![]() Speaking of the story, the game deals with the subject matter of childhood bullying and nostalgia with such delicacy and powerful symbolism. Often I painted over these both as a way of removing the graffiti, but also as an excuse to just keep painting, which is a testament I think to the games’ charming and enjoyable painting mechanic.Īlong with the grafitti, hints of the game’s world is carried out in newspapers you can collect throughout Denska, detailing why it was abandoned, with Ash’s comments on them sometimes helping to flesh out his own family’s struggle and connection with the town. Their presence is even felt outside of these sections, as you see their grafitti all over the town, carrying messages of disdain for Denska, and writing insults against Ash. You can also use the right arrow button to attract them to your location, before then evading them, and running toward their starting position to further a puzzle. As a result, you are encouraged to use higher ground such as roofs to stay out of their reach. Throughout the game, a gang of kids hang out in various places of Denska, and will chase and beat up Ash, or even throw his paintbrush away if they see him. These interactions bring you closer to the Genies, and establish a great sense of friendship and closeness, particularly as the only other physical characters you meet are the bullies. ![]() This Super-Paint is acquired by making your genies happy, by either painting something they ask you for, or by playing with them. However, not every wall begins as a free canvas for you: a sludge that is called “Darkness” seems to have spread itself across the town, and part of your job is to eradicate it with “Super-Paint”. It is worth noting that you can turn off the motion controls, and control the paintbrush with the analog stick, but it is so well implemented that I didn’t feel the need to. For example one of the ones you start with is a group of stars: painting them with a quick flick of the controller spreads them across the area you aim, and suddenly you have a twinkling starry sky. Similarly, Yellow pages carry shapes and objects for you to paint onto walls as part of your paintings to liven up the town. You can also change the appearance of your Genies whenever you’re near them, in case you decide you want to make use of your new pages. You unlock more features for your creatures by tracking down blue pages from Ash’s art book, some you have to chase as they float on the wind, and some are stuck in something like a bin or a vent, trying to get out. This does of course take some getting used to, but it’s not long before your swishing your controller as comfortably and spontaneously as you would a paintbrush. These genies can be created wherever you see a chalk drawing of one on the ground from Ash’s childhood, and it is incredibly fun to give them bushy tails and antlers using the dual-shock’s motion controls. There are three types: Fire, Electric and Wind Genies, of which are gradually introduced for the duration of the game. These Genies run around the levels along the walls of buildings and infrastructure, to aid you in puzzles throughout the game. These are complemented by the titular “Genies” that your character, Ash, paints based on the pages in his artbook. ![]() ![]() The character’s faces almost remind me of paper-mache, and although the environment itself looks normal: the paintings you create on them become their own living neon billboards. From the characters, to the world to even the trophy icons: It has such a varied colour palette, and it carries out it’s goal of having an arts-and-crafts feel without looking washed out. To begin with the obvious: the game is stunning and striking in it’s visual style. After completing it I’m happy to say I was not disappointed, and loved the way the developers had delicately explored the themes of childhood bullying and nostalgia. Concrete Genie has been on my radar for awhile: It had an intriguing trailer that really struck a cord with me, and the gameplay idea behind it was creating a bit of a buzz.
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