Change is a theme that is rarely explored in video games, and coping with childhood trauma is even less so. “Concrete Genie” is a new puzzle and platform game that centers around these ideas, as well as magic chalk monsters.
“Concrete Genie” tells the story of Ash, a young boy with a passion for art. Ash grew up in Denska, a coastal town that has fallen into pollution and darkness. When bullies steal his art book and rip all the pages out, Ash discovers a paint brush that allows him to bring life to his paintings. After discovering this, he sets out to bring light back to Denska with his art.
Pixelopus, the developer of the game, is relatively new to the gaming scene, with only one other game under their belt: 2014’s “Entwined.” While I never played the game myself, as it never looked all that interesting, it garnered mostly negative reviews. However, when “Concrete Genie” was announced in 2017, it immediately grabbed my attention, so I was excited to get my hands on it.
This game is incredibly charming. With a unique art style that screams childhood innocence, this game got an emotional reaction out of me more times than I thought it would. The game’s story theme about yearning for better times and trying to bring them back really hit home for me, along with a few other emotional beats that I won’t spoil here.
“Concrete Genie” is also a ton of fun to play. The core gameplay involves Ash platforming around Denska and finding lightbulbs which can be relit by painting near them. In order to get from area to area, players must create “genies,” painted creatures that help Ash solve puzzles by interacting with the environment.
The game gives players a set list of different objects to paint onto walls, including things such as stars, trees, fire and mushrooms. While you are only really required to paint the bare minimum that will turn the light bulbs back on, I found myself covering every empty wall in Denska with paint. Creating elaborate landscapes is incredibly satisfying, as is customizing your genies.
The game has painting set to motion controls by default, although you can change this in the settings. Personally, I thought that the motion controls made the game feel unique and more as if I were actually painting while making my elaborate creations. While they were admittedly a little finicky at times, for the most part, the worked as intended.
The game, which is exclusive to the PS4, looks beautiful graphically and always ran at a steady frame rate. I never ran into any glitches or bugs in my time with the game, which was admittedly short. The game can be beaten in anywhere from six to eight hours. While some may take issue with this short game time, I think that anything more would’ve made the game overstay its welcome.
Overall, “Concrete Genie” is an incredibly charming and unique game. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game, although it was short. For only $30 at launch, however, I think the game is worth the investment.
Game Reviewed on a PlayStation 4 Pro.
8/10
