Concrete Genie
Black Friday sales are a serious temptation, especially when it comes to new games. Thankfully my bank account reminded me sternly this time that buying new games for my pile of shame was not an option.
So, I set myself the limit of buying one game, and it couldn’t be more than 20€. I ended up buying two, but since one is the Christmas present it doesn’t quite count.
The other
was Concrete Genie which conveniently was 19.99€. So, I argued internally for a
moment and then the game magically manifested in my amazon cart. As such things
sometimes tend to do.
There hadn’t
been that much press around it, at least not in my media bubble. But I had
spotted the game here and there previous to its release on October 8th.
It’s a third-person action-adventure made by Pixelopus, one of Sony’s studios, so naturally it released exclusively for the PlayStation.
It’s a third-person action-adventure made by Pixelopus, one of Sony’s studios, so naturally it released exclusively for the PlayStation.
The game
deals with the theme of bullying as well as shining a light on environmental issues
and reclaiming a place that feels like home.
The
incredible art style of the game was what made me consider getting it
originally, I saw the drawings and I liked them quite a lot. I wasn’t immediately
sure if the game was for me though, I’m everything but talented with any kind
of drawing equipment.
Hell, I’m relieved if I can read my own handwriting two days after the fact.
It turns out I did not have to worry about that a lot.
Hell, I’m relieved if I can read my own handwriting two days after the fact.
It turns out I did not have to worry about that a lot.
The game
offers a selection of designs, so instead of drawing everything yourself you
pick and choose the different designs. This does not make the game lack in
creativity since the option of placement, combination and even size and orientation
of the drawings stays with the player, it’s unlikely that two people will create
the same. It also made me feel able to accomplish some beautiful designs even
though I lack the artistic talent to draw myself.
The controls are gently taught in the intro, our hero Ash is sitting on the docks
of his former hometown Denska. The once vibrant fishing town has been plagued
by a strange darkness that forced almost all the residents to leave. Ash and
his parents among them, but he still returns here, obviously missing his home
as it once was.
He’s idly doodling in his sketchbook before he gets disturbed by a local gang
of bullies. They tear his beloved sketchbook apart and wrangle him into the cable
cart to the lighthouse.
Little do
they know that up in the lighthouse a breeze has brought along one of Ash’s
drawings. Luna Ash’s first self-proclaimed masterpiece comes to life and gifts
our hero a magical brush, asking him to paint Denska back to life and defy the
darkness that claimed it.
While fulfilling
this task Ash collects the pages of his sketchbook which the wind blew all
through Denska, continually making more painting options available. He’s also
able to bring along helpers, the genies, old childhood drawings he left all
over town. Each time a genie is brought to life the player can decide what
shape it’ll take.
This was one of my favourite parts of the game, the genies are really versatile, with new body shapes, horns, head shapes and accessories for them being among the pages Ash collects. They can be small, or tall, walk on two legs or four. The body shapes range from plant-like to fuzzy animal-like.
It’s a joy to design each new companion. Especially after just gathering up some new parts to design them with. They became dear to me quite fast, sometimes even saddening me when I left an area and they couldn’t follow. The genies have their own special kinds of magic, opening up previously blocked ways to Ash.
This was one of my favourite parts of the game, the genies are really versatile, with new body shapes, horns, head shapes and accessories for them being among the pages Ash collects. They can be small, or tall, walk on two legs or four. The body shapes range from plant-like to fuzzy animal-like.
It’s a joy to design each new companion. Especially after just gathering up some new parts to design them with. They became dear to me quite fast, sometimes even saddening me when I left an area and they couldn’t follow. The genies have their own special kinds of magic, opening up previously blocked ways to Ash.
Still,
every corner that is rounded bears the danger of the bullies waiting behind it,
ready to throw Ash into a dumpster.
Now here is where the game really connects. As someone who has been bullied throughout their school years, I didn’t’ think of it much at first, but seeing Ash slouch more and moving more careful as soon as the voices become audible felt very, very real. I remember this feeling all too well. And while the things I’ve been bullied about were very different the violence seemed just as senseless.
There is no combat in this part of the game. The most Ash can accomplish is to push away and run if he has been caught by the group. Most vividly, all of the colourful paintings and sweet genies turn into white, unmoving paint as soon as the bullies draw near. Ash’s creativity and magic being muted by the presence of his violators.
Now here is where the game really connects. As someone who has been bullied throughout their school years, I didn’t’ think of it much at first, but seeing Ash slouch more and moving more careful as soon as the voices become audible felt very, very real. I remember this feeling all too well. And while the things I’ve been bullied about were very different the violence seemed just as senseless.
There is no combat in this part of the game. The most Ash can accomplish is to push away and run if he has been caught by the group. Most vividly, all of the colourful paintings and sweet genies turn into white, unmoving paint as soon as the bullies draw near. Ash’s creativity and magic being muted by the presence of his violators.
As far as any visualization of bullying can be beautiful, I think this one is. In all of the game this is the strongest picture, showing the player how bullying affects a person to the core.
Drawing
might be one of Ash’s escape mechanisms but even that is taken from him in
these moments.
And so the only thing you can do is hide, clamber to the rooftops and sneak around those teenagers and lure them away with baiting calls if you need to get your genies past them.
And so the only thing you can do is hide, clamber to the rooftops and sneak around those teenagers and lure them away with baiting calls if you need to get your genies past them.
Yet
they are not just portrayed as mindless villains and there are ways to see into
their pasts and what let those kids behave the way they do.
I see what the game went for with this, it opens the players understanding and
asks them to empathize with these teenagers. It keeps its villains human because they are.
Still, I will say, there will always be bullies who let of steam and frustration from what they experience at home, but even the most well-adjusted kids can bully if they lack the key empathy or enjoy cruelty. There will also always be kids who deal with the emotional turmoil life throws at them without lashing out at others. An unfortunate upbringing is not a reason nor an excuse to turn on others. As a child of parents who split, and not in a friendly manner either, I feel a certain level of insult whenever this is used as an excuse for bullying others.
I know that is not the story the game wants to tell, the story most media wants to tell, but not every victim of this kind of abuse has to be forgiving in the end, sometimes it is just enough to leave it behind.
Ash leaves
his colourful painting all over the city. The painting main mechanic is
controlled either by motion control or with the right joystick. I tried myself
with the motion control in the introduction and as soon as I was able, I switched
to the joystick control which did not demand me trying weird movements while
sitting in the bed.
I love the idea of controlling my paintings with movement, it works wonderfully in such games as Okami HD on the Switch, but the Switch offers a touchscreen to directly translate my movement and I don’t have to aimlessly wave the controller in the air, constantly resetting it to accomplish anything.
Since the controls work just fine with the joystick the game isn’t hindered much through this. I’m also strongly suspecting the motion controls might tie in a lot better if the game is played in VR. I do not own any kind of VR equipment to try this though.
I love the idea of controlling my paintings with movement, it works wonderfully in such games as Okami HD on the Switch, but the Switch offers a touchscreen to directly translate my movement and I don’t have to aimlessly wave the controller in the air, constantly resetting it to accomplish anything.
Since the controls work just fine with the joystick the game isn’t hindered much through this. I’m also strongly suspecting the motion controls might tie in a lot better if the game is played in VR. I do not own any kind of VR equipment to try this though.
Something
else that takes Concrete Genie a step further from your normal game is the
glaring absence of a combat system in most of the game. There is one later in
the game, but even here the goal is not to deal a lethal strike to your foe. As
soon as this part of the game is done, the combat UI vanishes, and the moves
are no longer accessible.
Violence is the most common language in video games and whenever a game manages to do without it, even if it's just mostly, it feels very refreshing.
To me, it shows that the creators put a lot of thought into the mechanics of the game and how they want conflicts to be resolved in the long run. A big shoutout to Pixelopus here, for building their game in such a peaceful way.
I’m very excited about what they’ll come up with in the future.
Through
this it’s a game you can put into younger children’s hands without a second
thought, it’s not scary, not violent and not too hard. It might actually be a
nice experience to play along as a first game for a younger child.
The game is
a sweet experience, but it isn’t too long, my playthrough took five hours for
the main story. It came up to six and a half after I invested some time to
explore the postgame. That mainly consists of completing trophies and finding
all the remaining sketchbook pages. Personally, I don’t mind that, but I know a
lot of players out there value the time they can put into a game a lot.
It comes at around 25€ to 28€, which is about half the standard price of new games releasing nowadays and it feels more than fair at that.
It comes at around 25€ to 28€, which is about half the standard price of new games releasing nowadays and it feels more than fair at that.
I’d heartily recommend it as a feel-good game for a rainy weekend or over the upcoming holidays if you find yourself enjoying the art style.
