I remember playing games such as Dragon’s Lair, believing I was playing an actual cartoon. But let’s be real: it’s not memorable for the gameplay. Point and click adventures are among the best genres to showcase some gorgeous art, and The Night Is Grey is one such title.
Immediately, the character illustration and animation resonated with me. They’re all hand-drawn using 12-frame animations, and they look ace. Likewise, the backgrounds and a few close-ups, including QTEs, are digitally painted and accompanied by a decent score that sets the tone.
Jeitaro
But enough about the paintwork – what’s under The Night Is Grey’s hood?!
As Graham, we find ourselves in a forest occupied by wolves. These aren’t the Disney type – they’ll eat your face off. So, with only one direction to go, we stumble upon a child left alone in a house and promptly befriend her and Mr Shotgun.
Without covering everything in The Night Is Grey demo, you need to get the child, Hannah (along with Storky, her stuffed animal) to safety, returning her to her estranged grandparents on the other side of the forest. We don’t see that other side yet; it’s a demo.
The Night Is Grey isn’t a talkie as all dialogue is to be read and not acted out. That’s fine, as you can create whatever tone of voice you think Graham has. He’s got low self-esteem and put himself down a little too much for my liking (it’s a demo), but he’s likeable and relatable too.
It’s a relatively short experience, perhaps extended by the speed Graham moves – it’s pretty sluggish. Sure, you don’t play a point and click to speed run (do you?!), but it was mildly annoying when clicking on an object and then wanting to change my mind, but having to watch him walk to the other side of the screen. It’s seconds. I’m being picky.
Overall, the impression is an excellent one, and I encourage you to download Whalestork Interactive’s demo as soon as you can. Especially before the Big Adventure Event, as you’ll be preoccupied with that. At the very least, make sure to wishlist it, as getting to the end of the demo and witnessing the excellent cliffhanger will have you stoked for its release.
