For Fans of Artsy Adventure Games - Grayland Review

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Grayland is a story driven, side-scrolling adventure game with a cool, shadowy aesthetic reminiscent of titles like Limbo and Feist. The entire world is monochromatic with almost everything presented in black, white, and varying shades of gray. The sole sources of color are glowing hazards and health orbs that are scattered throughout the land. You play as a small, blue-tinged bird, and you find your birdself in the middle of a war between human and unknown, alien forces. This war has scorched the earth and has turned the very soil (and some of the wildlife) radioactive.

You fly and fight your way through the radiation-choked land in an attempt to save your bird-wife and baby birdlings. On this trek, you’ll fly inside of mines and ruins; tackle some environment-based puzzles; eliminate radioactive hotspots (by pooping on them...much like Triumph the Insult Comic Dog); avoid drones, humans, and cats that are hunting you; and ultimately take on various bosses.

Intrigue is a word that bubbles up in my brain when I consider this game, as the sense of mystery surrounding Grayland definitely drew me in. So much so that, at the outset, I was reminded of ONE OF MY FAVORITE GAMES OF ALL TIME™, Out of This World/Another World. Like that classic, you're never given any direct narrative in Grayland, and no words are ever spoken. You're simply left to fill in the blanks with your little bird brain. There are also one or two moments that strike a poignant, emotional chord which I found to be rather impressive given the lack of text and ordinary visual cues—again much like Out of This World.

Having been designed with portability in mind, Grayland is easy to pick up and dip in and out of. The majority of the game sees you steering your bird through the game’s sixteen levels, dodging danger, and solving the occasional puzzle in your quest to find the end of the level. Sad to say, the level design is rudimentary, as you’re mostly flying along a single flight path from right to left with only the occasional dips and dives up and down. This is the sort of game that would benefit from expansive levels, branching paths, and hidden secrets, but instead you’re flitting along on a linear path with little-to-no independence. The aforementioned puzzles will do little to tax your brain, and once you’ve got the enemy attack and vision patterns down you won’t have any trouble with them either.

The previously mentioned radioactive hazards are also an ever-present danger, as they slowly drain your health when you get close. Most of these can be eliminated by dispensing some droppings on them, but opening your birdy bowels also depletes your health, so it’s important to be accurate to avoid draining your health rather expeditiously. Destroying hazards and enemies scatters colored orbs into the air which can be collected to replenish your health. It struck me as an odd design choice that these health refills were just blue circles that pop into the air and not something more nature-based or organic in makeup. But they are plentiful at least, so as long as you’re not too trigger happy with your crap barrages you shouldn’t have any issues with the ol’ health bar.

As you might expect, the controls in Grayland are a very basic, touch-based affair. You slide your finger on the left side of the screen to guide your avian pal and tap the right side of the screen to unleash bowel bombardments. While the physics feel spot on, the touch controls are finicky in tight spots, especially when confronted with timing-based puzzles and hazards, where quick, precise movements are necessary. One chapter also has you controlling another character that can use a shield, which is controlled by holding your finger on the right side of the screen rather than tapping. It is a fairly limited repertoire, but it’s all that’s really required here.

The music is a source of both contempt and enchantment in Grayland. There’s literally one song that plays on repeat throughout the entire game, which would typically be a terrible choice. The thing is, that sole track here is so damn touching—a simple piano melody that tapped directly into my musical-lovin’ soul. A greater variety of music would have undoubtedly been a boon in the grand scheme of things, even if it was just minor changes to the composition that adjusted to changing scenery, mood shifts, etc. But I was surprised by how much the single track worked for me this once.

There's a good amount to enjoy in Grayland, particularly its presentation and its absorbing atmosphere. When those layers are peeled back though, it’s an experience that’s a bit shallow. I played through the entire campaign in about two hours, and there’s little reason for me to go back to play again. I do hope it's successful enough for developer 1DER Entertainment to produce an adventure in a similar style that has more meat on its bones, because the building blocks of a great title are in place here. Though it’s a bit light on content, I wouldn’t turn anyone away from playing Grayland; there are far worse ways to spend a couple hours of your time.

SCORE: 3 STARS OUT OF 5

PLAY IF YOU LIKE:

• Feist. Play Grayland if you are into artsy, esoteric puzzle games like the one made by Bits & Beasts.

• Out of This World. Grayland won’t be remembered as fondly as Eric Chahi’s classic title, but it definitely strikes the same emotional and narrative chords at times...and there’s something to be said for that.

💬 Have you played Grayland? Let us know what you think of it in the comments! Even if you haven't played it, leave a comment sharing your thoughts on your favorite artsy, narrative based games!

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