Concrete Genie Review - One of the Most Powerful Generation Games

The modern gaming industry is often accused of excessive commercialization, because now every studio

trying to make a service game and feedmicropayments. I released the project, came up with “addictive” mechanics and you support the company with regular income. Nevertheless, this problem goes by the wayside when you realize that modern industry is becoming unprofitable.

Looking through the library of games you can hardly finda project whose developers were trying to convey something to you. Now we are not talking about the classic path of a hero or revenge, but the real idea. Often, games try to entertain, be it an interesting adventure, fascinating mechanics or a story full of action and dynamics. That is why Concrete Genie stands out - a small PlayStation 4 exclusive with a great idea.

The story of the hero

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The story of Concrete Genie tells the story of a youngartist Eshe, who spends his free time in the abandoned city of Denska. Once this place was filled with people and life, but after that it turned into a deserted platform for hooligans who have nowhere to go. In addition, an unknown “darkness” began to engulf the city, which only exacerbates the situation.

Ash and his parents have long left the city, butthe guy kept coming back to paint. Another outing ended for the boy meeting with the hooligans, who tore the album and locked Ash in the funicular, sending him on a trip to an abandoned lighthouse. There, the guy meets the city spirit, which gives the hero a magic brush and asks to color the city in order to drive out the darkness.

Art will save the world

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Here the player is introduced to the basic mechanics of the game -Painting. The developers did not turn Concrete Genie into an artist simulator, so creating is simple here. To draw an object, it is enough to select an image from Ash's album and draw a brush over the canvas, which can be almost any urban structure.

Moreover, the player controls the main character withsticks and buttons, and the gyroscope built into Dualshock 4 is responsible for waved brush. The developers have perfectly calibrated this method and drawing is very convenient. As a result, the player does not need to bother with the conclusion of each stroke, think about the composition and more.

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Moreover, the images are complex, anda grassy hill will appear along with some tree, and the branches will be overgrown with leaves. This action is accompanied by beautiful animation and additional effects, and in the photo mode an animated photo is created that can be reviewed.

Do not sit in four walls

The world at Concrete Genie is open but divided intolocations, conditional levels. To go further, the player needs to fulfill two conditions - light all the lights and solve the puzzle. The lights turn on automatically when Ash creates drawings near them. Moreover, it does not matter that this will be the only condition - the size of the picture.

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The grayness and gloom of the city awakens the inneran artist who tries to do everything as beautifully as possible. Because you are trying to paint each wall somehow especially, creating landscapes and thematic drawings. Most of the game consists of painting walls and at first it seemed like it would quickly get bored, but after five hours and a full passage, you still want to go back and draw.

Special project

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Firstly, each drawing is animated and even"Kalyaki-kalyaki" looks interesting. Secondly, lost pictures from the album are scattered across the levels, and the list of available images is constantly updated, giving room for creativity.

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The third point could be mentionedpuzzles, but they are very simple here. In addition to the usual images, Ash is able to draw elemental spirits that help him in solving puzzles. Often riddles come down to the fact that the player needs to draw the desired spirit, lead him to the point and allow him to do magic.

To solve the problems, it is enough to look back and think, but the process is still fascinating. The puzzles in Concrete Genie are more likely to dilute the gameplay rather than stretch it, slowing down the player.

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See the root

Hooligans will spoil the life of the protagonist,who attack Ash as soon as they see him. Sometimes they block the passage to the desired location and have to be distracted, but it is also not very difficult. In addition, if the hooligans catch Ash, then they just throw in the trash. The hero gets out and continues to draw.

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Often, these characters simply servenecessary evil that interferes with the hero. At first it seems that this is another similar story about a boy and hooligans who oppress him, and then they are friends with him, because he saves the world.
In fact, developers do not leave the pastrobbers behind the scenes, and show it. Moreover, everything is demonstrated through the main character, who, over time, because of what he sees, changes his attitude towards hooligans.

And this is only one of a dozen socialcomments in the game. In the city you can find old newspapers and messages that explain the real reason for Densky's peculiar death. Moreover, the main character himself analyzes what has been read and makes conclusions that the player broadcasts. Yes, a little straightforward, but not every message should be hidden.

Art is a great power

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And if the first three hours Concrete Genie behaveslike a platformer with puzzles, the remaining time is Infamous at the minimum. A sharp plot twist gives the main character’s brush the power of destruction. Now Ash can not only draw, but also fling herself with elemental energy and even ride on the colors of an aka skater.

At this moment, calm and measured drawinggoes by the wayside and action begins. Moreover, it is very cool. Concrete Genie is perfectly controlled and the combat system reveals this feature to the full - everything is clear, smooth and responsive. The only problem is that you want more. After passing the game, there was a desire to throw money into the monitor with a cry: “Make a sequel, only with the big city and all the mechanics at once.”

In the dry residue

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Concrete Genie was made by guys and girls fromindie studio Pixel Opus, and the budget of the project is small. As a result, the game does not look like a large-scale and expensive project, but rather as a stylish and thoughtful creative work. Moreover, it is clear that the developers wanted to make not so much a blockbuster as it was just to speak out. Concrete Genie could be a great cartoon with the right message, but in the end it turned out to be a gorgeous game.

Concrete Genie is hardly a project for the sake ofwhich is worth buying a PlayStation 4, but the owners of the console should definitely get acquainted with it. Especially if you have a PlayStation VR, because the game supports virtual reality, in which these incredible drawings can look even cooler.

3 reasons to buy Concrete Genie:

• stylish graphics
• simple but ideological plot
• mechanics of drawing

3 reasons not to buy Concrete Genie:

• if you are not an indie game fan
• if you want a game with a hundred hours of content
• too cute

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