@assassinasan
You play as a young boy named Ash who enjoys drawing in his sketchbook and has a strong attachment to his hometown called Denska. This is until a group of local bullies rip the pages out of his sketchbook, leaving all of his art sprinkled around this small town. Then Ash endeavor’s to find each page and use that art to color the currently desolate Denska. As you explore Denska, you’ll find newspapers explaining how the town experienced an economic downfall and was taken over by this dark matter. Only Ash’s paint brush can make the town bright again by making his paintings come to life around the town.
Concrete Genie is truly a treat as it’s both a message about understanding bullying and an artistic accomplishment. You can spend hours painting the walls of Denska to make your unique masterpiece, or not. Ash parkours his way around Denska collecting missing pages from his sketchbook, lighting up the town with paintings, and creating genie’s that help him unlock certain areas. Being able to create each genie to your liking, watching them come to life, and waddle their way by your side around Denska is so magical! Not to mention, the art style of the human characters are very Tim Burton or Rudolph.
You can choose to paint every corner of the town or you can simply paint enough to progress through the game. While you’re painting the small barren town, ambient music will play in the background and each type of object you’re painting creates a different sound bite. Together this creates an extremely cathartic experience. I also played several months after the release, so I was blessed with some magical holiday designs, and definitely gave one of my genies and candy cane/peppermint penis because *insert crying laughter emoji*.
Concrete Genie is an action-adventure game but there isn’t much to the game besides painting genie’s and sceneries. You do parkour across rooftops and shimmy across platforms to access certain areas. You also stealth away from the bullies which can easily be circumvented by running away or calling them to the opposite direction you’re headed in.
Then there’s the genie’s which aren’t just cool creations; they have elemental powers (fire, wind, shock) to solve puzzles and progress. It wasn’t until the end of the game that these elements were used in combat. At this point you’ll be given skates to traverse, chase down adversaries, and paint. You attack with specific elements depending on your foe and you’ll need to dodge incoming attacks. This short combat sequence was simple but effective.
Actually, the entire game is short and can be completed in 6 hours, but it definitely leaves a lasting impression. Concrete Genie exceeded my expectations. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s definitely a game tailored for children because it’s easy and creative, but it’s fun enough to be appreciated by anyone. The entire game made me feel zen. I’ll definitely be on the look out for future Pixelopus games. 3.5/5 Bibles.
-Dee Assassina