#Concrete genie rating full#

Ash is granted a one-way trip to the local lighthouse-home of the “ghost of Denska.”

They have covered Denska in mean-spirited graffiti taunting Ash, and when they find him perched on a post sketching, they reward him by ripping the pages from his sketchbook and scattering them to the four winds. He sneaks off to the piers and factories of Denska to fill his sketchbook with his dreams of the city’s recovery.ĭenska is now abandoned, seemingly only occupied by a roving band of child bullies, and they do not appreciate Ash’s artistic leanings one bit. Yet Ash finds himself drawn back regularly to his childhood hometown, either for comfort or inspiration. Ash used to live in the city of Denska, but industrial accidents, poor leadership, and urban decay have rendered this port town an uninhabitable waste. I played much of Concrete Genie with my two young children in the room, and they found watching the game as delightful as I found playing it.Ĭoncrete Genie centers on Ash, a young artist who whiles away his time drawing in his sketchbook, creating fantastical landscapes and characters. And while not a kids’ game, this is an experience that can be enjoyed with a family (so long as you are willing to have some explanatory conversations). Yet Concrete Genie is a blast of fresh air blown into the stale halls of gaming, a burst of color and life that comes darn close to creating a new genre. The lightest of stealth elements provide the tension in the game, and that tension is really more narrative than gameplay based. For most of the game, there isn’t any combat at all.

There is very little violence in Concrete Genie.

#Concrete genie rating full#

In a Fall game season full of the typical shooter sequels, superhero romps, and remasters of classic titles, it's delightfully refreshing that something as original and positive as Concrete Genie can create the buzz that it has.