Concrete Genie Reviews
A small, perfectly formed adventure
Short and very sweet, Concrete Genie is a spellbinding experiment in player creativity.
Concrete Genie is a gorgeous game with a heartwarming story that marks yet another great PlayStation 4-exclusive game.
A peculiarly underdeveloped riff on Jet Set Radio that never manages to find anything interesting to do with any of its many gameplay mechanics and story ideas.
Concrete Genie takes you on a uniquely heartwarming journey teeming with creativity and charm that will capture your imagination.
Bring life and love back to a desolate town with the help of your paintbrush and some really fun parkour.
The story of Concrete Genie is well-told and relatable, a classic bullies-turned-friends story of empathy and growth with some real storytelling flair, including striking illustrations and a masterful, coherent use of a variety of art styles.
Concrete Genie is certainly easy on the eyes and ears, with brilliant colors popping out of the screen and a light, airy score to coaxe life out of your paintings. It even successfully switches around the perspective of a strained parent-child relationship compared to what we've seen in other games. Unfortunately the monotonous nature of everything in between creating Genies, from dodging bullies to dousing Denska with Super Paint, drags it down.
Nothing is particularly extraordinary nor is any one aspect less than solid but there’s a commitment to the vision here that had modest and realistic goals. Concrete Genie paints within its humble parameters and still makes a lovely piece of art even if it isn’t The Starry Night.
Sometimes it's okay to just unwind with a lower-stakes adventure, and that's where Concrete Genie comes in. It might not be on a lot of Game of the Year lists, sell as well as other open world games, or even be referred to as a "classic" in the years to come. But I'll never forget it. Go in with an open mind and a few caveats.
Relaxed and thoughtful, beautiful and moving, Concrete Genie is a delightfully different game that plays out like an interactive animated movie with bags of character.
A pleasant and artistic adventure that invites us to think about many levels of the human condition. It loses part of its punch in the final act, though.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It's not a masterpiece, but Concrete Genie is still a fine piece of art.
An indi game aimed at the adolescent public that has a good finish and remarkable artistic section. It's short and it can be repetitive until its last quarter, but you can enjoy during its few 6-8 hours.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Concrete Genie is a little and charming experience, that makes you feel again the joy of staring, like a child, at a blank page, armed with few brushes and colours, with absolutely no worries in mind.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
Concrete Genie has a great score and impressive art direction which leave you absolutely jaw-dropped at times. It's a short game though, and that feels even more so when the game goes away from its core strengths and barrels towards the finish line with lackluster combat sequences.
Concrete Genie has some stunning visuals when you're free to paint, and the story is interesting enough to keep you playing until the end.
At times, Concrete Genie can be a little too pleasant, which makes the action-packed conclusion really jarring. Still, the contrast between Ash's fantasy and his reality is truly stunning.