Gray Skies, Dark Waters
- June 9, 2017
- Green Willow Games, LLC
Get on Steam"Gray Skies, Dark Waters" is a first-person adventure game set in a moody, atmospheric world. Players uncover a mystery while exploring a seemingly abandoned town and sailing the surrounding waters. The game features puzzle-solving, sailing mechanics, and a focus on narrative and exploration.
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Reviews
- The game features a beautifully crafted story that explores themes of loss and family dynamics, resonating deeply with players.
- The hand-drawn 2D art style and atmospheric music create an immersive and melancholic experience that enhances the narrative.
- Dialogue choices significantly impact the story, providing replay value and allowing players to shape the outcome based on their decisions.
- The 3D character models are poorly integrated with the stunning 2D backgrounds, leading to a jarring visual experience.
- Voice acting quality is inconsistent, with some recordings suffering from echo and varying sound levels, detracting from the overall immersion.
- The gameplay can feel slow and lacks traditional puzzles, which may not appeal to players looking for more interactive challenges.
- story63 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is widely praised for its depth, emotional resonance, and innovative mechanics that allow player choices to shape the narrative. Set in a fictional small town, it explores themes of loss and coping, blending realism with fantastical elements, though some players noted a desire for more backstory and character development. While the gameplay is primarily focused on dialogue and atmosphere rather than traditional puzzles, the overall experience is considered rewarding for those who appreciate story-driven games.
“This was a moving story, and the 'decide what is true' aspect is innovative.”
“The game’s plot isn’t some big bombastic adventure; it’s a character piece all about coping with loss and trying to move on with life.”
“This is a well-fleshed out story game that presents a thoughtful, multi-dimensional picture of loss through the eyes of a family.”
“Very slow gameplay and stereotypical, vanilla (aka boring) narrative despite choices and storyline.”
“The story is so short that there is no room for growth or change; they stay at the same place and never change.”
“I think that's because the game is mostly filler for the first 75%, a series of fetch quests that give out information in tiny, tiny chunks.”
- music17 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with a dark-folk influence that complements the melancholy tone of the visuals and narrative. Players appreciate the cohesive blend of beautiful melodies and vocals, particularly highlighting a standout ending song that leaves a lasting impression. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant strength, contributing to an immersive experience that encourages players to explore the accompanying soundtrack further.
“The game’s environmental art and soundtrack are quite good, really setting the game’s melancholy tone.”
“The music is likewise very good, adding a dark-folk tinge to the environment.”
“Lastly, the music in the game is lovely with strings and vocals mixing on lovely occasions throughout the title.”
“It does a good job with anything relating to story, the hand-drawn backgrounds, and soundtrack, but not so well with having different quality of sound for their voice work and having their character models look like they are from and belong in that world.”
“The music is also on the right track, and though not completely polished, it sets the mood well enough.”
“I, and I’m sure others, will wait eagerly for the soundtrack DLC to release on July 7th.”
- graphics13 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The game's graphics feature a charming, watercolor-inspired art style that complements its engaging story and music, creating a cohesive and immersive experience. While the hand-drawn backgrounds are praised for their beauty, some players find the character designs and animations lacking, which may detract from the overall visual appeal. Despite these shortcomings, the unique art style and emotional depth of the narrative make it a worthwhile experience for fans of indie games.
“The artwork is like watercolors with good music and okay voice acting.”
“The music, art style, and story are very cohesive, and build a very lovely world.”
“The art style is striking enough to feel unique, and the developers have spent enough time on each scene to make them all feel fantastic.”
“I think it's unfortunately the graphics that let the game down.”
“I was initially put off by the visuals, but if you stick with it the plot and characters shine through.”
“Buy it if you want a short, interactive mystery, and you're willing to overlook graphics for character, emotion, and story.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its deep and touching story, which fosters strong emotional connections with the characters, particularly the main protagonist. Players appreciate the exploration of serious themes and the emotional journey it presents, enhanced by beautiful art and voice acting. Overall, the narrative's originality and emotional depth are highlighted as standout features that resonate with players.
“It’s hard, and it really surprised me how much I emotionally connected with the main character and how angry I was at Robert.”
“The story actually was quite good, deeper, and touching on more serious and important things than I expected.”
“This is a slow-paced, emotional journey through the day of a young woman with some heavy feelings and possibilities to come to grips with.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its evocative and story-driven design, featuring a blend of bleak yet hopeful elements reminiscent of titles like "Life is Strange" and "Kentucky Route Zero." Players appreciate the focus on dialogue and narrative over traditional gameplay mechanics, creating a unique and immersive experience characterized by its elegiac beauty and strong emotional resonance.
“Overall, with its writing and atmosphere, gray skies and dark water have an elegiac beauty to them.”
“This game tries to create an atmosphere similar to games like Life is Strange or Kentucky Route Zero, a bleak but indie-hopeful kind of vibe.”
“It is very story-driven, with not much pointing and clicking and no classic puzzles, just atmosphere, story, and decisions.”
- gameplay6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily focused on dialogue choices and exploration, with minimal fetch quests, creating a strong emphasis on atmosphere and narrative. However, some players find the pacing slow and the narrative somewhat clichéd, suggesting that while the game can deliver a fulfilling experience, it may not appeal to everyone due to its static environments and limited movement. Overall, it highlights the importance of a compelling story in indie games, even if the gameplay mechanics are not groundbreaking.
“I like the mechanics that drive this game forward with very few fetch quests, instead concentrating heavily on dialogue and atmosphere.”
“This game just proves that you do not need state-of-the-art gameplay or realistic graphics to make a great game; as long as you have the right story to go along with it, it can deliver a fulfilling experience.”
“Very slow gameplay and a stereotypical, vanilla (aka boring) narrative despite choices and storyline.”
“The gameplay is mainly dialogue choices and exploration.”
“Nothing but the character in the game moves; everything else is just still in a painting, so I'd suggest watching gameplay for a couple of minutes before picking it up.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted for its ability to seamlessly blend with more serious themes, creating a poignant contrast that reflects the complexities of human emotions, particularly in the context of grief. This interplay between levity and gravity prompts players to reconsider the balance between joy and sorrow in their own experiences.
“The dialogue shifts between humor and gravity quite freely.”
“The conflict between the environment and the humor really parallels my experience with grief - everyone tries to act like things are normal, but when levity enters into that equation, it throws everything off and makes us question how we're supposed to balance our joy and our sorrow.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers solid replayability due to its multiple endings and interactive choices, allowing players to explore different dialogue and story paths. However, its relatively short duration of around two hours means that while there are variations to experience, the core content and scenery remain largely unchanged.
“With different endings depending on how you interact, it has solid replay value, and you get to decide how you'd like the story to go.”
“While a somewhat short ~2 hours, it has some replay value in trying other dialogue paths and exploring different story paths; however, the core experience and scenery, as well as overall content, don't change.”
“While a somewhat short ~2 hours, it has some replay value in trying other dialogue paths, but the core experience and scenery, as well as overall content, doesn't change.”
“The game offers different endings depending on your interactions, which gives it solid replay value, allowing you to decide how you'd like the story to unfold.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with some users noting inconsistencies in voice acting quality, although certain performances, like Robert's, were well-received.
