Concrete Genie is an action adventure puzzle game developed by Pixeloplus studio. A studio whose prior work was a small game by the name of Entwined. As soon as the studio proved their worth, they joined the family of Playstation and 3 years after that they announced their first project. Two years later in 2019 the
studio released Concrete Genie which as of early 2022 is their latest product with a confirmation that the studio is already working on their next untitle project. Seeing how the studio belongs to the playstation family, it goes without saying that the game was and still is available for Sony's platform the Playstation.
The game can be enjoyed in two ways:
Standard
Play the game as any other game
VR
Play the game whilst wearing a Virtual reality headset.
Concrete Genie was a game that was received in a possitive way and the majority who experienced it, praised it. The critics scored the game high and the same was said from the players. Through the years of 2019 and 2020, the game received over 18 nominations and succesfully won best family game of 2019. The release of the game had a standard version
but was also escorted with a deluxe edition that consisted of the game, a digital Art book, a digital Soundtrack and a playstation lighthouse theme.
Story of the Game (Minor spoilers ahead.)
The game takes place in a beautiful port named Denska, a place that used to be filled with live and birght colors. However, Denska is now a ghost of it's former self, as an accident occur that spilled Oil tanks in the port, polluted the land and drove everyone away, leaving Denska's fate sink into the darkness. The game introduces the players to Ash,
a young teenager who loves drawing on his sketchbooks. Despite his family's warnings not to approach Denska, Ash cant keep himself away from it. Ash is always seemed lonely and he is often targeted by a group of bullies. One day, these bullies caught Ash by suprised and they discovered his sketchbook which they proceed to rip it's pages out letting
their fate on the wind. They proceed to lock Ash inside a cable car that takes him to Denska's lighthouse located in an island outside of the main town. Upon arriving, Ash sees one of the pages and chases it into the lighthouse. The page consisted of Luna, one of Ash's favorite creations. Luna comes to life and guides Ash to a magic paint brush,
which will allow his drawings to come to life. The brush also allows Ash to create Genies based on the art that Ash drew in the past when he was a young boy. Luna entrust the brush to Ash with the hope that he will use it to clear the darkness off Denska which will result on the ressurection of life in the once gorgeous port.
Ash returns back to Denska with his mind set on his goal. Hoever in order to achieve his goal, Ash will have to stay away from the bullies as they will try their best to capture Ash and throw him in the trash bin. Through his adventure Ash will get to know more on the bullies personality and will try to keep away from them. Nevertheless, bullies is not
the only thing Ash should be worried when dealling with a magical brush and magical Gennies.
Thoughts on the Story
The story of the game is short,simple and yet very effective. The game could easily be seen as a typical Disney movie where the plot revolves around bullies and magical gennies. The game's strenght is in it's simplicity. Ash is a young teenager who cannot keep himself away from the port he loved as a child and it pains him to see it covered in darkness.
His sketchbook consisted of alot of drawings depictioning Denska during it's prime. He is very closed as a Character as his only friends are the creatures he draws in his sketchbook. Although lonely, Ash instantly accepts Luna's gift of the magical brush if that meant restoring the city back it's glory which shows his dedication and once again love for the port.
He did not hesistate one bit. Through the brief adventure, the character of Ash stays consisted throughout which is very commendable. The bullies on the other hand don't get much personality, as the majority of the first 4 chapters of the game they are just there to chase the player around and put him(Ash) on a trash bin once captured. When Ash is being stealthy,
the bulies can be seen walking around or hanging in a hideout while they re discussing one of three topics:
How pathetic Ash is.
Making fun of Froggy who is the youngest of the group
Talking about Ghosts, as Denska is considered a Ghost town
Through Ash's tale, the player gets to know abit about each of the Bullies, however it's not until the finalchapter that the player gets to spent more time with them and understand their resonings. Overall, it's a pleasant story with interesting concepts and very goog characters.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Concrete Genie is very simple and beginer friendly. The game for the majority of it's length is a platformer where the player gets control of Ash. Ash moves around in Denska which consist of four parts, each part representing a different chapter. Ash moves around in the environment whilst drawing on the walls with his magical paintbrush. The player simply
draws the brush, selects a design from the menu, and then aim it at a wall and draw. The drawing happens with the combination of R2 and the physical movement of the controller as the game is using mainly Tilt mechanics. Each area has a few light bulbs that are switched off. The player will have to draw on the walls which will light up the bulbs allowing the player
to proceed. Moreover, the game will have walls that re filled with Negative purple energy where using the brush won't paint anything. In order to deal with them, the player will have to use super paint which breaks through the darkness. In order for Ash to gain access to the paint he ll have to interact with his Genies. Whilst in an area, the map will have Genie
paintings that Ash drew when he was a kid. As a teenager, Ash can interact with the paintings and creat Genies, that will follow him through the walls. Gennies are important, as they not only restore super paint for Ash but also help him based on their element.
Yellow
Yellow Genies are capable of producing electricity. They can interact with powerboxes that on they will send sparx flying through the cables.
Red
Red Genies are capable of producing the elemennt of fire. To burn boxes and other obstacles.
Blue
Blue Genies control the element of wind. They can blow items off Ash's way.
The player can interact with the genies by simply aproaching them. At times certain genies will request for Ash to draw them something. In most cases these interactions are what the player needs to do in order to restore super paint. Furthermore, certain genies will show the player where to look or where to move in order to proceed with the story. The player can move as far away
from the genies however, they can comand them to run to Ash's location which will be met with success Unless, the walls are not interconnected or there's a wall filled with negative elements.
The aim of the game is for the player to draw on the walls in order to light up the bulbs, avoid the bullies and restore as many Genies as they can. Spoilers Below
The final chapter has the Genies possesed by negative motions and they escaped from the walls. It is important to note that the Gennies outside of the walls are designed exactly how the player drew them. While the Genies are on a rampage, the player gets new abilities. The player has to spot a roque genie and chase it through the city. The brush allows Ash to skate around and deal damage
to them by shooting projectiles. The player should use the same element attack as the Genie they re chasing. During the Genie hunting, Ash is joined by the bullies (one at a time) while rstoring the Genies back to their friendly self.
Collectables
The game has only a few collectables.
Pages
These are the pages that th bullies threw in the oppening cutscenes. They consist of Gennie designs and wal drawings.
Wall Paintings
A few walls, have a grafiti depictioning a genie with a certain drawings. Ash will have to call his genies near the graffiti and draw whatever they re imagining
Old Sign
Around Denska, there are a few advertising Signs depictioning a certain picture. Ash will have to draw above the signs with the exact paintings. For example, a sign with a moon, 2 rainbows and tulips will have the player draw the ssame things ontop of them.
Overall Synopsis
Overall Concrete Genie is a really nice and interesting Game. The story is simple effective, but it does feel kind of 'cliche' as certain plot points were to be expected. The character of Ash is really good and stays consisted through out his adventure. The gameplay is simply unique as not many developers use controler tilt as their main game mechanic. The platforming feels realistic, as Ash is believed to be a 'normal' teen
who cannot just jump of the roofs and be 100% healthy. The graphics of the game are breathtaking. There is nothing more satifying than drawing a cherry blossom and watch it grow into a beatiful tree, Making a mushroom Biome with carnivore flowers that scare the Genies ormaking a simple grafiti of a camp fire during a stormy weather and sit by the genie. It's up to the players creativity to draw whatever they like except
when a genie request for something specific. The puzzles are not very complicated because as mentioned, the genies will most likely pin point where the player should move. The cutscenes of the game are really good and the music accompany the game is also good. Each painting tool has it's own melody acompany the players drawing. ANother thing worth mentioning is the game stays consisted with the players drawing. For example, if a player
draws a red tulip on a certain wall, that tulip will remain there through the entire game unless the player deletes them. Every painting will remain there and will appear in every cutscene throughout the game. The game also offers a free mode where the players can draw anything at any point.
