A thought provoking, self-inspection indie title from Sometimes You and Provodnik Games, Dull Grey is less an interactive video game and more of a digital “Choose Your Own Adventure” story.
As Kir, an adolescent on the cusp of adulthood, the story unfolds as he walks the path of the Progress-Program. The entirety of the game is surprisingly short, but searingly poignant as the story reflects an eerily similar story to our own often boring lives.
Drawing on Soviet era graphics from the 1920’s, the simplistic and brutal art echoes the binary nature of the storyline. Black and white are used in perfect contrast to provide a dull grey outlook on the choices ahead.
With only 4 buttons used throughout the entire game, that includes adjusting the settings, the beautifully simple nature reinforces the nature of the game. Even the audio is perfectly simplified to engage the player and reinforce the duality of the situation in front of them. Deep and melancholic, the audio helps to set the tone and setting within a dystopian, hopeless world with limited choices.
Dull Grey is certainly not a video game for those looking for anything more than a storyline and dialogue interaction. It almost feels as though the game was created over a weekend during a “hackathon” competition for game developers.
The graphics, whilst engaging, certainly do not scale for consoles. Often leaving jagged, pixelated edges. This only adds to this reviewers’ thoughts that this title was developed for the mobile device platform and ported to attempt to obtain more sales.
A worthy winner of a XYZZY Award in 2019, Dull Grey is a fantastic piece of interactive fiction, but lacks any real interaction through a distinct lack of gameplay.
Final Verdict
+ Simplistic
+ Thought provoking
– No actual gameplay
– Far too short
Score: 5/10
Keg for One More Game
5 – Average – This game doesn’t hit it out of the ball park but it does provide a solid experience, with a few issues here and there. As an average game, fans of the genre or series may get more enjoyment out of it, but it’s worth a try for the average gamer, at a discount price.
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Dull Grey was reviewed on a Xbox Series X and is available on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
The publisher kindly provided review code for this title. All thoughts on this game are ours and ours alone.