These Genies are the living embodiment of the escapism and self-expression that Ash’s sketchbook provides, but they’re also more than that-they’re friends. Though they’re confined to the town walls, these Genies are very much alive, and will help Ash make his way through the town and reach all the bulbs he needs to light up. (Your imagination plays a big role, too-when painting a Genie, you can customise it using different parts found in the lost pages of Ash’s sketchbook that serve as collectibles). With his new magic paintbrush, Ash can also paint “Genies”, outlandish creatures born straight out of his imagination. Light up all the lights in an area of the town, and the strange black ooze-simply known as “Darkness”-that’s encroaching and gumming up machinery will fade away. On top of the colour they bring to Denska in their own right, these paintings will also light up any nearby lightbulbs that dangle from many of the town’s walls. She gives him a magical paintbrush that, when used on any of Denska’s many walls, will cause Ash’s landscape paintings to come alive-painted grass sways in the breeze, painted stars twinkle in the night sky, painted waterfalls roar down the wall. There is a spirit living in the lighthouse, but she’s not a malevolent one rather, she’s saddened at the state of Denska, and she sees in Ash the chance to bring some light back to the town. Sure enough, they manage to corner him and steal his book, before ripping out the pages, scattering them to the winds, and shoving Ash into a cable car destined for the town’s rumoured-to-be-haunted lighthouse.Īs it turns out, the rumours were only half right. However, Denska is also a known hangout for bullies, and a quiet, arty kid like Ash is a prime target. The game opens with our hero, Ash, sitting on a pier in Denska-the aforementioned abandoned village-scribbling away in his sketchbook. “Bullying is bad” isn’t exactly a new or profound idea, but it’s still such an important topic to discuss, and Concrete Genie approaches it with care and consideration. It’s an exploration of bullying, both how it impacts its victims and how cycles of bullying perpetuate themselves.
That sort of premise demands something special from the game’s art direction, and the combination of pseudo-stop motion animation and sketchbook street-art aesthetic gives Concrete Genie a truly unique and utterly gorgeous look.īut more than just something beautiful to look at, Concrete Genie is a game with something to say. It ought to be-at its core, Concrete Genie is about bringing light and colour back to an abandoned, industrial fishing village by covering the walls with magical graffiti. In an industry that’s obsessed with content, it’s so refreshing to play a game that takes a simple idea and delivers on it beautifully, without trying to be more than what it needs to be.Īnd when I say “beautifully”, I’m not kidding. 7/10.Concrete Genie might be one of my favourite games of the year so far. It isn't particularly complex or challenging, but it's entertaining enough. Overall, the experience is charming, friendly and fun. Still, it's a fun enough segment in and of itself. One of the game's main flaws is that its third act takes a bit of an odd turn, transforming the title into something it doesn't quite seem interested in being.
Its narrative isn't exactly deep, but it's well-told and has some solid messages at its core. Each of its stages has, essentially, something new to offer and its pacing is on point throughout. It's basic but enjoyable, able to appeal to gamers of any age. The gameplay itself revolves around simple, semi-open world platforming and some rudimentary puzzles involving different types of customisable creature you bring to life with your paintbrush.
CONCRETE GENIE FEATURES LIST FREE
Instead, you're allowed to let your creativity roam free as you progress through the game's various locations. There is a bit of conflict in the title, the details of which I won't spoil here, but it isn't too intense and there's never a focus on violence. Its focus, for the most part, is on creation instead of destruction, which is (sadly) actually quite rare for a video-game. It's a short but sweet experience, clocking in at around five or six hours in total, What it lacks in length it makes up for in charm, though. It puts you in the shoes of a shy young artist who comes across a magic paintbrush that brings his creations to life and has the ability to clear the strange darkness that is slowly enveloping his rundown town. 'Concrete Genie (2019)' is a simple but satisfying game about the uplifting power of art.
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