Concrete Genie
Concrete Genie Reviews Summary
Summary: Concrete Genie is a creative and family-friendly game that dazzles thanks to its player agency in coloring its world. With fun painting abilities and puzzles balanced for its demographic, Concrete Genie survives a late-game makeover and wins many hearts.
Creativity Encouraged
Everything becomes your canvas in this street art family game.
A Unique Premise
A touching story fit for all ages.
Third Act Problems
The final two chapters totally change the game and not everybody is a fan.
Rating Summary
Based on 95 critic reviews
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Top Critic
Short and very sweet, Concrete Genie is a spellbinding experiment in player creativity.
Top Critic
A small, perfectly formed adventure
Top Critic
Concrete Genie takes you on a uniquely heartwarming journey teeming with creativity and charm that will capture your imagination.
Top Critic
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.
Top Critic
Top Critic
Bring life and love back to a desolate town with the help of your paintbrush and some really fun parkour.
Top Critic
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.
Top Critic
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.
Top Critic
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.
Top Critic
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.
Top Critic
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
Top Critic
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.
Top Critic
It's not a masterpiece, but Concrete Genie is still a fine piece of art.
Top Critic
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
Top Critic
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
Top Critic
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.
Top Critic
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.
Top Critic
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.
Top Critic
I liked the intentions of the game. But while it did have a big twist, I felt like it was more of a short story than a long narrative.
Top Critic
Concrete Genie is a gorgeous game with a heartwarming story that marks yet another great PlayStation 4-exclusive game.
