GRIS: Complete Guide

A spoiler-light guide to Nomada Studio's GRIS: every dress ability and how to use it, the four colors in order, all 17 achievements (including the tricky hidden ones), memento hunting, and the secret ending.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the September 2024 update that added Steam community items (trading cards and related items) after GRIS passed 3 million sales. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

You cannot die. GRIS has no death, no fail state and no combat. Take your time, explore and experiment.
There is almost no text. The game teaches through icons and level design. If a platform looks unreachable, you probably have not found the right ability yet.
Your dress is your toolkit. Gris gains four abilities in sequence: a heavy stone form, a double jump, swimming, and singing. Each ability also reopens old areas.
Lights are progression. Glowing star-like lights are collected and form constellations that open new paths. They are required, not optional.
Mementos are the collectibles. Optional hidden items; finding them all unlocks the secret ending and the "Mementos" achievement.
Several achievements are easy to miss. Denial, Sandstorm, Anger, Eel and the collectible sets need specific actions on the first visit to a section or a replay. Read the achievements section before you start if you want 100%.
Colors mark progress. Each restored color (red, green, blue, yellow) is a chapter milestone and an achievement.
Use a controller if you have one. GRIS plays well on keyboard, but it was built with a gamepad in mind.
Expect around 3 to 5 hours for a first run, more if you hunt everything.

Controls

GRIS uses a handful of actions, and the game shows each one as an icon the first time you need it.

Action	What it does	Notes
Move	Walk and run	Analog stick gives finer control on narrow ledges
Jump	Jump; press again in mid-air for the double jump once unlocked	Time the second jump at the top of the arc for maximum height
Stone form	Turn into a heavy block while held	Works on the ground, in the air and underwater
Sing	Emit Gris's song once unlocked	Hold near flowers, creatures and mechanisms
Swim	Move freely underwater and burst forward once unlocked	Swim up and out of the surface to launch into the air

Keyboard bindings can be checked and changed in the options menu; on a gamepad the defaults map to face buttons.

Platforms and Versions

Platform	Release
Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch	December 2018
iOS	August 2019
PlayStation 4	November 2019
Android	April 2020
PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S	December 2022

The game content is the same across platforms; this guide uses the Steam achievement list. GRIS won the Games for Impact award at The Game Awards (Nomada confirmed this when NEVA won the same award in 2024) and picked up further art and animation honors, largely for its hand-drawn watercolor art and Berlinist's score. In September 2024 Nomada announced GRIS had sold over 3 million copies across all platforms.

Abilities

Ability	When you get it	What it does	Puzzle uses
Stone form (heavy)	Early, in the red area	Turns Gris into a heavy block	Resist strong winds, smash fragile floors and statues, weigh down platforms
Double jump	After the red area	A second jump in mid-air	Reach higher ledges; combine with glides and wind
Swimming	During the blue area	Dive and swim freely underwater; dash-like bursts when swimming	Explore flooded caverns, launch out of water to reach heights
Singing	Late game	A song that makes plants bloom and wakes certain creatures and mechanisms	Grow platforms, open flowers, interact with the world

Tips:

Stone form works mid-air. Drop into stone form above a breakable floor to smash through it.
Stone form in water sinks you. Useful to reach the bottom of pools.
Singing grows flowers into platforms. If you see a closed flower bud near a gap, sing.

The Journey (Spoiler-Light)

Stage	Color	Setting	What is new
Prologue	None	A crumbling statue and a grey world	Basic movement
Red	Red	Desert with windmills and sandstorms	Stone form; wind and sand as obstacles
Green	Green	Lush forest	Double jump; creatures that help you
Blue	Blue	Underwater caverns	Swimming; a hostile giant eel chase
Yellow	Yellow	A realm of light and geometric buildings	Singing; light and reflection puzzles
Finale	All	The climb to the end	Combines every ability

The four areas are linked through a central hub, so you will pass through it several times. Areas previously out of reach open up as your abilities grow.

Achievements (17 total)

Steam lists 17 achievements. The four colors and The End come naturally. The rest require specific actions, and several are hidden.

Achievement	Where	How
Red	Story	Restore red
Green	Story	Restore green
Blue	Story	Restore blue
Yellow	Story	Restore yellow
The End	Finale	Finish the game
Acceptance	Finale	Final stage-of-grief milestone near the end
Denial	Opening	Do not input anything during the opening sequence
Sandstorm	Red desert	Get through the sandstorm section without being blown back by the wind at all; use stone form every time a gust hits
Anger	Red desert	Smash three statues with stone form (break the two on the right first to avoid collision issues)
Inuksuit	Red desert	Find all 14 stone piles (inuksuit)
Apples	Green forest	Collect all 8 apples
Eel	Blue caverns	Get through the eel section without being bitten
Magic fowls	Yellow area	Find all 7 magic fowls
Bargaining	Hidden	A hidden stage-of-grief achievement; see a 100% guide if it does not pop
Depression	Hidden	A hidden stage-of-grief achievement; see a 100% guide if it does not pop
Mementos	All areas	Find every memento
Childhood	Post-game	Unlocked by the secret ending after collecting all mementos

Steam's global rates show how few players get the hidden ones: fewer than 10 percent have Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Sandstorm, Magic fowls, Eel and Inuksuit, and Mementos and Childhood sit around 5 to 6 percent.

Missable-achievement advice

Denial: set down the controller when the game starts and wait out the opening. If you press something, start a new game in another slot to retry.
Sandstorm: the moment wind picks up, switch to stone form and hold it until the gust passes. Moving between gusts only.
Eel: memorize the chase; swim through gaps rather than open water, and keep moving.
Collectible sets (Inuksuit, Apples, Magic fowls): each is tied to one area. Sweep side paths before you leave.

Use multiple save slots so you can retry these without replaying the whole game.

Mementos and the Secret Ending

Mementos are hidden throughout all areas, often behind breakable floors, underwater, in off-screen alcoves, or high above the main path.

Look off-screen. The camera often hides side paths; follow any gap in the level art.
Return with new abilities. Many mementos need the double jump, swimming or singing, so revisit early areas later.
Collect all to unlock the secret ending. It shows a childhood memory: young Gris in a nighttime meadow with her mother, who releases a firefly and embraces her. This unlocks "Childhood".
Post-game cleanup. You can return after the credits to pick up anything you missed, and the Childhood achievement requires a post-game return for the final piece.

A 100% Route in Two Passes

GRIS is short enough that the cleanest way to get every achievement is two passes: a careful first run and a focused cleanup.

Pass 1 (story, with the missables):

Start a new game and do not touch anything during the opening for Denial.
In the red desert, handle Sandstorm on your first time through the gusts, smash the three statues for Anger, and look out for stone piles (Inuksuit) on side paths.
In the green forest, collect apples as you find them. The Apples achievement needs all 8.
In the blue caverns, treat the eel chase as its own challenge. Save before it if you have a spare slot.
In the yellow area, watch for the magic fowls; there are 7.
Pick up any memento you spot, but do not detour for hard ones yet. Finish the game for The End and the story achievements.

Pass 2 (cleanup):

Check your Steam achievement list to see exactly which sets are incomplete.
Revisit the relevant area with your full set of abilities. Double jump, swimming and singing open spots that were out of reach on the first visit.
Collect the remaining mementos, then trigger the secret ending for Childhood.
If a hidden achievement (Bargaining or Depression) is still missing, use the Steam walkthrough in Sources. They are tied to specific moments rather than collectibles.

Why two passes works: most of the first-pass achievements depend on how you play a section, while the second-pass ones depend on what you collect. Splitting them means you never replay a whole chapter for one missed action.

Accessibility and Comfort

No failure at all. There is no death, damage or game over, so GRIS suits players who dislike difficulty spikes. The skill-based sections (the eel, the sandstorm) only affect achievements.
Language-free. The game has almost no text and teaches with universal icons, so it plays the same in any language.
Short sessions work. Progress is saved as you go, so you can stop between colors.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Rushing. There is no timer; the art and music are the point, and collectibles hide in the margins.
Pressing buttons in the opening. It costs you Denial.
Walking into the wind. Stone form, then move between gusts.
Forgetting stone form in water. It is the easiest way to sink to hidden floors.
Leaving areas without sweeping them. Several collectible sets are area-specific.
Using one save slot. Keep a backup before the red desert, the eel section and the finale.

Advanced Tips

Chain abilities. Double jump, then stone form to slam; swim-launch out of water, then double jump to extend height.
Listen for cues. Berlinist's score shifts when you approach secrets and progression lights.
Watch the scenery. Rotating rooms, reflections and silhouettes are frequently the puzzle, not decoration.
Stand still for screenshots. The minimal UI means simply stopping gives clean shots of the art.
Play in a single sitting or two. It is short and the emotional arc lands best without long breaks.

FAQ

Can you die in GRIS? No. There is no death, failure or combat.

How long is GRIS? Roughly 3 to 5 hours for a first playthrough; completionists should plan for more.

How many achievements does GRIS have? 17 on Steam. The four color achievements and The End are unmissable; the rest need specific actions or collectibles.

How do I get the secret ending? Collect every memento, then return in the post-game to see the extra childhood scene and unlock the Childhood achievement.

What is GRIS about? A young woman working through grief. Her journey is told through color, music and the changing world rather than words, and the achievements reference the five stages of grief.

Is there a sequel? Nomada Studio's next game is NEVA (released October 15, 2024), a separate story about Alba and a wolf that builds on GRIS's style and adds light combat. It won the Games for Impact award at The Game Awards 2024, as GRIS did before it.

Does GRIS have Steam trading cards? Yes. Community items were added in September 2024 to celebrate 3 million copies sold, and they are granted retroactively.