Concrete Genie Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Speedrun Tips

Concrete Genie's release has quietly snuck up on the gaming world.  

A bold tackling of both subject matter and gameplay experience, developer Pixelopus' PlayStation 4 exclusive is a gorgeous, relaxing ride through innovative gambles that heartily pay off. 

Boasting an eye-catching art style set in the town of Denska and weaving a tale of bullying, hope and art within the confines of engaging motion controls and platforming, Concrete Genie has the outward appearance of a sleeper hit that will make endless "best-of" lists. 

Graphics

Visually, there isn't anything quite like Concrete Genie out there on the market today. The game is a feast for the eyes. Denska is a drab, albeit architecturally interesting locale before the paint brushes come out. 

And when they do, prepare to have a jaw dropping in awe quite often. The game runs the full gauntlet of colors once protagonist Ash starts reviving the world via his graffiti-painting ways. Suns, flowers, fruits and the engaging genies themselves alight the world in a glow that is truly a 180 on the original town. 

This paint-stylized world doesn't take itself too seriously. The characters are all unique yet share a Tim Burton-style animation to their faces, which only adds to the game's character. 

Character movements are fluid, with details like the ends of Ash's paintbrush reacting to his movements and scraps of paper floating through the air. The genies on the walls are paint that has come to life, and they express themselves in memorable ways. They also not only interact with the real world despite being confined to walls, they transition around buildings and to different objects in a way quite unlike what any game has accomplished in the past. 

This game is a love letter to art and very much an original idea. And best of all, the gorgeous, engaging design not only has a soothing aspect and is impactful for all ages, it begs the player to engage in a creative side of their own. 

Gameplay and Story

Concrete Genie isn't an easy explanation from a gameplay standpoint, but rest assured it's one of the more pleasant surprises in gaming as of late. 

Players control Ash and tackle some basic platforming while navigating Denska.  

After the opener, Ash has his paint brush come to life, and he's able to paint on walls. These walls are a blank canvas from which the player can draw a vast array of items from Ash's notebook, which is expanded in scope via collections found about the world. 

Understandably, this isn't freehand art. An object like the sun, for example, doesn't require the player to wring the controller in a circle every time they want to draw it. The sun pops up on the wall where the cursor is aimed, then the player can adjust its size. Same thing with hills when drawing flowers and so forth.

Other than splashing colorful flowers, stars and other feel-good items on the walls at a whim, genies are the crux of the gameplay.

Genies are drawn at specific sites, then traverse the painted walls alongside the player and assist in any way they can. These genies will ask for specific things, like, say, an apple, then gift Ash with some Super Paint. That, in turn, purges the darkness from the walls and assures the genie safe passage in the area. Different types of genies have abilities capable of progressing the latest roadblock in Ash's path to reviving his town. 

Genies become almost pet-like in behavior, if not how the player gets attached to them. They seem to change in behavior based on how they're drawn, which isn't complicated. A few different base forms are available in the notebook, then players can add things like horns. When and how they spring to life is one of the game's pleasures before long. 

How the town's navigation and painting interact is interesting. Ash has to bob and weave around a group of kids who bully him. This is a fun little addition, though an ability to distract them and helpful awareness meters over their heads means it isn't too challenging. 

The rooftops are a safe space for Ash. And transitioning out of painting to get away from the kids is never a big deal. 

More importantly, the group of children chasing Ash will leave an impression on players. They're diverse and while minimal playtime with the game will suggest they're just playing street soccer or something, the story gets fleshed out with them. Intra-group dialogue reveals much about them, as do their relationships and background that bubble to the surface through various means.

The story isn't afraid to dive into some deep issues such as family dysfunction and what might lead kids into certain behaviors. But as readers can probably imagine, the time investment here is fulfilling as the game weaves its tale, perhaps in a way most games strive for but never reach. 

Eventually, a bit of combat of sorts via paint skating emerges. Like everything else, it is engaging, memorable and adds to the experience. 

Collecting notebook pages throughout the many areas in the game lends to a great array of items Ash is capable of splashing on walls. The brushes and notebook pages available to Ash changes based on the tone of the story at the time

Also collectible is information providing background on the town and its history. The expected ills have befallen a seaside town struggling to find its way in a modernizing world, and these little tidbits of info help paint (pun intended) an engrossing world with minimal reading required. 

There's also a photo mode tucked into the experience, which permits some smooth time-lapse work that is engaging. While this likely wasn't any sort of goal here, it's worth pointing out that this game could be a massive hit in this social media era once players get to sharing their creations online. 

Speedrunning Tips

Speedrunning in Concrete Genie isn't going to be pretty. 

Well, it will be—everything is in this game. But to race through the levels as quickly as possible, it is going to take both knowledge of each area and the ability to just toss things on walls in an effort to turn on lights or advance the story with disregard for how it actually looks. That, and the motion controls will make the user behind a run look pretty funny. 

But none of that means this is a poor title to attempt a run or watch one. There is enough in the way of skill-based menu navigation, memorization and platforming to make this have an engaging outlook in this arena. 

In time, would-be runners will get a good sense of what world drops they need to pick up and which ones to avoid running after. 

Speedrunning might take a backseat to the sheer social sharing side of the artwork available in the game. But that doesn't mean a healthy community with names sparring atop the leaderboards won't emerge in a niche sort of way. 

Conclusion

Despite some of its subject matter, Concrete Genie is as charming and relaxing as it gets.

It takes a little while for players to get their feet under them thanks to just how unique the gameplay is. But a well-paced intro and relatively intuitive controls mean the mechanical process behind it all quickly takes a backseat to the enjoyment of the artistic side.

Through it all, Concrete Genie manages to weave varying gameplay elements together in a saga that remains engrossing throughout its reasonable length and becomes hard to put down once players start tugging on the right story threads.

It's a testament to the design and heart behind this artistic adventure that Concrete Genie will stand strong as one of the top releases of 2019.