GRIS (PC): Short but sweet

It's always a risky when a creator you know changes up things. Sometimes is great, and you get the jump from Evil Within to Evil Within 2. Sometimes it's not great, when you jump from The Black Album to Load. Creators are ultimately artists and it is certainly their prerogative to do things differently if they so chose. But in the realm of video games this can sometimes be a gamble.

So you can imagine my surprise when I started seeing screens and gifs from Devolver Digital for an upcoming artsy platformer. This is a company that produces silly and quirky games like BroForce and Enter the Gungeon. But a pretty looking indie platformer? That's not their normal wheelhouse. That being said I was hearing some very positive things about it, so with a free gap in my stream schedule to use, I took the plunge into.....

GRIS (PC)

As is with most indie games, there is no vocalized story. It's a journey you have to go on to interpret your own meanings. The game begins with young woman eponymously named Gris curled up in a cracked stone hand. She beings to sing but as she does, the hand beneath her beings to crack further and fall apart. Suddenly the girl loses her voice and cannot sing. She rushes to the edge to evade the cracking fingers, but the hand breaks apart and Gris falls down to a white and grey colorless void. From here, we take control.

This is going to be a tricky review for a number of reasons. Mainly because I don't want to provide any spoilers if you are looking to try this one for yourself, but also because there are not a lot of mechanics to this one, and there is a reasonably short playtime. This might actually be one of the shortest reviews I write come the end of this.

So when you assume control of the game all you can really do move left and right. When Gris (as I believe she is actually called) gets some speed to her step, you will be able to jump. Another button will show her lift her arms and tilt her head back, but it does not do anything.

As you walk through the stages you will come across roadblocks and gaps that you will need to find ways across. When you come across a gap you typically will be noted by a some chimes of sound and what appears to be a hollow constellation. As you continue, you will be herded to find what appears to be stars in the environment. These will connect on the gaps where you found the constellations, and will sometimes provide you a light bridge to cross, or a new ability to use, or fly up into the sky to a constellation that you will continue to build on as you play through the game.

There are only a small handful of mechanics to this game, but the game does use them in interesting way to create a slew of puzzles as you progress through the game. Some of them using more than one if not all of them, on top of some other mechanics that are introduced specifically for that section of the level. Some examples are some red butterflies that allow Gris to essentially launch into the sky, or a line that when you break through it flips and inverses the gravity. The game also uses some water mechanics as well.

For lack of a better explanation, the games elements are somewhat founded by the use of their colors. As Gris progresses through the game and you hit checkpoints, the game will explode with a splash of a specific color, and that will introduce a new environment mechanic. Such as when I hit blue, all of the water based mechanics and puzzles came into effect. Now that I am reflecting on it, the puzzle elements do have a symmetry to the color used for that specific portion and is very cleverly done so.

There is also a degree of inspirations to similar games of this type. There is a segment very early on that is basically a stylized variant of something that happens in PlayStation's indie game Journey, right down to it occurring in the colored level that would closest match Journey's setting. There are a couple of little nods like this, so I see them more as homages to inspirations rather than lifting an idea.

The visuals in Gris are simply stunning. The entirety of the game is drawn in a stylized hand painted water color. It has almost a comic line coloring to it, but as I streamed it was told it reminded one viewer of a movie called Fantastic Planet for its uses of silent and flowy animations. As I played through it, I couldn't help but feel a drawn comparison to the Cloud segment of the old anime Robot Carnival, another film drawn in that 70s animation style.

Its score is just absolutely gorgeous. Somber piano notes, strings, wind and occasionally some accompanying vocalization.  It blends with Gris' visual design seamlessly, and fits with the indie narrative that it is trying to tell. It's an incredibly chill and beautiful soundtrack, and kudos to the Berlinist for their work on it.

I could almost make the complaint that the its soundtrack is too chill. I had this same problem when I played Nier:Automata that when I was playing the early stages of the game, the slow pace of the progress combined with this chill (but beautiful) OST was quite literally putting me sleep. I'm trying to host an interesting stream and I am yawning and struggling to keep my eyes open. It is not a good look and not doing the game any favors.

The puzzles are well thought out and use a number of the mechanics in interesting ways. Although outside of a few of them, I wouldn't say that the game is very difficult. There were only a handful of moments where I got slightly hung up as I was trying to solve the game or gather a collectibles. The collectibles in the game are called "memories" and when you finish the game you can go back to previous levels to try to find the rest of them. If you do, you can unlock one more final scene to the story.

Doing this can add some length to the game because like I said earlier, it's not very long. I played the game on a stream and start to finish I had the main playthrough done in just about 3 hours or so. I am not sure if going back to find memories allows you to use the abilities you gained in the playthrough, but I feel at best this would only add maybe an hour or two of extra gameplay tops.

So this begs the question, is 16.99 worth three hours of entertainment to you? I managed to nab the game for 15.29 so I suppose I can say I got the same amount of experience that I would have if I spent that money at the movies. If that's the comparison I am using, that's probably fair because that means that Gris is not overstaying its welcome, and it wrapped up its story before its actual gameplay mechanics started to feel samey and derivative of its own experience.

On the other hand, I am also a gamer and it's hard for me to not feel short changed sometimes when I buy a new game and inside of a sitting or two I have done all that I can with it. Like I've said in other reviews, replayability is a big factor for me when it comes to buying a game, and it's hard to say that Gris really has any if I can do all the game has to offer in only 2 or 3 sittings.

With a game like this it's not easy for me to give a a proper recommendation because you sometimes have to look at these kinda indie games as the art pieces they are.  If you are the type of person who is okay parting with 20 bucks for 3 hours of an experience then I would absolutely say to try Gris. If on the other hand you are one who really needs a game to have some meat on it then you could probably get by watching a stream or let's play of it.

But that really is the best way to describe Gris at its whole: it is an experience.  A beautifully scored, very pretty experience. I'd think part of the fun of it is to play through and talk to others about what you think the game meant, and what you took from its visual cues. While I didn't have the same emotional connection I did in a game like Journey, I still enjoyed Gris very much. Whether you opt to buy or view it, it's absolutely worth your time.

The stick legs and arms were an odd choice, though. 

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (PS4) - Respecting One's Roots

The last game in this series that I reviewed actually wasn't a proper installment of the series. I reminisced a bit about my favorite one of the franchise which was the last proper one I really played. Sure, I played its remake on the DS, but I never really got around to playing a newer installment of these. Blue Dragon maybe, but it's not exactly a game in this series. 

But for those who know this game's history, you know that when a new one comes out it is pretty much a holiday. So much so that the game actually releases on a Friday in Japan so people don't skip work to play it. This game hasn't had an actual non-handheld console release since the PS2 era, so the fact that it got a shiny new PS4 edition meant this might not be one I want to miss. I speak, of course, of....

DRAGON QUEST XI:
ECHOES OF AN ELUSIVE AGE(PS4)

The tale begins in the Kingdom of Dundrasil. The King and Queen have had a child, and all the kings from the around the world of Erdrea have to come give their blessings and see the prince. But more so, the kings meet for a summit to discuss the mark that appears on the child's hand. This child is the Luminary, destined to fight the coming darkness that will threaten the world.

But this does not ease everyone who is present, the king of Heliodor has some concerns that the birth of the child will bring back the darkness that will destroy the world. During a heated discussion about the child, a horde of monsters descends on kingdom and begins to lay waste to it. The queen and the Princess of Heliodor escape with the child, fearing for his life. Monsters give pursuit, but the Queen literally sends the child downriver in a basket in the hopes that he will be spared.

He is found by a kindly old man from a simple village of Cobblestone. When we next see the child his has grown to maturity and is about to complete his ritual to adulthood by climbing a mountain oversee with his childhood friend Gemma. After defending her along the way up and reaching the summit, the sign on his hand glows with light. His adoptive mother tells him it's time to learn who he really is.  So with one final home cooked meal and the blessing of the village, the child leaves to see the King of Helidor, who might have some answers about who he is.

via Gfycat

I could really complain about the story a little bit here, but if I am going to be totally honest this is completely in step with Dragon Quest's usual wheelhouse. I don't think I can actually think of an example that I played in this franchise that didn't have some variant of the Hero of Light vs the Lord of Darkness. They did it in Dragon Quest 1-4, and in DQ Warriors. It's kinda samey and cliche, but that's what they do so it didn't bother me as much as it would if it came from another franchise.

And this is a long ass game, let me tell you. So even if I thought I knew how the story was going to unfold (and was sometimes right) there is no way I could possibly get all of the points right because there is just too much content to cover for it to be totally 100% cliche. You are in for quite the tale, so saddle up because we are going to be here for a minute.

So one of the first things that I noticed when I really started to sink my teeth into this game is the developers as Square Enix really did go to great lengths to show appreciation to the source material of its lineage. Right from the moment you start the game, as the cinematic starts to run you hear the first few notes of a boisterous trumpeted theme and you know EXACTLY what song is about to hit, and I can't lie from that moment I had started smirking.

As the beginning unfolded everything fit into the classic fantasy setting that I knew, none of this Final Fantasy bullshit where "oooh, we're a fantasy game, but were also totally cyber punk and we swords that are guns, and computers, but people still ride giant birds".  Nope. We are straight up fantasy classic JRPG and I love it.

Everything down the menus goes to recreate everything you remember about the series in an updated style. Same quest select song, same arbitrary save mechanic. Simple text box system with simple white font. Character design, familiar monster design, pretty much every little nuance the game should have that can reference the old entries of the series, it does.

via Gfycat

Likewise, when I say classic JRPG that too is a hard truth. Traditional turn based combat. Fight, Magic, Item, Defend. They do spice it up in a couple of different ways though. First is what I have been calling a "diorama mode" where you can move characters around the field on their turn and spin the camera around to change the perspective of the battle. Outside of looks, this does literally nothing to outcome of the combat. It is 100% completely vestigial.

The other, more practical way, is with a "pep-up" system. As you take turns, do actions, and take damage your character essentially charges pep. When they Pep-Up they glow with blue energy (thankfully without going super saiyan). While pepped you get an increase to all of your stats, as well as being able to expend your pep to do a powerful attack or skill. If multiple characters are also pepped you can do combo attacks in pairs, trios, or the whole party.

A good deal of inspiration from Dragon Quest IV is in this one too, because when your party wipes, they are immediately swapped out with your reserve party, and you can switch between them on the fly if necessary. It also borrows from the strategic auto-fight system so for going through the regular rank and file baddies you will tear through in the bulk of your journey so you can limit MP use, have someone stick to heal, or just mow through people without much input required.

via Gfycat

Although, compared to the old ones (and I don't know if this was the case in newer ones) Dragon Quest XI has a pretty vast and forgiving skill tree. Some characters have a couple of different branches they can follow, and you can replace sections of your skill slots for a nominal charge so you have some freedom to play around with it. A lot of them are somewhat based on what weapon focus you want, some trees will let you complete multiple while others will focus you down one. Like it said, it's not expensive to clear a block of it and re-allocate. So talk to people, research, and play around with it.

There is also a modest crafting mechanic which will allow you to get some rare equipment, and a lot of the character costumes if you get the right things. But more importantly than that you can use the crafting to improve on your equipment to boost them to +1, +2 , or +3. But you have to be careful you have the available points and skill to do it. Any reasonably finished equipment can be redone, but if you botch the job you keep the item, but don't get attempt any more improvements on it. If you do this on something you would only get one of, and that's it. You've blown your chance to fix it. The auto save is smart enough to not let you get away with closing to the game before you totally cock it up.

via Gfycat

Like I said at the top of the review and will probably continue to reference throughout it is Dragon Quest XI's appreciate to its source material. This is most primarily noted in its visual design. One of the first things you will notice is that despite the 3D world and rendered models the game uses, when a fight starts in the monsters introduction animations, their resting stands are crafted and positioned to be identical to how they looked back on the original NES.

Similarly, there are lots of little nuances to character designs of the NPCs and characters that you will be able to pick out through the Dragon Quest lineage that will ring familiar. Little wings on soldiers helmets, iconic tiara's on some characters, priests having similar color schemes and hats from the save points of old. Even the text and menus are designed in such a way that they resemble the old NES versions of the game. They did this in Dragon Quest Heroes as well.  The game is literally tripping over itself with self reference. And for the most part, this is a great thing. It's giving what people who play Dragon Quest want without just retreading old.

via Gfycat

Similarly, its sound design is also cultured to hearken back to the old ones. While the game's vast score features a multitude of new songs, there is a significant amount of old music that comes back as well, remastered in such a way that they sound new, without escaping the feeling of how they did before. For example, the opening save slot song when you first fire up the game is done with short string plucks, which modernize but emulate the chiptune sound it used to have. Playing through the game, in some iconic moments some of the famous battle and overworld themes from Dragon Quest III and IV would kick in, and hit me with nostalgia waves. It's expertly done.

Another audio thing that they did that I really liked, and again something they did in Dragon Quest Heroes is that when you travel around the world map to other countries, when you visits that area's towns, the people inside of them will have their text written in a slang or dialect for that region. There is a town that is very Japanese culture, and another that is frozen Nordic. When these characters have actual speaking lines, they speak in the accent indicative to that area. It makes the world feel more realistic, as opposed to the entire planet speaking common English. It's a little attention to detail that I really loved.

via Gfycat

There are a handful of things that I didn't like though. Some of them are backhands to things I gushed about. First and foremost is the character design. Yes, I know. I literally just gushed about it. But Akira Toriyama? I get it, you made Dragon Ball, I fucking get it. But Jesus Christ not everything you do has to callback to that, you friggen hack. The character models are beautifully designed and animated but every time I catch a whiff of DBZ I cringe.

There is one specific point late game where you meet a new race of people, and son of a bitch these things are literally Buu character meshed with Mr. Popo from Dragon Ball. It took me so out of things I almost stopped playing I was so mad. Thankfully, someone must have reeled him in a bit with the pep-ups, because thankfully there is no Super Saiyan hair to be seen in the game, although I'm sure he wanted to.

As mentioned before, the free moving battle camera is stupid. It does nothing to contribute to the combat. When I play long RPGs, I want to be able to dispatch baddies as quick as possible. So adding extra vestigial steps that don't really do anything don't help me with that. I couldn't turn that feature off fast enough.

But the other problem, and this is a big one, is with the auto commands. This worked in Dragon Quest IV very well because you had such a large cast and you still controlled your hero. It still works here, but now you can also set auto commands to your hero as well. And admittedly, this is pretty much what I did for the entirety of the game. I only really turned it off for boss fights, and 90% of the time I just let the auto fight run itself. This isn't like Final Fantasy XII where I still have control over the gambits and can make changes, the game is just auto playing. So I a lot of instances between auto walk and auto fight, I didn't even need to actually play long stretches of the game.

And really, the front half of the game feels almost insultingly easy. Using the auto battle I really hadn't hit very many significant snags in my progress, and to a point I didn't even waste my time getting new equipment either because it didn't appear to be slowing down my progress in any way. It wasn't until late into the first act or so where I started to come up on some boss fights that forced me to play a little more strategically.

via Gfycat

It's a pretty long game too. It's a JRPG so that makes sense, but apparently if you have played Dragon Quest VIII then you know that the game is not going to end when you think it does, and there is a significant amount of post game content to do as well as a multitude of side quests for you to do along the adventure as well. You are certainly going to get your money's worth of time out of this one.

Many of these complaints are nitpicks really. I could have easily turned off the auto battle, and length of the game is rarely a complaint as you'll want to stretch your dollar. Complaining about an artists  literally iconic and definitive style is really just of a quirk of mine. I didn't use the diorama camera so it basically was a non-issue. Take all that away and I basically was left with a long and satisfying JRPG that was built with the fans of the series in mind.

I played this during 2018 and while it certainly wasn't going to win my game of the year, it IS certainly an excellent addition of the series. Was it better than my favorite entry Dragon Quest IV? Probably not, but it is up there. It's certainly one of the better JRPGs I've played in recent memory because it knows exactly what it is and who it is catering to. If you come in expecting Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age to change up the genre's formula you might be left underwhelmed. But of the rest of you (and probably more accurately MOST of you) this one is going to scratch all the right itches. Highly recommended.

Ok, yes, fine. I didn't upgrade my armor so I could keep Jade in her bunny suit.
Shut up. Don't judge me.