I had very high hopes for this game because Jane Jensen was behind it and she really has a talent for coming up with great stories, characters and clever puzzles. I was not disappointed, however it definitely could have been better. The concept is overall story is really great and original, like you would expect from Jane Jensen, however the actual gameplay is slow and clunky and you generally get the feeling you're endlessly wandering around large but empty areas looking for something to do. There are some good puzzles but most of them are awfully simple, bordering on cliche. Like I said, I did enjoy this game but by the time I reached the last big puzzle area I was more than ready to reach the end!

GAMEPLAY:

"Gray Matter" is a point-and-click adventure written by Jane Jensen, the author of the "Gabriel Knight" trilogy. The player moves between fixed static screens and interacts with NPCs, with hotspots in the environment, or with his inventory, in order to solve puzzles and advance the plot. In case of "Gray Matter", the plot revolves around Samantha, a young stage magician with a troubled past. While pursuing her dream of becoming a member of a prestigious semi-secret club of magicians, she gets side-tracked and entangled in a story about neurobiological experiments, a scientist who never got over the death of his wife, and potentially supernatural events.

The game presents itself as a sequence of puzzles. Most of those puzzles are based on the player's inventory and on the manipulation of objects, but there are also a few additional tasks, like solving a rebus. Sometimes Samantha has to perform a magical trick, and the player has to enter up to eight steps of the trick in a specific screen. Most of the puzzles are fairly realistic and logical, though the integration of the magic tricks into the puzzles seems a bit forced.

There is a large amount of dialogue, but it just furthers the plot, and does not contain puzzles in itself. The player just clicks on all available topics until they are exhausted. The writing is pretty good - the dialog is believable and shows great attention to detail.

The characters and their interactions are very well designed. Using a street magician as the main character in an adventure game is an original idea - putting her in a game that's partly a supernatural thriller is even better. Her firm belief that the strange events must be staged provides a nice contrast to the scientist, who has his own motivation to believe otherwise. The NPCs in the game all have a distinct personality, they are detailed and mysterious enough to never drop into clichés. This also contributes to the mystery - the characters are designed in a way that it's never clear who might be the culprit, or if there _is_ one at all. In general, it is very noticeable that this game was designed by a professional writer.

Another noticeable sign of quality is the amount of background research that has been done. The game is taking place in Oxford, and it is full of references to Oxford-based locations and topics, from Carfax Tower to Lewis Carroll to Harry Potter. The game revolves partly around a neurobiological experiment, and you can find respective articles in the game, as well as scientifically correct explanations of several parts of the brain. Another part of the game revolves around magical tricks, and you find them explained in detail. I have rarely seen such meticulous attention to detail in an adventure game.

The game contains several plots, which run in parallel. The three main plots are Samantha's quest to become a member of the Daedalus club (this part contains traditional adventure elements, mainly two long scavenger hunts, and a slightly surreal endgame), the neurobiological experiments (which turn into a supernatural thriller and a "whodunit" mystery), and the scientist's attempts to contact his dead wife (another supernatural plot with romantic/tragic undertones). The game is divided into chapters, and typically you will have several tasks in each chapter, which may contribute to one or more of the above plots. This creates a nice non-linear experience - even when you are stuck at one task, you can usually focus on one of the others for a while, and then perhaps return to the previous task with a fresh idea. It also causes some problems though, since it can easily happen that you are at the end of a chapter, and need to complete only one more action to progress to the next chapter, but the game gives you no indication which action that might be.

The integration of the magical tricks into the game is a bit lackluster. It's a great idea in theory, but the way how it's implement is not particularly engaging - whenever you see the "magic" cursor, you just look up a matching trick in your book, and then copy the steps from the instructions from there right into your magic interface. The tricks themselves are very basic.

GRAPHICS:

Scenes are usually fixed screens in 1280x720 resolution, some scroll horizontally. They are drawn in 2d with perspective, while the characters are animated 3d-models. The art style is realistic. Unfortunately the interpolation to bigger resolutions is rather primitive - graphics aren't very crisp, there is no anti-aliasing, and characters may have jagged edges. Most scenes are still atmospheric and interesting to look at, though.

The character animations are stiff and robotic. It was awkward at first, but I got used to it in the course of the game.

The game contains about three dozen cutscenes. These are not animated video clips, but usually voiced slide shows of drawn pictures, occasionally including some moving elements. They are not quite as immersive as an actual video clip, but still get the job done, for a fraction of the cost.

SOUND:

The sound effects are fairly standard. The music was atmospheric at first, but become grating after a while.

All dialog in the game is voiced. The voices are distinct, and the acting is generally very good and believable.

INTERFACE:

The interface is terribly clunky, and probably the worst part of the game. Using items requires a non-standard, click-intensive procedure. A loading screen is shown for each and every scene change. The key for showing hotspots is unresponsive, and the game reverses this setting throughout. Hotspots are not marked by silhouettes or anything else. Even if you enable the hotspot labels, it's often hard to hit a specific spot. The labels are too large, often badly placed, and some even overlap each other and are shown alternating.

Looking at an item involves the character turning on the spot, walking stiffly to the pre-designed location for watching that item, turning on the spot again, and then finally uttering the voice-over. It's not possible to do anything in this game quickly. Even running is clunky and unresponsive.

A diary keeps track of all conversations, but is completely useless since it just logs the conversations without any context, and only shows about three sentences per page in huge print. Much better are the map (which allows fast travel between locations) and the progress bar (which informs about the tasks that still need to be completed in the current chapter).

The game supports task switching without issues.

EASE OF USE:

The game installs easily, is easy to learn, and easy to get back to after a break. There is a 36-page manual, but it only explains the interface and doesn't contribute to the story.

All spoken dialog in the game is subtitled.

The game can be saved everywhere and has 20 savegame slots. It's not possible to die or to put the game into an unwinnable state, so you shouldn't need to go back to previous saves.

OTHER THINGS OF NOTE:

The game is rather short, my thorough playthrough took just 16 hours. As typical for the genre, replay value is low. The puzzles are fairly easy.

It is DRM-free, which is always nice.

CONCLUSION:

Story, characters, and writing are worth 5 stars, but I have to subtract one for the interface. If you can live with the clunky controls, the game is highly recommended.

Review Date: 2013/Apr/26

Progress: one complete playthrough

This game looks really nice, both the 2d-backgrounds (lots of postcard picture scenes, beautiful stuff thats just a pleasure to look at) and the 3d-characters (faces are maybe a little rough). Voice acting is solid. For the most part, in-game hints are enough to solve the puzzles though there were some occasions where I was stuck for some time. It's helpful that the map always shows if there are still clues left in an area, though it's not always as helpful as it could have been. Overall not a groundbreaking or particularly innovative adventure game, but fun and atmospheric nonetheless.

Nice adventure based in Oxford, UK – one of my favorite cities in the World. The game is reminiscent of The Longest Journey, a true classic. I’d say this one is not as deep, but very entertaining nevertheless and well worthy your money. A must buy.

Tried to play Gray Matter for a couple of hours, hoping it would somehow live up to the high opinion most people here seem to have of it but, in the end, boredom overcame my curiosity.

Bland dialogues, uninteresting characters, bad voice acting, weird animations and a slow and cumbersome interface. The music is the only thing that was worth paying attention to.

Would not recommend this to anyone.

A nice change from elves and orcs. This game involves magic and the supernatural and is set in Oxford in the UK. I live near oxford and this is a bit different from the reality. But it's nice to see places I know in a game. It's a standard adventure but the magic system in which the protagonist must perform tricks is a nice change. The story and music are nice, but the animations can be a bit odd at times. A welcome change.

Definitely one of the best bargains I have ever made! This game has good graphics, nice music and a storyline that keeps you pinned to the computer for hours and hours. In the beginning it is easy enough for the beginner, but as you move on it becomes harder, and in the end it is challenging even for the advanced player. All this comes for a price of only 9 euros, a price that usually only gives you a low budget game, but Gray Matter must have cost a fortune to produce. I hope I will find another game this good, but I doubt it. Definitely something to recommend!

I played through the chapter one and most of the chapter two. Unfortunately, due to the glitch in the game, I am unable to progress any further - so this must be the end of this game for me, as I, by this point, haven't been immersed or involved in the game's world deep enough to try and search for a workaround. I can't make myself to like the protagonist enough, nor the setting, nor the plot - it's definitely uncomparable to The Longest Journey, which I found myself unable to stop playing. So, disappointing one star.

Didn't know Jane Jensen had written a new game so that in itself was a nice surprise which got better since the game was on sale.

Had high expectations which were fulfilled: gripping and very well executed plot, nice touch that you alternate between playing as Sam and Dr Styles, very nice graphics and thorough work has gone into creating the scientific background in the game. Some of the puzzles had solutions that were in no way obvious, and being a bit lazy, I did have to resort to a walkthrough at those times, but mostly simple logic was enough to work out the solutions.

Gray Matter is definitely good buy if you are an adventure games fan, especially that it's cheap. The story is climatic and well told, though it takes some time for it to unwrap, beginnings are somehow slow and game is a little melancholic in general, not much drama or action happening - it worked really well for me, but but I realise it's not everyone cup of tea. Graphics are little above standard for an adventure game, what they lacked in fancy technologies they made up with art direction. Voice acting is ok, sometimes little apathic but still no major issues here. Music is surprisingly good and fits the game very well.

Thankfully puzzles are logical and story driven, much better then avarage in genre. The level of difficulty is well balanced, being thorough and logical should get you through game with relative ease, but without feeling like its playing itself. One complain here is the magic mechanic - one of main heroes, Sam, is magician in the making and sometimes uses her tricks to her cause, cool idea but execution is lacking. It's not broken or horrible, just kinda unengaging.

Another complain are drawn cut scenes, its not that they are bad looking - I liked their design - but the fact that they dont really fit the style of rest of the game. They can also be a little unclear sometimes, especially the intro. It also takes them fair amount of time to unfold what kind of person is main protagonist, already mentioned Samantha. I feel like they didnt introduce her very well, I actually didnt like her until about half of the game, she grew on me but I think some more early insight on her motivations and bacstory would help a lot.

In summary, if anyone got to this point bravo for you, and I recommend that you buy this game if you like the genre. It aint perfect, but still soundly beats most of the competition.

Wonderful game! One of the most beautifully crafted plots in the genre, with interesting believable characters. I would perhaps have preferred the ending to go in the other direction, but... no spoilers :-) I really liked that there's no pixel hunting, that the difficulty is in the puzzles themselves. The length of the games was also great - several good hours. The only fault I found in the game was that toward the end it became rather cumbersome going from one place to another - the map gives some shortcuts, but there really is no avoiding going manually through several scenes - and while the scenes are beautiful, really at a certain point you don't want to go through the courtyard yet another time - especially since sam/david walk the entire way across.

A lot better than I thought it would be. It was well written, which surprised me. A lot of the voice acting was flat but passable. I would recommend getting this at a discounted price or using left over blue coins. All in all it was quite fun.

I love adventure games and the curse with that comes with that is that I am to either critical or to easy on some titles. But this game is great. It has a good storyline, with multi-dimensional characters, interesting puzzles and even side-puzzles (or side quests). There were a few annyoing glitches (movies playing twice, sometimes without a sound), but nothing that would really deter you from playing and finding out what is happening in the world.

If you liked previous Jane Jensen games (Gabriel Knight series) you will like this one as well.

I was very excited when I heard that Jane Jensen (of Gabriel Knight fame) was making a new adventure games, namely, Gray Matter.

After having played through the game once, I can safely say that it does not disappoint. The story, the characters, the artwork and the writing are all exemplary. The puzzles are a bit hit and miss, but apart from the "magician" puzzles (which I feel could have been handled in a more immersive manner - they are a bit disjointed from the rest of the game), I do not have anything specific to complain about. I liked the fact that you could receive bonus points from each chapter by being a thorough explorer and solving some "side-quest" puzzles.

Overall, I do not think the game is quite as enthralling as the original Gabriel Knight games (Note: that could just be the nostalgia speaking); but as a modern adventure game, it is well worth playing by anyone who enjoys a gripping plot, amazing artwork, puzzles and exploration in their games.

Gray Matter is a game from Jane Jensen of Gabriel Knight fame, so if you are familiar with the old Sierra series, you know to expect a game, that has solid plot and good writing and in that the game does not disappoint.

Over all Gray Matter is a solid mystery, thought I don't think it's as strong game as Gabriel Knight games were. The plot is solid and the art is beautiful while the puzzles are mostly great. The magic puzzles however felt a bit unattatched from the game itself and the ending does have a bit rushed feel to it.

But despite these few misgivings Gray Matter is a solid adventure game, so if you enjoy the genre, you might enjoy this one as well.

High expectations can be expected with a Jane Jensen game and for the most part this one delivers. The music is excellent (be sure to check out The Scarlet Furies afterwards) and the story is top-notch. The magic mechanism is quite neat.

On the downside, the characters in the cutscenes bare only a passing resemblance to their in-game look. So the cutscenes can feel a bit jarring. The ending also feels a bit rushed. Budgetary constraints perhaps took their toll here.

Nevertheless, the characters, setting and story make this a game I'll want to revisit in the future. And I'm all the better for discovering The Scarlet Furies :)

This game is awesome! If your a adventure game fan I highly recommend this game. This game is finally on sale! Get it if you can! Story 5/5 Graphics 5/5 Fun 5/5

I bought this game in anticipation of the new Jane Jensen games from her Kickstarter campaign. The story is vintage Jane: intriguing and with captivating lead characters. The graphics are a mixed bag, the scenarios all have really great atmosphere but the character animation is very limited and the cutscenes art style is very different from elsewhere in the game (I assume it was a way to cut costs). The puzzles are not very difficult until the end of the game. Overall, a recommended buy for adventure fans.

Ive known about the release of this game for a while but didn't think it would interest me as i normally like horror adventure games..... How wrong was I!!

The storyb line in this game is very emotional and gripping, with unexpected twists. The graphics are fantastic, you find youself looking at a new screen for a while taking in all the fine details.

As for the game play there are plenty of objects to find use and combine, also riddles to solve and research to complete. My only complaint with this game is there are some tricky hotspots to find before being able to carry in to the next chapter, but that is probably more me than the game itself. I wouls highly recommend this game to any adventure fan this was a game I was sad to finish.

I love this game. Granted, there are a few discrepancies here in the quality here and there, but overall, if you're an adventure game fan, this should hold you off until Jane's next title.

The voice acting is pretty good. It's not especially memorable, but it gets the job done. My only problem with the voices is that some lines tend to sound softer than others, but even though you're likely to take notice of it, I'd say it won't really draw any complaints.

The atmosphere of the game is fabulous, thanks to fantastic 2D artwork. I never felt bored because every area was aesthetically pleasing/intriguing to look at, from the calm, serene surroundings of Timmons Park to the morose, dreary walls of Dread Hill House's basement. It took me some time to get used to 2D cutscenes (as opposed to FMV or 3D), but after I got past a few of them, I started to like them a lot. Even though there's nothing flashy about moving stills, more than just being functional, the artwork also really conveys the mood, which is probably difficult to do in 3D without a big budget. In the end, the cutscenes really grew on me, and I found myself just wanting to watch more of them.

The music also helps set the mood very well. It never felt out of place (though towards the final puzzle it did feel weird to hear the music mingle with the environmental sounds), and in fact it's very memorable. It's suitably pensive without too many emo overtones, and very mellow, without making me fall asleep.

The writing is great too, though the suspense falls short and becomes quite predictable at some point.

Lastly, the animations are a mixed bag. The walking/running animations are great, but other animations leave much to be desired. The game is also guilty of the "characters standing around and doing nothing" syndrome, but, while noticeable, is not glaring enough to keep reminding you of it. Also, on a quick note, I don't like the character faces that appear beside subtitles. The angles could have been better, as the current one makes the faces look emotionally stunted (read: very strange and off-putting).

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the game despite going in with mild expectations. I was excited to play it, but I wasn't expecting something to wow me, so when I finally finished the game, I was really impressed. I can't compare it to Gabriel Knight - my most recent memory of the Gabriel Knight series was that 3 was good but not groundbreaking; anything else beyond that is hazy (because let's be honest, 15 years between The Beast Within and the present is a long time), but if I have to compare it to my most recent adventure gaming experience Gemini Rue - which still tops the list of my favourite adventure games in recent years - Gray Matter comes a close second. I really can't wait for the sequel, or at least a spiritual successor. Gray Matter is a masterpiece IMO, and while it's not the best I've ever seen, is easily recommendable to adventure gaming fans.

Decent game, nothing like the Gabriel Knight series, but a fun throwback. Jensen has talent and kept me playing the game non-stop all the way through.

Awesome point & click game with amazing dark atmosphere and art design. If you're a fan of adventure games you'll enjoy this as much as the old days of gaming.

I'd been waiting for this game for awhile... And I'm glad I found this site rather than buying it at full retail. The female character's storyline was fun and thought-provoking, but the scientific side, not so much. The graphics and cut-scenes were absolutely beautiful, the music was atmospheric but some of the movment was simply infuriating- especially trying to run- it felt as though the characters' had to build up the courage first.

The ending was rushed. The game davs musct've run of time and thought 'What ending is quickest and makes sense without having to think about it?'

This one.

I am really glad I purchased and played this game- but I thought it would be a touch more cerebral and less 'blah'