The video game, Gris, is praised by fans and critics alike for its stunning artwork and beautiful story, but it would be incomplete without Berlinist’s soundtrack. While you could write a whole book on the soundtrack of this game, we’re going to focus on one specific song: “Gris, Pt. 1.” This hauntingly beautiful piece plays during the first cutscene of the game and sets the tone for what comes next. So what about this piece makes it stick in audiences’ memories almost 8 years later?
Who Is Berlinist?
Founded in 2011, Berlinist is made up of 3 composers: Marco Albano, Luigi Gervasi, and Gemma Gamarra. They claim in an interview they “dream about music and make music about dreams.” A claim that fits the ethereal atmosphere of Gris almost perfectly.
Listen to “Gris, Pt. 1” for yourself here:
Breaking Down “Gris, Pt. 1”
The piece itself is only 2 minutes and 36 seconds and 80 beats per minute, but in that short amount of time it establishes the whole game. The piece begins with the raw vocals of the main character with a simple keyboard accompaniment, before another voice joins the main character. However, as seen in the video, the duet is cut off as the girl loses her voice. The piano then continues to play its own theme before slowly being devoured by strings, horns, and synths to the point where the piano is barely even heard. When the cacophonous sound of the instruments finally cuts out, the piano is all that remains, returning to where it started: a simple F minor chord.
How The Music Mirrors The Story
So how does this relate to the game? We see the girl being held aloft by a stone hand before it crumbles apart and she drops through the clouds. The stone hand is widely interpreted as symbolically representing a person the girl has loved and has now lost. As the piano continues to represent the girl as she falls through the clouds, we can physically feel the emotional drowning as the other instruments continuously overwhelm the piano. When the other instruments cut out, we are left with what feels like emptiness in the instrumentation—the story beginning with what many people feel after a loss: loneliness.
Berlinist writes on the creating of the soundtrack, “…making music for a videogame is a much more interactive task in many ways. Working together with the developer and art director creates a special synergy and feedback that can enrich the final product. Musically speaking, in addition to the different technical process and mechanics that a videogame OST requires, the role of the player is also essential for us as we must guide them, make them feel as a part of the experience, and know when to stress and minimise the musical component.”
“Gris, Pt. 1” sticks in people’s minds because grief is a fundamental human emotion. It’s an emotion we feel in small and large ways over the course of our lives, and Berlinist was able to capture it within a 2 and a half minute piece. If you have not played Gris, it only takes a few hours and is one of the most heart-wrenching stories you will find. If you’re not a gamer, the soundtrack stands perfectly on its own.
You can find a combined version of Gris, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 here: Sheet music for “Gris, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2”
