![]() The tools the player uses are as brilliant as the murals themselves. These murals are animated with shimmering brilliance, an HDR-laden blast of luminescence in the shadowy city. Concrete Genie correctly stays out of its own way and lets the player get to work with some of the most fun and engaging creation tools I’ve seen in a game.Īs Ash explores the barren streets and tunnels of Denska, he splashes blazing landscapes on the gray walls, bringing color and life to the sad remnants. ![]() When dynamics take a turn and combat does enter the game, it is smooth and enjoyable, and not overly challenging. Puzzle are mostly simple (though satisfying), and the light stealth elements are a fun distraction, but never too difficult to overcome. Indeed, Concrete Genie does not put many barriers to progress in front of the player. I won’t spoil anything, but I can say that Concrete Genie understands that a gang is made of individuals, and children don’t end up stalking the street of a dead town unless something in their lives has gone drastically wrong. The bullies, in fact, provide much of Concrete Genie’s sizable heart. He brushes himself off and gets right back to work. Though to be honest, the bullies aren’t a terrible danger, and getting caught by them only wins Ash a trip to the local dumpster. After this brief introduction, Concrete Genie is off and running, with Ash moving from zone to zone throughout Denska, scampering over roofs and walls like an adolescent Nathan Drake, slathering artwork over every available surface, and freeing the town from the wastes that have choked the life from it.Īs he progresses, Ash must avoid the gang of bullies. The genie grants Ash the ability to restore life to Denska though the power of art. The ghost is actually a genie-a cool two-dimensional creature bound to Denska’s walls. Ash is granted a one-way trip to the local lighthouse-home of the “ghost of Denska.” They have covered Denska in mean-spirited graffiti taunting Ash, and when they find him perched on a post sketching, they reward him by ripping the pages from his sketchbook and scattering them to the four winds. ![]() He sneaks off to the piers and factories of Denska to fill his sketchbook with his dreams of the city’s recovery.ĭenska is now abandoned, seemingly only occupied by a roving band of child bullies, and they do not appreciate Ash’s artistic leanings one bit. Yet Ash finds himself drawn back regularly to his childhood hometown, either for comfort or inspiration. Ash used to live in the city of Denska, but industrial accidents, poor leadership, and urban decay have rendered this port town an uninhabitable waste. I played much of Concrete Genie with my two young children in the room, and they found watching the game as delightful as I found playing it.Ĭoncrete Genie centers on Ash, a young artist who whiles away his time drawing in his sketchbook, creating fantastical landscapes and characters. And while not a kids’ game, this is an experience that can be enjoyed with a family (so long as you are willing to have some explanatory conversations). Yet Concrete Genie is a blast of fresh air blown into the stale halls of gaming, a burst of color and life that comes darn close to creating a new genre. The lightest of stealth elements provide the tension in the game, and that tension is really more narrative than gameplay based. For most of the game, there isn’t any combat at all. There is very little violence in Concrete Genie. In a Fall game season full of the typical shooter sequels, superhero romps, and remasters of classic titles, it's delightfully refreshing that something as original and positive as Concrete Genie can create the buzz that it has.
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