In the end, the art style and gameplay mechanics are solid. He's got at least three inches and 40 pounds on the two smallest bullies (though bullies come in all shapes and sizes), yet he just stands there, letting them steal his notebook, tear it to shreds and scatter the pages to the wind, which he then has to seek out and recollect. Yes, I get it, the bullying is a major plot point and serves as the basic impetus for his adventure but it's infuriating to watch. One thing I couldn't figure out is why Ash would allow himself to be bullied in the first place. It felt like I was just going through the motions rather than unraveling a pernicious mystery. I solved three puzzles during my playthrough and each one was a minor variant of this method. Paint over the Darkness, then lead the genie to whatever object is blocking your path and have it burn the item to cinders, allowing you to continue.
Once the genie is placated, it will charge your super paint meter - the stuff you use to cover over the Darkness and rehab the town. The basic mechanics boil down to the following sequence: find a genie spawn point, draw the genie, and draw whatever objects the genie asks of you to gain its trust and friendship. I'm not a fan of puzzle games, preferring to instead solve problems with a well-placed grenade volley, but these puzzles are Babytown Frolic easy. You draw your companion Genies as well, though only at specific sites and often because that's where you'll need to solve a puzzle to advance the story or open up new areas of town to explore. Experience mode is a persistent game of "appease the genie" where you create a 360-degree mural while following the directions of Splotch (a mini genie that lives on Ash's backpack) while Freeform mode is essentially a blank canvas where you can create whatever comes to mind. These stamps range from basic grasses, wildflowers and trees to stars, moons, butterflies, and campfires.Ĭoncrete Genie's main story lasts around 5 to 6 hours, hence the $30 price tag, but does include a pair of VR experiences if you've got a PSVR headset handy. Instead, players pick what is essentially a stamp of what they want to draw and then apply it to the wall, using the controller to dictate the image's size and shape. It takes a bit of getting used to - I wasn't trying to be the next Rembrandt during the hands-on event so much as get through the levels - but I can see players making some beautiful works if given a bit of time. You hold down R1 to start painting and then use the controllers' six-axis tilt sensors to move the cursor around the brick and mortar canvas. It's tough to miss a jump or fall off a building in this game unless you're really trying to. It's no Assassin's Creed but the platforming mechanics are sturdy and intuitive. In order to avoid the bullies, as well as reach new areas, Ash spends much of his time climbing walls and jumping between roofs. The player commands Ash via a third person trailing camera when moving across the map. The controls are equally well-designed and responsive. The game itself is gorgeous with beautifully animated cutscenes and an enchanting art style.
It's up to Ash to fight off these corrupting forces and return the town to its former glory, the only way he knows how: by drawing magical graffiti on the exterior of every building he can reach while avoiding the wrath of his teenage tormentors.Īrmed with a magical paintbrush he found in an abandoned lighthouse - because sure, why not - and accompanied by mystical graffiti creatures known as Genies, Ash sets out to save the town, one act of petty vandalism at a time. It used to be a thriving area but has been corrupted by an environmental disaster which has, in turn, led to an invasion of Darkness.
The story takes place in Denska, a seaside port city that has seen better days. It's certainly not my cup of tea but it could well be yours.Ĭoncrete Genie follows the exploits of Ash, a quiet and sensitive boy who spends most of his time sketching in his favorite notebook - at least when he isn't having the town's local band of teenage bullies kick the snot out of him. However, after an hour or so with the game (enough to cover the first couple of levels), I came away pleasantly surprised.
Suffice to say, I was more than a little reticent to try out Concrete Genie, a game about overcoming bullying with street art, from studio Pixelopus and published by Sony Interactive. I like playing games where stuff blows up, be it vehicles, fuel canisters, enemy bunkers, or brainpans.
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