Concrete Genie
I was very excited to experience Concrete Genie, especially when I saw the release of the launch date that my colleague Abdul Rahman Al Ramli shared on the site in his time, and from that time I was talking about the game with my friends because the style of art and graphics used was magical and this is what I already saw from the first moments .
During your adventure in Concrete Jane you will control the character of Ash, a quiet and sensitive boy who spends most of his time painting on his favorite notebook when the town's teenagers who always bully him are not exposed. The story takes place in the coastal town of Denska, which has certainly seen better days as it was a thriving area but damaged by an environmental disaster that led to darkness invading its streets. Ash must fight against these corrupt forces and return the city to its former glory. The only way to do this is by drawing magic drawings on the wall of every building he can reach, but he must always avoid the bully group because they will hurt him. As he sets out to save the city with his weapon, a magical brush he found in a slightly rundown lighthouse while searching for his scattered pages, this brush brings his creations, drawings and genies to real life in two-dimensional fashion.
Screenshot from within the game during my experience.
Although Ash is the focus of attention, the group of bullies gets many passages during your journey in the world of the game, but this character left an impression on me because of their dialogues between each other and to Ash where each person from this group has their own personality and their relationship is different between each other and this is what you will know More about it as you progress.
The game is a masterpiece in terms of graphics as well as wonderful animation clips. The control is well designed and interactive where you spend a lot of time climbing walls and jumping between surfaces to reach new areas and to avoid bullies while you control the character from a third person perspective. No, it's not like Assassin's Creed (but I felt Infamous: Second Son), but it has a platform mechanism.It's very hard to fall or miss a jump.If you try, the game doesn't try to kill you or challenge you. A quiet and enjoyable experience.
Without any fighting (until later in the game but we'll get there) you will roam the streets of Denska and revive it with the Magic Ash Brush that will give players a range of options you can draw from which will grow bigger and bigger when you find pages in different places of the world Based on drawings of trees, stars, sun, grass, and more.
You can draw on the walls by moving the controller and using the sensors or by controlling the right wheel (R) - for me, I tried the two methods and I felt that the control of the right wheel more comfortable and faster in terms of time. You will also be able to draw the jinn who will accompany you as well, but you can do so in specific locations and often you'll be where you will need to solve a mystery to advance the story or to open a new area of the city to explore. I'm not a fan of puzzle games and if you're like me don't worry, all the puzzles here are simple and easy to solve.
Screenshot from within the game during my experience.
Concrete Genie is not long, its main story runs from five hours to six hours but again it is priced at $ 30 and includes VR mode if you have PSVR glasses. Experience Mode puts you in a 360-degree world and you have to complete the requests and follow the little Genie Splotch who lives in the Ash bag while Freeform mode puts you in an empty world where you can create what you want.
The game's main mechanism is summarized in the following sequence: Find a point where you can draw a genie and draw all the things it asks you to gain the confidence and friendship of the genie after which it will charge the super paint counter - used to remove the dark roots from the walls and then call the genie you have drawn to the thing Who obscures your path and ask him to help you. To be honest at first, drawing the jinn and interacting with them was fun and appropriate for the game world, but after a little time I felt repetitive, which made me move away from the game world.
Late in the game a new fighting and skill system was introduced that helps Ash to overcome the mysterious dark Genies you saw in the story above. I do not want to talk about this much for fear of burning some of the details of the game, but some of these skills and fighting system should have been introduced earlier and not in the last paragraph where in the middle of your progress will feel that there is nothing new, but it may happen events and go For places that captivate you for a short time until you feel the same feeling.
One of Ash's fun skills was the ability to paint on the skateboard which once again reminded me of Infamous: Second Son, this skill made the control and touring of the city more enjoyable but I understand what the development team put in the last paragraph, in the end it certainly fits the story and style of play and concrete world Genie is charming but we wished we had some of them early.
Simply put, Concrete Genie optics, art style and animations are definitely worth a try, as well as their gameplay with some interesting mechanisms. During my experience I have enjoyed a lot of walking around and creating jinn and interacting with them because you will feel connected with a 2D pet and you will see his happiness when you meet his requests and draw what he wants. Certainly the game is not huge (AAA) but an independent game and as a lover of independent games I advise you to try it is a change from the style of games that we are used to recently.
