The Grim and I
"The Grim and I" is a unique 155,000 word interactive novel by Thom Baylay, where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based—without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.
How will you react to the discovery that you are dead? When the Grim Reaper offers you a way forward, will you take it? Or are you still clinging to the world that you left behind? Begin the most important conversation of your afterlife as you take on Death in a story that will redefine the meaning of Choice; where the game reads you as much as you read it and where your greatest enemy is yourself. Challenge your instincts; fight your temptations; and embrace that most primal of fears. Choose your life, your love, your job and then make the hardest choice of all - to let it all go.
• Play as male, female or non-binary; gay, straight or bisexual.
• Leave your body and bear witness or try to interfere as life continues without you.
• Meet, befriend and customise your own personal Grim Reaper!
• Choose your perfect life, and then see if you can choose to let it all go.
• Identify and overcome the unfinished business that binds you to this world. Love, fear, rage or ambition; your choices will reveal the truth!
• As the chains begin to cover your body, will you be able to fight free, or will you succumb to your vices and stay haunting the world for eternity?
• Forget everything you know about interactive fiction as the Grim Reaper questions your choices and challenges your motives, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.
• Explore the concept of death and the ideas of loss and letting go in the company of your Grim guide.
Category : Role Playing
Reviews (22)
One of the greatest hosted games. Emotional and well written, grim in particular is fleshed out. A great imaginating of what happens after we die. Hope I get a Grim when my time comes ;)
The Grim & I is a great story, really had me thinking on the main idea, "vices". I can't talk about it freely without spoiling the experience of learning, so I'll refrain. The reaper is a well-developed character that I found interesting to learn about, to see open up. As for the rest of the characters; I feel they weren't developed as well, but still well enough nonetheless. In all, it's a great read; better still, to me at least, if you choose to ignore your stats, keeping the air of mystery.
Going into this story there was a very Markus Zusak feel to it but the longer you play, the more it takes its own unique shape. It has a way of making you connect with the Reaper, even if, like many others, it's not a perfect self-insert. In the end, you really do want to "succeed" and the success is largely your own interpretation. Not really one for light readers but one I definitely would recommend to those that are fans of the style of writing.
Good game for the price. Decent story and the Grim Reaper was an interesting character who really makes the game fun with their wit. There was a decent amount of choice, but some things felt a bit railroaded. For example, I would have liked to refuse to move on until the Reaper explained more fully what was on the Other Side and whether it really was better than becoming a ghost.
A short but beautiful storyline. The choices I make seem so impactful and the depth of the story is so good. I found myself screaming or yelling in frustration at some points or crying the next (especially towards the end). Maybe I am just an emotional person. Either way, a great story to partake through and I highly reccomend this to anyone interested in these choices game.
This is amazing. It forever changed my understanding of interactive novels, and I was hooked the entire time. Creating a life and then having to choose between letting go or staying as an observer was an absolutely fourth kind of experience. Filled with introspection and surprising bursts of humor, I deeply encourage anyone reading this review to purchase and experience it for themselves.
This one was absolutely amazing. There was not a moment where I was not on the edge of my seat, utterly at the mercy of this insanely well-written book. I've been playing Choice Of games for a few years now, but this one, out of all of them, shines. The ideas are original and thought-provoking, and there are multiple interesting interpretations of things like, the appearance of the Grimm Reaper, for example. I enjoyed every minute of it, all the way to the final sentence. Absolutely amazing!
At first, I was a bit weary of this game. I really only downloaded because I needed another game to play. Then, as I started really getting into, I was starting to enjoy a whole lot. The interaction between yourself and The Grim Reaper was especially interesting and was beautifully portrayed. Hosted Games needs more titles like this. Like, jeez; it's been a few hours and I still can't stop thinking about this.
A very cute drama styled story game, can be somewhat heatwarming, depending on your choices, although a bit draggy and short, considering only the first two chapters are free. The rest are $3.99, which I feel is a bit too much, not that I regret it, but it should be cheaper.
It's fantastic! I'm aware that is kind of annoying that they give you free episodes and the rest you have to pay (the story is so awesome that you want to continue but you have to pay for it). I would recommend the story to anyone, is fantastic, well written, they catch very well the atmosphere and emotions and its full of mystery. I would pay the price for it gladly however sometimes you can't afford to pay but it's worth it.
Beautiful, melancholic story. Carefully written and although I would feel bad about paying for games without graphics and more complex gameplay, I think it's worth it to pay for a great novel. And that's what it is, an interactive novel!
There are literally no words that can express how much I absolutely love this game! First off, I just admire the way this author portrayed the Grim Reaper. I also enjoy the unique conversation you can choose to have with your Reaper. It makes each playthrough feel special and even more heartwarming - especially when you get the true ending with it. There are also many small details here and there that you may miss out, depending on how you play through. This is truely a beautiful masterpiece.
Such a good game! I finished my first playthrough and I can't wait to play again to make different decisions. Some choices are easy, but many are difficult and drastically change the outcome. The ending was so interesting. I love a plot twist!
It definitely touched my heart. Out of all the choice games I played this has to be number 1 right now. No such story has connected to me in a way that I had a series of emotions bursting out of me. The way you interact with the reaper, watching specific person from the spiritual plane...its all good, many thanks to the author for this wonderful story
Amazing game! Just do not put in any real names or it can get too emotional at times. Furthermore the amount of paths in the game are amazing, and I highly recommend it to anyone even if you need to pay.
Very very intriguing text game. It truly makes you think when you set yourself in the scenario you are provided; to make a decision, some very hard, some very challenging. All in all I will end up purchasing this for 3.99, so worth it.
I absolutely LOVE this. The writing is beautiful and really puts pulls me in, successfully managing to bring me to tears. The message I got from this, in the end, was really heart-wrenching and I play it over and over again with different goals and whatnot to see what happens- it's really heartbreaking to end up not making it to the Other Side. My favorite part of all this, of course, is the reaper. There's so much to explore when it comes to the reaper and I'm always trying different things...
The first play through was something special and I enjoyed it immensely. but the second play through? the choices stagnate, you find things repeating, what you do doesn't change. I wouldn't pay for it again. It's your call.
I actually purchased this book. Best part about the story was being able to choose what form your grim reaper takes. This felt like a detective story where you have to play a few times to figure everything out. There was a lot of mystery to the whole experience. I just wish the story was longer.
This game is absolutely AMAZING, the bond you create with your Reaper while working together (or at least trying to, heh) feels so natural! My ending had me sobbing but in a hurts so good kinda way... despite being a shorter CYOA, there's lots of replayability for different routes which I intend to explore! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND The Grim and I, it's a seriously beautiful story that I now hold very near and dear to my heart. Thank you for creating and sharing such a stunning piece of art! 💟💟💟
Speechless. One of, if not the, best interactive novel I've ever read. Just absolutely incredible; moving, heartbreaking, infuriating, but it ended with a rare sense of total closure and sombre satisfaction.
Loved this story a lot. Made me feel emotional . My heart felt heavy and I almost cried. I forgot to put a review when I finished playing so I downloaded it again since I had uninstalled it , just to put a review.