You control a girl walking, jumping, and later swimming and flying through a hand-painted world that is missing its colors, and each area you complete restores some hue back into the world. The platforming is gentle and rarely punishing, since the focus is on the visuals and music telling a wordless story about grief. It runs closer to two hours than a full-length game, so treat it more like a short emotional experience.
Gameplay video
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Screenshots & review notes
Why it lands
One of the most visually stunning games on Switch, using its wordless story of grief to devastating emotional effect.
How it plays
Platforming stays gentle and unhurried, prioritizing mood and discovery over challenge, which some may find too easy.
Style and score
Its watercolor world shifting with the protagonist's emotions is a genuine work of art, paired with a hauntingly beautiful score.
Who it's for
A short but unforgettable journey best suited to players seeking atmosphere over mechanical depth; there's little reason to replay once finished.
Frames captured from the gameplay video above; notes are our own take on the game.
What it's like to play
You control a young woman who has lost her voice, walking and jumping through a hand-painted, watercolor world where color itself is initially drained from the screen and slowly returns as you progress. The stick moves her and a button jumps, and as the story continues she gains new abilities, like turning into a heavy stone block to smash through obstacles or a gliding dress to cross gaps, each tied to a new color returning to the world. Your first ten minutes take place in a mostly gray, quiet landscape with simple platforming, and there is no health bar or way to actually fail, since falling or missing a jump simply places you back a few steps.
Most of your time is spent walking through gorgeous, shifting landscapes, solving gentle environmental puzzles that use your new abilities, like turning to stone to weigh down a switch, while the story of grief and healing is told entirely without words, through the changing world and the character's changing abilities. Difficulty here is intentionally low, since the point is to keep moving forward through the story rather than testing your skill, and a full playthrough takes around three to four hours. Optional hidden collectibles are scattered through each area for anyone who wants to explore a little more than the story requires.
Session to session it feels like an experience closer to watching a beautiful, sad short film than playing a typical game, and the art and music work together to carry real emotional weight without a single word of dialogue. What may frustrate newcomers is that anyone hoping for a real mechanical challenge will find none here, since the game is built entirely around mood and story rather than difficulty. If you want a short, beautiful, emotionally affecting experience rather than a test of skill, this is one of the medium's gentler standouts.