A Dark Christmas Tale: A Gray Dawn Review

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (Steam)

I've reviewed a lot of horror games here at A-to-J Connections, and I was intrigued by Gray Dawn from the moment I saw it. It looked dark and foreboding, and it focused on a priest who seemed to be battling with the forces of evil directly. I knew it was mostly and adventure game though, so I figured it wouldn't be as jarring as a game that gives a priest a shotgun. (Looking at you Devil Inside Us!) It released a couple months ago on all major platforms, and we're going to be looking at the Nintendo Switch version today. This review may be a little late in arrival, but this game does have a distinctly Christmas setting, so I figure the timing is as good as it'll ever be. Without further ado, let's dive in and find out if this game was worth the wait!

Gray Dawn places you into the role of a priest named Father Abraham who is accused of killing several orphaned children who were within his care. One in particular haunts him the most, an altar boy who he once believed was possessed by The Devil. This belief ultimately caused him to perform an exorcism on the boy, but the outcome of said exorcism seems to be a bit foggy in his memory. Despite the accusations coming from all sides, Father Abraham is convinced that his faith would never allow him to take the life of a child, so he embarks on a quest to prove his innocence. Things are never as simple as that though, and haunting voices both taunt and guide him as he uncovers evidence and clues to the past. These may be the voices of spirits who want to help him, perhaps be figments of his imagination conjured up by his conscience, or maybe even a demonic force determined to see his downfall. Making matter worse, it becomes apparent that Father Abraham isn't quite the perfect priest he paints himself out to be. His quest for the truth starts in his home, located in 1920s England, but it also takes him to through portals that transport him to Eastern Europe. It's there where a ritual must be conducted in order to bring an end to the evil that's haunting him. Along the way mysteries of the past will become clear, and you'll realize that everything lies in a gray area between light and dark...

I'm being purposely vague with my description of the plot for two reasons. First off, I don't want to give away spoilers for those who wish to play the game, and second, I'm not totally sure I have the firmest grasp of the plot even now. The plot is never particular hard to follow, though it's told to you in a way that requires you to always be on the lookout for hidden bits of plot exposition. Background story elements will be written down in journals and books that you actually have to read only visually, and you'll even get extra plot points in the loading screens that take you between chapters. It's easy to miss these casually placed elements if you're not looking for them, and even the parts that are spoken out loud directly can sometimes fly over a player's head if you don't understand what's going on. With that in mind, I have to say that the game kept me engaged, even if I felt that there were plenty of flaws in the pacing and writing. I don't know if I'd say it's a particularly scary experience, but I was most definitely was creeped out more than once. I guess what I'm getting at is that the story is one of the strongest aspects of Gray Dawn, though it's executed in a way that keeps it from being particularly noteworthy in the grand scheme of things.

Discussing gameplay is a bit more complicated, as I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to label Gray Dawn in general. I guess I'd say that it's half adventure game, and half walking simulator. That may sound like I just defined it perfectly, but it really doesn't fit well into either category. Much of the game will see you walking around an area, collecting items and interacting with objects, and solving at least one puzzle that allows you to continue to the next area where you do it all again. Said puzzles are mostly completed via automatic item usage, with you not even having to pick the correct inventory item needed in any given scenario. If I'm being honest, much of the gameplay feels like padding to keep you from getting to the next scene too quickly. Gray Dawn isn’t exactly a long game, and it would be all the shorter if the puzzles weren't there to distract you. This might sound like I didn't care for the gameplay much, but I did find it to be decent enough for what it was. Many of the puzzles do require some thought to complete, and you may find yourself occasionally stumped in a way that doesn't feel at all cheap. You also don't have to worry about getting stuck for too long in any one place though, as most of the game's chapters only allow you a small area to explore, with even fewer objects to interact with. This means that you'll most likely be able to solve any puzzle through simple trial and error, even if you never fully understand why a particular solution worked.

It's not all positives though, as I have to gripes with the gameplay that I feel are worth mentioning. The first has to do with potential sequence breaking, as sometimes the game will move you along to the next area after you complete a puzzle, whether or not you want to leave the current chapter. As far as I know there isn't anything truly missable in the game, but I did find that I accidentally skipped over several items and character interactions that would've explained more of the plot. Obviously these bits aren't necessary for completing the game, but it did bother me whenever I was forced past them. My second gripe is a bit bigger, and the only one that has to do with the game's controls. All actions within the game are limited to a single button press or two, but the on-screen pointer that is used to control everything can be extremely tiny and hard to see at times. I'm not sure if this game was designed with VR in mind, but I found myself losing the little on-screen dot that was the game's pointer about half the time I was playing. It was never a deal-breaker, mainly due to the gameplay not relying on quick actions, but it did make the otherwise fine controls feel wonky.

Gameplay aside, there were parts of the game that I felt were a bit too random, or on-the-nose for my liking. I know those are two completely different things, but that's just how all over the place the game can be. Gray Dawn does a good job of setting a dark and somber atmosphere, but that vibe is hard to maintain when you have to do overly stereotypical things like interact with upside down crosses, pentagrams, a Cthulhu like being, and even a combination lock that uses "666" as its password. I was taken out of the game more than once thanks to moments like that, and that's just the obvious stuff. Other times I'd just question where the game was going in general. Like why did that frog talk to me? Why are there altars in every other room? And why do I have to take a flying sleigh to the next area? Oh, and I didn't mention this earlier, but the game takes place on Christmas Eve. You'd be hard pressed to not notice that though, as there is a Christmas tree in just about every room of Father Abraham's house. I do have to give credit to the developers for tackling topics that most other game companies wouldn't even dream of, but it's not exactly done with grace at all times. I'm not sure what I would've done to fix this aspect of the game, but I think that the game needed another pass in the writing phase to say the very least.

I think I'm going to cover visuals and music together, since I mostly have the same things to say about both. The visuals themselves aren't bad, but the only nice thing I can think to say about them is that they never once hiccupped on the Nintendo Switch. There was a decent amount of draw-in here and there, but it was never excessively distracting. Other than that, Gray Dawn looks like a decent first-person adventure game, with fairly decent game design. Each area looks unique, and many of the locations even change as the game goes on. There aren't a lot of characters to interact with, but they look great for the most part too. I guess the game area itself isn't very large, but it does a good job using what it has. Sound is a bit on the weaker side though, and I have to say now that Gray Dawn has some of the worst voice acting I've heard in a modern game. The voice acting actually ruins much of the game's tone, and I fought hard to not mention it as soon as this review started. I'm not sure if this game used non-professional actors or something, but their performances really make the game feel cheap. It also doesn't help that the voices always feel a bit lost within the audio mix. I guess the subtitles are better than actually hearing the line delivery, so maybe that's a blessing in disguise. Things fare a little better when it comes to music, but it barely does much to stand out. There really isn't anything horrible here, and that goes for both the audio and the visuals. The problem is that it simply has a generic feel to it when it comes to presentation.

Beating Gray Dawn took me about four hours my first time through, and that was probably due to me wanting to explore the world a bit more, and being stuck on the occasional puzzle or two. I'm sure that time is about how long most people will take to beat it, with repeated playthroughs potential being much shorter. Speaking of repeated playthroughs, I think that the game warrants at least one to better understand the plot, and maybe see bits of the game you might have missed, but it's not really necessary. Even if you only give the game the single go, it still works as a memorable experience. I like to compare games of this length to watching a good movie. To that end I was originally going to go on a rant about the game's current $19.99 price tag, as I feel that it's quite a bit too high for the amount of content you get, but then I noticed that it's gone on sale several times since its release. At the time of this writing you can pick it up for only $3.99, and that's way more than fair. It easily is worth that price, and I have to suggest that anyone interested in the game either pick it up now, or wait for another similar sale to take place.

There are plenty of things that keep Gray Dawn from being the perfect game, but I can't bring myself to hate it. It has charm, it has the right atmosphere for the most part, it's decently scripted, and I applaud the developers for giving us a shockingly dark story that involves religion and deceased children. There aren't very many games that would be willing to tackle the topics that this game does, and the game is worth picking up for that fact alone. I hope that we get some sort of follow-up to this one, though hopefully it'll be one that features more interactive gameplay. Pick this one up on whatever platform you can, and thank me later. Or actually, wait until it goes on sale before doing so. Lastly, be sure to add Gray Dawn to the Christmas game list, as it really is steeped in that atmosphere more than I let on here. See you in the next one!

Check Out Gray Dawn on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/gray-dawn-switch/

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Story: A-
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: B-
Value: B

Overall: B

Pros:
+ Features a very dark story that revolves around religion and the deaths of several children. Basically this is a game that has themes most game developers would never dream of touching.
+ The simple use of exploration and puzzles means that even the most disengaged player will be able to get through the game without much trouble.
+ I actually think that the lack of action set pieces is a good thing.
+ Though the plot is a bit all over the place, it is delivered in a way that perfectly sets up each twist and turn.
+ It's rather brisk pace, and brief length, means that it doesn't overstay its welcome.
+ It seems to go on sale quite a bit, and it is definitely worth its current $3.99 pricing.

Cons:
- The voice acting is terrible and takes you out of the game more than once.
- Some plot elements feel very over-the-top, and the stereotypical "evil" trappings can sometimes come off as laughable.
- The music is not as good as it could've been, and the same goes for the audio mix as well.
- Though not game-breaking by any means, the main pointer can be near impossible to see, and some puzzles can feel very random in execution.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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...and to all a good night!

#GrayDawn