Press release:
22 JULY 2021.
The Russia-based indie games developer Provodnik Games today announced with great excitement and happiness that their award-winning dystopian visual novel/adventure game “Dull Grey” is coming to PC via Steam on September 8th, 2021.
Inspired by the visual style of early 20th Century Soviet art and the narrative works of Russia’s finest storytellers, Dull Grey lets players experience the emotional story of a mother and son, the concept of free will and the search for happiness in a bleak retro-futuristic world controlled by the robotic Progress program.
Players will be making the same choice again and again – should the son become a lamplighter or a tallyman – through an unusual binary choice mechanic that leads to an unexpected multitude of endings and secret content to discover. Dull Grey is a dramatic visual novel like no other, designed to be experienced through multiple playthroughs.
Can players lead the son to happiness and see his story unfold in full colour?
First released on consoles in May 2021, Dull Grey has been hailed as an “intriguing exercise in minimalism” by Goomba Stomp, with But Why Tho Podcast finding that the game “successfully delivers what every visual novel strives for—transcending words to pull the reader into its world and rewarding players who are curious and patient enough to see beneath its surface.”
“The release on consoles was an unexpected and exciting adventure.” Roman Vlasov, co-founder of Provodnik Games said,
“Now we feel that our game is coming to the store where it really belongs. We can’t wait for Steam players to get to know Dull Grey, and we hope that the game will resonate in their hearts.”
Dull Grey will launch on PC via Steam on 8 September 2021.
About Dull Grey
In Dull Grey, experience the emotional story of a mother and son, free will and the search for happiness among foggy mountains and grey pipes.
You will be making the same choice again and again: who should the son become – a lamplighter or a tallyman? It may feel like the situation leaves you no choice at all, but if you take your time and think it over, you may just see your story in full colour.
Immerse yourself in a dramatic, dystopian visual novel like no other, with a thoughtful choice mechanic which appears simple but contains a lot of depth. Discover multiple endings and secret content – Dull Grey is designed to be replayed for the full experience.
Key features:
Experience the drama of everyday life in the context of a retro-futuristic world controlled by the Progress-program
An unusual choice mechanic that leads to an unexpected multitude of endings and hidden content
A visual style tracing back to early 20th-century Soviet art
Themes and narratives inspired by the works of Russia’s finest storytellers – the worlds of the Strugatsky brothers, Dostoevsky’s novels and Tarkovsky’s movies
A short but meaningful experience, designed to be replayed
About Provodnik Games
Provodnik Games develop minimalistic games in the interactive fiction genre. They place content above form and consider the gameplay as subordinate to artistic goals.
Their studio was founded in 2017 during a casual talk on a sports ground. In 2019 after trying their hand at network competitions they released their first interactive novel Railways of Love on mobile. Their new project is an award-winning drama about growing up — Dull Grey. It is available on all major consoles since May 2021 and will be released Steam, Google Play and App Store later in 2021.
Jonas “O.J” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround
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Tags: Adventure game, Dull Grey, Dystopian, Indie games, PC games, Provodnik Games, Steam, Visual novel