Sony Sony Pixelopus's Concrete Genie released today, reviews are in

[SaysWho?]

 

Metacritic -- 77

 

Destructoid: 8/10

 

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Although big studios tend to boast about their so-called "AAA" projects the most, a number of them have a stable of impressive, smaller-scale developers under their wing that bring the indie heat. Microsoft signed Moon Studios for Ori and the Blind Forest, Nintendo still allows studios to create smaller flights of fancy like BoxBoy, and Sony has PixelOpus, among others.

 

We could really use more of that light touch in an era full of games-as-a-service monoliths: Concrete Genie included.

 

Eurogamer: Recommended

 

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The setting, the stunning art style, the artistic game play - this an ambitious game for Pixel Opus, a studio of university graduates whose only other title is Entwined, but that ambition has served them well. Concrete Genie is everything I hoped it would be.

 

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It's nice to find a game that bothers using the motion controls in the DualShock 4 - it's even nicer to find a game that uses those motion controls pretty well. At first they feel finicky, but once you get the hang of it you'll find yourself speed painting beautiful landscapes in no time. If you don't fancy waving your controller around in the air pretending you have a magic paintbrush, you can opt to just use the analog sticks to paint too (though it's never quite as satisfying playing that way).

 

IGN: 8/10

 

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The whole process is immediately intuitive and, thanks to smart decisions about how those sketches layer onto and behind one another, it’s also remarkably easy to make something that looks genuinely good, no matter your real-life artistic ability. In a way, this is something like a little brother to Media Molecule’s Dreams – less complicated and less truly free, but just as able to leave you feeling legitimately proud at what you’ve created with just a few sweeps of the controller.

 

Well Played: 9.5/10

 

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Concrete Genie is a shining example of what games and studios are capable of when tackling underrepresented issues, and it does so in a way that's vibrant, creative and above all – incredibly fun

 

Metro: 5/10

 

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The whole act of creating your mural is clearly meant to be the central appeal of the game but it’s not really all that interesting and without the ability to draw freeform shapes you’re not doing much more than just stamping shapes onto the side of buildings. But that is the prime goal of the story, as you’re encouraged to draw murals on walls with fairy lights on them – which then light up to tell you you’ve finished. You can also bring to life differently coloured genies, which have unique abilities such as being able to set fire to certain objects or activate electric power circuits. If you make them happy, by drawing objects they ask for, they can also imbue you with ‘super paint’ which is the only thing that can remove Darkness from walls.

 

Attack of the Fanboy: 4/5

 

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This game has a really exceptional presentation when it comes to visuals and music.  While the game is incredibly short, it is impactful in the short time it will take you to get the credits.  Concrete Genie is pretty straight forward and linear, though there is plenty of personalization when it comes to the painting that you do, how you create the genies, and the different “masterpiece” milestones that you reach.  There are also quite a few secondary “missions” that you find along the way which can unlock new things like genies or pictures that you can paint.  Although, not hitting them won’t keep you off the main path to completion so they feel a little unnecessary as they do little to expand on the world.

 

Hardcore Gamer: 9/10

 

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Concrete Genie could have simply been a game about painting and creating virtual pets that you can interact with and it still would have been a fantastic little game. But thanks to some fun action, nice puzzles and a beautiful world, it becomes something even more. The fun is in the creation, crafting a vivid world out of the pages you find and then letting your charming Genies play in it. It’s just one of those games that can be perfectly described as “feel-good.” You’ll walk away from it with a warm heart and a big smile on your face after the credits roll, yet end up diving back in so that you can find every secret. Concrete Genie is one of the PS4’s most notable highlights this year and PlayStation fans should be sure not to miss it.

 

EGM: 4/10

 

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But the game isn’t interested in evaluating your art. It only cares that you’re painting something. Outside of a handful of more guided painting segments, there’s no reason (beyond simple aesthetics) that you can’t quickly paint the same object over and over again instead of taking minutes to lovingly craft a scene. As fundamental as that approach is to Concrete Genie’s underlying philosophy, it’s also by far the biggest stumbling block in building out the core ideas into a compelling game. Everything just feels slightly aimless.

 

Comicbook.com: 4/5

 

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Concrete Genie from Pixelopus and Sony Interactive Entertainment is far from flawless. It has its imperfections and many places where Pixelopus colored outside the lines, yet its numerous shortcomings never add up to really muddle the color -- the things the game gets right. Most importantly, Concrete Genie does its themes justice by delivering a unique experience. In most modern games, the creative vision is often buried by design, but not here. The concept, the story, and the gameplay of it simply have a natural cohesion, which is impressive in a time where so many games can feel pasted together by a hot-glue gun. It’s not perfect, and sometimes it’s not even great, but it’s well-realized, charming, and one of the most unique games of the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pikachu]

 

[SaysWho?]

Finally getting around to playing more of this game since I did most of my horror/zombie game-playing this month. It's lovely. I do hear the gameplay changes later, but much of the game is bringing the town to life and avoiding the bullies. It's not difficult; the game isn't grading how you paint. But it's more enjoying the mostly relaxed atmosphere. I'm not rushing to do anything; I'm just taking my time and finding hidden pages and "moments." 

 

Glad I bought the game and looking forward to more from Pixelopus and their role in Sony's first party.

[EternallDarkness]

picked this one up the other day and gave a spin today, what a good looking game...very mellow 

[SaysWho?]

11 hours ago, EternallDarkness said:

picked this one up the other day and gave a spin today, what a good looking game...very mellow 

 

Yup. I beat the game and went around looking for stuff I missed and painting more of the town; it's just nice to settle into a game sometimes and not worry as much about twitch-shooting or battles. There's a caveat to that as things do change later in the game for a bit, but that change was actually fun, and post-game goes back to mellow.

 

For a cheaper price point as well, it's well worth it.

[EternallDarkness]

28 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

 

Yup. I beat the game and went around looking for stuff I missed and painting more of the town; it's just nice to settle into a game sometimes and not worry as much about twitch-shooting or battles. There's a caveat to that as things do change later in the game for a bit, but that change was actually fun, and post-game goes back to mellow.

 

For a cheaper price point as well, it's well worth it.

 

Yeah cheaper price is always good. My GCU was running out and I had several bb rewards certs that were about to expire so I picked up this and Luigi 3 for like 45 bucks. But for those interested in Concrete, BB will have it on sale for 20 during their black Friday sale. 

[SaysWho?]

1 hour ago, EternallDarkness said:

 

Yeah cheaper price is always good. My GCU was running out and I had several bb rewards certs that were about to expire so I picked up this and Luigi 3 for like 45 bucks. But for those interested in Concrete, BB will have it on sale for 20 during their black Friday sale. 

 

Speaking of which, I need to check BB's Black Friday sales out; I didn't know they already had that info available.

[Dodger]

Seems like this game was completely forgotten about. 

[EternallDarkness]

2 hours ago, SaysWho? said:

 

Speaking of which, I need to check BB's Black Friday sales out; I didn't know they already had that info available.

 

just dropped this morning I think. cant remember everything but I know the new Ghost Recon and Borderlands 3 are going to be 27

[EternallDarkness]

1 hour ago, Dodger said:

Seems like this game was completely forgotten about. 

 

speaking of forgotten games, anyone remember a game that featured a young boy who gets help from a monster. I want to say it was a ps4 game and I think the kind had been traumatized, perhaps abusive dad or something like that, and I want to his the kid was Hispanic. I can remember thinking the game looked very cool when they were releasing previews but for the life of me I can't remember it ever coming out. And while I doubt it was like Concrete Genie this game did make me remember it and wonder if it ever came out and how was it.