History VideoGame / Gris

* MakeMeWannaShout: The last power to be unlocked is the ability to sing.

* BigDamnHeroes: At the end of the water sequence, Gris is chased by the bird-turned-eel. When it is just about to swallow her, the turtle appears and saves her.

* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Gris can stay underwater indefinitely.

* TooUpsetToCreate: The heroine starts out so broken by grief that she cannot produce anything but weak gasping sounds [[ExpositoryGameplayLimitation when the player presses the button labeled as "Sing"]]. Her ability to sing comes back later in the game, [[spoiler:after she overcomes her initial [[FiveStagesOfGrief depression and anger]], and singing then helps her [[CopeByCreating work through her grief]]]].

* AnimalMotifs:
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: The B

** The red level [[spoiler:represents Anger. The world becomes a blood-red desert plagued by [[GustyGlade constant sandstorms]], and if Gris doesn't get to shelter in time, she'll be blown back by a distance. This represents Gris' own anger towards her mother's death and how it makes her irrational. Fittingly, the level is where Gris gains the "[[GroundPound Block]]" ability, and if used to destroy various statues scattered acrosss the level, the player gets the achievement titled "Anger". The Block ability also makes Gris resistant to the sandstorms, referring to the process of overcoming one's anger.]]

** The blue level [[spoiler:represents Depression. Gris ends up traveling to the underwater caverns where it gets darker the further down she swims. To get to the deepest, darkest parts of the level, she has to be guided by a giant turtle. Then she is attacked by the Darkness, which takes form here as a giant black eel that tries to eat her during her lowest emotional point. Towards the end of the level, it nearly succeeds, [[BigDamnHeroes only for Gris to be saved by the turtle she encountered earlier]]. Fittingly, the achievement for this level is "Depression", gained by straying from the turtle and entering a secret passageway that contains a lone statue of Gris' mother in a falling pose]]

* FiveStagesOfGrief: Each area of the game corresponds to a particular stage of grief: [[spoiler:the initial grey area is Denial, the Red area is Anger, Green forest is Bargaining, Blue underwater level is Depression, and the final sequence (including the Yellow area where Gris re-learns to sing) is Acceptance]].

* GreenThumb: When Gris sings, folowers around her begin to bloom.

* GustyGlade: The first part of the 2nd stage has dust storms that blow Gris back.

* CrystalLandscape: At one point there is a cave made of crystals.

See ''VideoGame/{{Journey}}'' for a game with similar mechanics and ''VideoGame/EternallyUs'' for one with similar central theme and plot structure, as well as ''VideoGame/AriseASimpleStory'' for another [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative Spanish-made heartstring-tugging game with simple mechanics and no dialogue]].

* MonochromeToColor: [[spoiler:Gaining new powers also adds a bit of color to Gris' plain, initially grey dress, and in turn, allows her to bring the primary colors back to the world.]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: In fact, it's the only element of Gris's character design that isn't a shade of gray.

* WorldHealingWave: When Gris finally sings, [[spoiler: it has the effect of rejuvenating and restoring colors to everything around her, but only in a small radius. And then in the finale, when Gris's mother joins her in her final song, their duet fully restores everything about the world, from the red desert of Anger being given more color, to the broken buildings of Bargaining being given transparent replacement fixtures]].

* WorldHealingWave: When Gris finally sings, [[spoiler: it has the effect of rejuvenating and restoring colors to everything around her]].

* {{Expy}}: The developers have acknowledged that the denizens of the polygon forest are based on [[Anime/PrincessMononoke Kodama]] and [[Anime/MyNeighborTotoro Soot]] [[Anime/SpiritedAway Sprites]].

* WhamLine: Impressively, ''GRIS'' manages to have one, despite being a game with no words. In the climax, just when [[spoiler:a desperately singing Gris has been swallowed by the Darkness, a second voice -- her mother -- answers her.]]

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The entire game is this until [[spoiler:Gris begins to gain various abilities that allow her to navigate the world]].

* MovingBeyondBereavement: Uses a world of dense symbolism to represent a woman's process of grieving her deceased mother.
* NotTooDeadToSaveTheDay: In the finale, [[spoiler: As Gris is finally able to restore the statue that represents her lost mother, the darkness representing her grief begins to swallow both of them. Just as it consumes Gris, the statue itself begins to sing, dispelling the darkness and allowing her to continue.]]

* TearsFromAStone: The climax features the reassembled statue [[spoiler:representing Gris's mother]] weeping.

* {{Expy}}: The developers have acknowledged that the denizens of the polygon forest are based on [[Anime/PrincessMononoke Kodoma]] and [[Anime/MyNeighborTotoro Soot]] [[Anime/SpiritedAway Sprites]].

* NoNameGiven: Technically, the protagonist has no name. Fans (and likewise this page) refer to her as Gris. At the very least, it's quicker to say than "the protagonist" and feels much more warm and personal.

See ''VideoGame/{{Journey}}'' for a game with similar mechanics and ''VideoGame/EternallyUs'' for one with similar central theme and plot structure.

* UnderTheSea: The 4th stage is generally water-thamed, and a large part of it is spent by swimming underwater.

** The rainy forest you pass through after restoring the color blue is, in fact the same area you visited after unlocking green - just with more platforms visible and accessible by double-jumping.

* RemixedLevel: Between each stage, you return to the same area with some differences each time. See HubLevel.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The game begins with Gris singing in the hand of the statue. The statue starts falling apart, and her voice is gone. In the final sequence, [[spoiler:she had already learned to sing, her path ends in the hand of the fallen apart statue. The beginning of the game hints that singing will restore the statue.]]