven into the environment itself, requiring observation and interaction with the world rather than abstract logic.
How it looks and sounds
Hand-painted watercolor art is the defining visual characteristic, celebrated by critics and players as a core element of the artistic vision. The soft, translucent watercolor aesthetic—with pigment bleeding and washes—is the signature visual style throughout. Visible brushwork and hand-painted textures evoke traditional media and artistic craft throughout.
How it's structured
Designed exclusively as a solo experience with no multiplayer component. Every space is deliberately designed and authored, with no procedural generation—the world is carefully composed art. A complete, satisfying experience achievable in 2–3 hours, designed as a contained artistic statement rather than a sprawling adventure.
Kindred games
Shares Contemplative, Handcrafted World, Melancholic, Serene.
Both lean into Contemplative, Single-Player, Handcrafted World, Melancholic.
Shares Contemplative, Grief & Loss, Hand-Drawn 2D, Melancholic.
Both lean into Single-Player, Contemplative, Grief & Loss, Hand-Drawn 2D.
Shares Hand-Drawn 2D, Handcrafted World, Painterly, Contemplative.
Both lean into Hand-Drawn 2D, Single-Player, Handcrafted World, Painterly.
Closest hidden gems
A lesser-known kindred — Hand-Drawn 2D, Grief & Loss, Melancholic, Handcrafted World. 95% positive across 4,380 Steam reviews.
Both lean into Single-Player, Hand-Drawn 2D, Grief & Loss, Melancholic.
A lesser-known kindred — Grief & Loss, Melancholic, Hand-Drawn 2D, Contemplative. 87% positive across 4,685 Steam reviews.
Both lean into Single-Player, Grief & Loss, Melancholic, Hand-Drawn 2D.
A lesser-known kindred — Handcrafted World, Hand-Drawn 2D, Contemplative, Platforming. 87% positive across 4,351 Steam reviews.
Both lean into Single-Player, Handcrafted World, Hand-Drawn 2D, Contemplative.