Without any combat (well, until later in the game, but we’ll get to that), navigating Concrete Genie’s world is all about painting life back into Denska with Ash’s magical brush. I encountered some light platforming and collectibles meant to enhance your knowledge of the town and its current, disparaging state - but the main hook of Concrete Genie is its magical painting gameplay. How Painting and Genies Work in Concrete Genie Ash, finding his way to a rundown lighthouse in search of the scattered pages of his sketchbook, stumbles across some magically imbued pages and a paintbrush that bring his creations, the titular genies, to 2D life. Their dialogue to one another, and to Ash, quickly establishes unique personalities - clearly some of the group is not as sure-headed in their bullying as others - and relationships among one another that I hope are explored throughout the rest of that story.Īnd that story gets going quickly. It’s available from the US PlayStation Store ($29.99), EU PlayStation Store (£24.99), Amazon (£22.99), Game (£24.99) and Best Buy ($29.99), among other retailers.Though Ash is the focus, he’s also plagued by a group of bullies, who get a small amount of screentime at the start but left a surprisingly deep impression on me. It’s less about challenging you to get through traditional video game obstacles than it is about letting you challenge yourself to keep coming up with new and creative ideas, new designs, and new places to put them around this dilapidated city.”Ĭoncrete Genie is out now in the US and released on Wednesday in Europe. IGN (8/10) – “Success in Concrete Genie comes easily – probably too easily for some – but that ease lets its best moments breathe.There’s something touching and personal about some of the stories told, and it makes all the difference.” There’s so much of it here, from the animation style, right down to the experiences of each character. Eurogamer (Recommended) – “Concrete Genie is an ambitious game, and it matches that ambition with heart.

Metro (5/10) – “A peculiarly underdeveloped riff on Jet Set Radio that never manages to find anything interesting to do with any of its many gameplay mechanics and story ideas.”.PlayStation Lifestyle (9/10) – “Concrete Genie has plenty of depth and heart, feeling freeform enough to relinquish creative control to the player, but also guided enough for those that might feel they lack the creativity or patience to make compelling art.”.Go in with an open mind and a few caveats.” It might not be on a lot of Game of the Year lists, sell as well as other open world games, or even be referred to as a “classic” in the years to come. Destructoid (8/10) – “Sometimes it’s okay to just unwind with a lower-stakes adventure, and that’s where Concrete Genie comes in.Daily Star (5/5) – “Pixleopus has made a triumphant return with Concrete Genie from your very first brush stroke you’ll be so swept away by the colour and narrative that by the time it’s over, you’ll want to jump right back in again to paint the town red, and blue… and green.”.It’s a tough release window for a unique game like Concrete Genie to compete amongst the year end AAA giants, but this amazing title still deserves your attention.” PlayStation Universe (9.5/10) – “Concrete Genie and Ash are a welcome addition to the growing PlayStation family that includes iconic characters such as Kratos and games like Horizon Zero Dawn.

Adorning the city in landscapes of your own creation quickly loses its luster as you realize that what you create lacks meaningful interactivity.”

EGM (2/5) – “Concrete Genie’s painting tech impresses at first and its heart is certainly in the right place, but the game ultimately proves too aimless to support its already brief running time.

However, between all of the pages that Ash can grab to add to his sketchbook, there are hundreds of different artistic combinations to bring out.” For a value-priced game, that still feels rather short. ShackNews (7/10) – “Overall, Concrete Genie feels like a satisfying story, even if it does clock in at only four or five hours for the main story.This and a couple of smaller issues hold the game back from greatness, but taken as a whole, this is definitely worth playing - and pretty as a picture, too.” Push Square (7/10) – “While this main thrust of the game is well realised, combat feels like an afterthought, as it’s stashed away right at the end.

Concrete genie ign