The Nigh is Grey and full of wolves....

 The Night is Grey is a slow burn, hand drawn, indie point and click adventure game blended with dark undertones of childhood trauma and PTSD and overcoming those traumas through finding yourself through caring for another. TNIG was developed by Whalestork games, releasing on steam in January 2024, it has a run time of about 3-6 hours and has a price tag of $15.99. 

I had the absolute pleasure of playing TNIG over the course of 2 days and I enjoyed every single hand animated moment. I would be remiss if I did not start this review with the sound design and visuals. Whalestork games meticulously crafted environments with a precision that I have not seen in quite some time. I was enraptured with just how breathtaking the backgrounds were and how well the characters overlaid into it. The sound design on the other hand, exceeded well beyond my expectations, the swells of beautifully composed music and alluring visuals transported me on the journey with Graham and Hannah as they quested for her grandmother's house in the next village. The foley sounds (walking, trees rustling, fire crackling just to name a few) really added additional depth to this already well produced game. Along with the breathtaking visuals were the well crafted protagonists and side characters. Graham, our playable protagonist, was in my opinion hardened from his years of abuse into a semi cynical man who dips his hand into the dark humor bucket of jokes in order to cope with his past and relate to his present. Visually Graham seems older, wrinkles and glasses on his face, that he will remove and clean in moments where he is none too comfortable. He walks with shoulders slumped forward with the posture of a man who has given up and is merely existing. Hannah on the other hand, is draped in a pink night dress, with ginger brown hair and freckles, she carries herself with all the sas and spunk expected in an 8 year old she walks with her shoulders back and head towards the stars, the opposite of her counterpart. The side and secondary characters were crafted visually and story wise with the same care and craftsmanship as our primary duo. This is something I feel is really rare in most gaming spaces, I have only seen this done a few times, where every character no matter how big or small felt like an integral part of not just the story, but the game as well. 

The story itself dealt with many dark themes that were not outwardly pronounced, it was up to you as the player to interpret and process them. When I played TNIG, I watched the story unfold of a man with years of unprocessed childhood psychological and verbal abuse from his mother, wrestling with his traumas through the care, acceptance and emotional connection with someone other than himself. He ran away from the wolves that hunted him through the game, only to come face to face with the ravenous evil that was his past home life, all while ensuring safe passage of his charge. Hannah. The story was so well written it left me with fits of laughter, tears of heartbreak and my jaw on the floor when I reached the end of the game. Graham's sidebar comments were really the highlight of my playthrough from a dialogue perspective and there were many times he had me laughing so hard, I almost fell from my chair. Hannah on the other hand, was superb, I really felt as if they captured the wonderment and childlike innocence of an 8 year old in her overall interactions with not just Graham, but her surroundings as well. Oh? You want to know what happens, well I will leave that up to you to experience, because I can't do justice to it by simply telling you.

There is a “how to play section" that was included in this game. I feel you are doing a disservice to yourself as a player by not taking the time to review it. There were many pointers in there that had I not taken a few moments, I don't think my experience with it would have been as well received. The controls are point and click and after the tutorial i felt confident in how to successfully control the gameplay. The puzzles were well put together and were spaced out far enough apart where I didn't feel I was doing 18 puzzles in a row with no payoff! Don't get me wrong there were times I got frustrated with not being able to figure it out, but most of the answers lie around you, the devs out the power to solve them in your hands, you just have to open your eyes and be willing to see them.

Scores are rated out of 10:

GAMEPLAY: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐8/10

SOUND DESIGN & VISUALS:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐10/10

CONTROLS:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 8/10

STORY:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 10/10

CHARACTER DESIGN:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐8/10

Overall Score: 9 / 10

Final Thoughts:

The Night is Grey is a truly a meticulously crafted and it shows, from the visuals, to the story to the dark layers underneath, TNIG left me with my jaw on the floor, heart in my stomach. I urge you, if you're reading this blog, pick up this game its truly an experience if you're a fan of horror themed point and click games with a deep and impactful story. I am so happy I picked this up, I am looking forward to my 2nd playthrough to uncover more layers of this tumultuous tale of a man, his demons and a little girl named Hannah.