GAME REVIEW – The Night Is Grey (PC)

By Marty Mulrooney

The Night Is Grey is a 2D point-and-click adventure game developed by Whalestork Interactive, a five-person team based in Portugal. As the first game developed by the studio, it’s nothing if not ambitious; featuring hand-drawn characters animated at 12 frames per second (the same framerate as the original Broken Sword), with over 50 digitally painted, fully animated panoramic backgrounds, this is an indie game that immediately stands out from the crowd with its striking visual presentation.

Despite taking direct inspiration from the classically animated adventure games of the ’90s (such as The Curse of Monkey Island and the aforementioned Broken Sword), The Night Is Grey tells a much darker tale in every sense of the word. As the game begins in the dead of night, the main character is shown running through the woods to escape a vicious pack of wolves.

Graham isn’t a happy-go-lucky hero by any stretch of the imagination; he’s down on his luck and filled with an unhealthy dose of self-loathing. As he heads deeper into the woods, he comes across a gloomy cabin; inside, a young girl called Hannah points a heavy gun at the open doorway – with the help of a chair – and refuses to let him come any closer.

It’s too dark for either of them to make out the other properly; Hannah is afraid Graham is a monster, and he’s worried she’ll shoot him, so he must fix the power generator and turn the lights back on before their adventure can begin in earnest. The initial inventory-based puzzles double down on the game’s traditional roots, and the controls – right-click to examine, left-click to interact, spacebar to reveal all hotspots – are familiar and intuitive (even when the puzzles aren’t). This is a linear adventure with just the right amount of direction.

There is no voice acting in The Night Is Grey – and very few NPCs – but the dialogue between Graham and Hannah is excellent from the outset… just not in quite the way you’d expect. Games such as The Last of Us and God of War have fully embraced their ‘dad simulator’ moniker, but Whalestork cleverly subverts player expectations. Graham agrees to help Hannah find her missing mother (and failing that, take her to her grandparent’s house), but he never appears comfortable with what he’s doing. If anything, he’s downright ill at ease.

It’s this uneasy dynamic between the two main characters that makes The Night Is Grey so compelling. You desperately want Graham to be a good guy – and he seems to be trying, at least – but you’re never 100% sure he is. Hannah is a believable 8-year-old girl, adorable and annoying in equal measure. Like many children her age, she likes to push her luck… and the way Graham responds to this often leaves much to be desired.

To be clear, Graham’s problems seem to have started long before he crashed through the woods into Hannah’s life. The game is split into chapters, and each chapter begins with a quote that appears to be Graham’s mother being verbally abusive to him. He has a lot of emotional baggage, and every time he polishes his glasses or lets out a heavy sigh you can’t help but wonder if he’s cut out for what lies ahead. He has little confidence in himself and inspires even less.

This is a dark adventure (there’s that word again), both visually and in tone, despite occasional moments of levity. As Graham explores a variety of empty and abandoned locations he will uncover stories from the past that imbue the world with a deep sense of sadness. With difficult topics such as rape strongly hinted at, this is most certainly not a game for children or the faint of heart. Life can be incredibly unfair, and this sentiment is expressed in every document Graham reads and every new area he uncovers.

The puzzles are at their best when they fit naturally into the world, which most of them do. However, there are a few instances where video game logic takes over, and this is where the gameplay falters. There is a real sense of urgency to Graham and Hannah’s journey – coupled with a palpable sense of dread – that grinds to a halt at certain key moments. The mines are the worst offender: mazes in adventure games are seldom fun, but they’re even less so when you’re relying on a leaking oil lantern to stay alive.

Thankfully, the game’s weaker moments are worth enduring (even if it means peeking at a walkthrough); while the subject matter is far too dark to call the experience ‘fun’, it’s certainly compelling. Graham is an oddity who in many ways seems more vulnerable than the little girl he’s supposed to be helping. I cannot discuss the specifics as it would lead to major spoilers, but the final twist is a gut punch that will undoubtedly prove divisive. The fractured, morally murky denouement has been on my mind ever since.

The Night Is Grey is a beautifully drawn adventure with a delightfully ugly underbelly. The widescreen presentation lends it cinematic flair, while the delicate original soundtrack – composed and performed by Bruno Brôa – adds genuine emotion to each scene, more than making up for the lack of voice acting. Some will feel short-changed by the ending, but I was impressed with how it all came together (even as everything was falling apart). For those willing to face the monsters in the woods, this is an adventure that won’t soon be forgotten.

8 OUT OF 10