Ever since Pixelopus announced Concrete Genie back in 2017, they've had my attention with the beautiful visuals and ideas that resonated for me. I've been following where I can about it, so I'm happy to see that on October 8th, I'll be borrowing a PlayStation 4 as Concrete Genie will arrive on that day.
Concrete Genie stars Ash as the protagonist and takes place in his hometown of Denska. In the game, Ash has a magic paintbrush and with it, he is able to paint friends and bring life to the world around him in a town that has become lost its beauty. More than that, Ash is on a personal journey as he is seen in trailers and gameplay being bullied and harassed by them on occasions - and thus only has his painted friends and imagination to fight off negativity.
Along with the release date announcement, Pixelopus shared some new Concrete Genie gameplay info. Throughout the game, Ash's paintbrush will gain new abilities. In the update, they shared a new one called Paint Skating, that you can see more of in the trailer below but looks pretty cool.
Finally, they revealed that Concrete Genie will retail for a price of $29.99 US (39.99 CAD) for the standard edition and $39.99 US (49.99 CAD) for the digital Deluxe edition, that will come with a digital soundtrack, digital artbook, pond design pack, and a lighthouse dynamic theme. All versions of the game come with optional PS VR modes that were announced earlier this year.
So on October 8th, you'll be able to play Concrete Genie for prices starting at $29.99.
Quick Take
I dealt with a lot of bullying when I was younger - I wore my emotions on my sleeve and well I'm socially awkward as well as that kid who constantly answered every question from the teacher if possible - not getting necessarily that I was possibly annoying people there. For me, that makes this game very much resonate thematically - I also had relatively few friends and while I didn't paint, I relied on imagination and writing generally to help. Roleplaying games, storytelling, and well you could see me sometimes out playing out a story on my own in the schoolyard or writing down something. The means of expression is different, but the overall idea is much the same.
I don't paint worth a damn - I'm pretty colorblind and I have mediocre coordination that tends to combine for poor painting - either on its own or in any other shape. A game where painting is the main mechanic generally doesn't hold much interest for me - but the thematic elements in Concrete Genie and how it ties together to make me want to experience it - no matter how ugly some of my creations will invariably turn out to be.
