By Theresa Afful

“If you don’t behave, the wolves will come at night. They will take you away as you scream. Do you hear me, you spoiled little brat?” 

With that horrific quote spoken to a child, The Night is Grey begins its riveting story. It’s a narrative-rich indie game that weaves who makers craft rich character development. While the game was released some time ago by Whalestork Interactive, this small game invites me to connect with its characters on a deep level. The release date doesn’t matter. The moving content does.

The Night is Grey follows Graham, (a middle-aged white man with a beard who looks like an older Harry Potter) who meets a little girl named Hannah in the woods and aims to help the girl reach her grandparents. To escape the woods, Graham has to solve all these puzzles that I had to help with. These puzzles reveal both the past of the woods and Graham’s as well.

The game starts with Graham’s only way out of the woods getting blocked by wolves. On his way to find another way back home, he hears the sound of a twig snapping and decides to follow it. It leads him directly to a cabin. When Graham enters, he is threatened by a shadowy figure who threatens him with a “Gun.” The shadowy figure says that if he manages to turn on the lights using the generator, {somebody} will spare his life. Graham managed to turn on the generator and returned to the cabin to find out it was a little girl and the supposed gun was just a broom. 

The little girl says that her name is Hannah. She had short brown hair, freckles, and a pink nightgown. She is in the cabin alone because she is waiting for her mom to turn on the generator. She got worried and tried looking for her but was scared and ran back to hide in the cabin. Graham finds Hannah her favorite toy Storky, (a slightly ripped toy stork  that had been taken away from her by her mother after she misbehaved) promises to get her to her grandparents in the village safely and return to the forest to look for her mother. In the forest Graham sees things left behind from past mine works that remind him of all the trauma that he had faced in his youth as his dad used to work in the mines.  

The storytelling in this game is quite remarkable. It depicts abuse and how it affects children all the way through their adulthood. Graham is one of the victims of abuse as he is abused in his youth by his mother. In between chapters, some messages appear; they are probably what his mother said to him. One of the scarier things was, “If you don’t behave, the wolves will come at night. They will take you away as you scream. Do you hear me, you spoiled little brat?” 

At first, I was confused, but as I kept playing and seeing more quotes and the things Graham said about his past and his mother, it made sense. In Chapter 4, he points out how his brother used to steal his mother’s cigarettes and blame it on him. But his mother wouldn’t have it, and she punishes both of them by putting the cigarettes on their skin. The kind of abuse seems to have messed up Graham, as throughout the game, he is seen talking to wolves, and these wolves criticize him as his mother did and taunt him.

Throughout the game, whenever he is talking to himself, it is always in a negative manner, which the abuse from his mother might have caused. Graham also talks about how he didn’t like his father as he wasn’t around much and died in a mine; the death of his father took a toll on his mother as she started becoming more abusive towards Graham as he bore a resemblance to his father, who abandoned them. Graham’s mother said, “Are you afraid of the dark? I’ll show you darkness. Look in the mirror. You have your father’s eyes. His dark seed lives through you. I see it every day. I wish I’d never had you.” 

How could this terrible comment not impact Graham? During his talk with the wolves Graham is asked multiple questions and the players are given three different choices.  When you choose the wrong answer the wolves get closer and make negative comments such as calling him an idiot, and reminding him of “last time” which might connect to the abuse his mother inflicted on him whenever he got anything wrong. 

(Spoiler alert) Hanah’s mother, Ava, was sexually assaulted by the PelletIier’s son (The Pelletiers were rich mine-owners who were to blame for the death of multiple miners – including Graham’s father). Instead of her family having her back and taking action, they took an apology offer from the family, which was a nice cabin in the woods where she could raise her daughter. This betrayal significantly affects Ava as she takes it out on her parents since she sees them as people who let her down. 

The artwork in The Night is Grey is a testament to the studio’s dedication. Since this is the studio’s first game, it features hand-drawn and animated visuals, showcasing the team’s hard work and talent. Their decision to handle everything themselves is truly impressive and deserves appreciation. The studio also did a fantastic job with the music, creating these feelings of melancholy, fear, and peace. The music matched the game and the scenes; I wouldn’t want it any other way. The most affecting sound was at the beach, the waves hitting the shore. It was one of the most peaceful sounds ever. 

I finished the game within a week and am genuinely blown away by such great storytelling. Still, I’m not a big fan of puzzles generally, and The Night Is Grey proved me right as I was stuck on them for hours. I resorted to the help of hints and the game walkthroughs on YouTube. 

Even though the controls are simple, the most confounding thing about the game is that it’s not specific on what you need to do to solve the puzzles.  For example, in Chapter 4, I needed to get a piece of a puzzle out of the guitar, and I clicked and clicked, but it didn’t work. I searched for information on how to do it online, and they weren’t specific. All they said was to click. I was stuck in that puzzle until I finally right clicked, and it worked. This could’ve been resolved smoothly if the game makers were more specific about the controls. 

Besides the puzzles stymying me and what I saw as mysterious controls, the ending confused me as I didn’t see Graham as someone who would obsess over someone, given how he acted during the entire game. At the end, something happened that came out of left field for me. I’m all for surprises, but this didn’t feel natural to me.

Throughout, the game put me through an emotional dollar coaster. I was scared, confused or sad all while playing it. I haven’t played many puzzle games so far, but from what I’ve played, this game is very much worth trying.

Bronx resident and NYVGCC intern Theresa Afful is finishing second year of high school after graduating Mott Hall III middle school.

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