Concrete Genie

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 467 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 344 out of 467
  2. Mixed: 81 out of 467
  3. Negative: 42 out of 467
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  1. TheRavS
    Feb 22, 2021
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Concrete Genie's average score of 8,2 is the perfect description for this game.

    As an indie game, it delivers far more than what it is expected to. With this, I am talking about the ratio between the art, the length and the gameplay itself.

    On one hand, the art is simple yet charming and it's distinct enough to guide you during gameplay without the need to overrely on UI elements that keep your view away from the greatly designed port you're trying to bring back to life. Then, the length of the game is short enough to be enjoying without overstaying its welcome but with enough care to have a simple and clear story that shines by its conciseness and positivity. Gameplay, if anything, is the lesser of the three elements, but that's not to say it's deficient.

    Some criticism may point towards the art or the artistic range you have is limited or lacking compared to other games. However, I don't see a point in comparing this game to something beyond the games of "Draw you life" from the Nintendo DS era. The controls are simple; the creations you have stick, both the "drawings" and the genies that you create, which gives you a feeling that what you're doing matters, to an extent; and the gameplay is a mix or platform and drawing without any difficulty attached.
    At the end portion of the game, you're thrown into a section with combat that, if you've been savoring previous three fourths of relaxing gameplay, feels a bit out of touch, but I suppose this was a way to give the story a needed catharsis. Personally, I thought this was poorly thought out and I am of the opinion that the conflict could have been resolved more organically than "There are monsters now, go fight and everything will be alright". However, given the length of the game, I understand it, but it keeps Concrete Genie from being something unique and throws it into a weird limbo between an action platformer and an art game, which is not a combination that I think works too well. Sure, here is put together decently, but there is a clear distinction between the combat and non-combat parts that is a bit confusing.

    Nevertheless, Concrete Genie is an actually good game for its length marketed to all ages that has a likable protagonist, a sweet story and an engaging gameplay that, though strange, works.    … Expand
  2. nexus151196
    Jul 4, 2021
    8
    Добрая и милая игра-сюрприз. Прошёл за один раз , прям в запой. Картинка приятная и очень красивая, духи очень веселые, заставляли улыбаться. Сюжет также порадовал, простой , но увлекательный. Всем советую, отдохнул, пока играл.Добрая и милая игра-сюрприз. Прошёл за один раз , прям в запой. Картинка приятная и очень красивая, духи очень веселые, заставляли улыбаться. Сюжет также порадовал, простой , но увлекательный. Всем советую, отдохнул, пока играл.
  3. FRIST_008
    Nov 8, 2021
    8
    Очень неплохая семейная игра, которая рассказывает не плохую историю и имеет необычный игровой процесс.

    Забавный VR режим=)
  4. jkuras08223
    Feb 6, 2021
    8
    Concrete Genie is a very unique experience. You can play it in VR or with a PlayStation controller. It also contains motion control support. And gives you a 4k setting for better visuals.

    Concrete genie has a unique art style and is a visually stunning game. In Concrete Genie you play as Ashe, A kid who has a love for drawing and painting. He also gets bullied by a group of kids that    Concrete Genie is a very unique experience. You can play it in VR or with a PlayStation controller. It also contains motion control support. And gives you a 4k setting for better visuals.

    Concrete genie has a unique art style and is a visually stunning game. In Concrete Genie you play as Ashe, A kid who has a love for drawing and painting. He also gets bullied by a group of kids that have had trauma in their past with their parents or family members. Ash's goal of the game is to bring back the beauty of the city of Denska with his unique paintings.

    The game has a nice variety of paintings and each wall is like a canvas that you can make customized paintings. You can even summon Genes that can help you on your adventure. These genes are also customizable in many ways you can give them different ears, and even tails. The storytelling is a little average but I enjoyed the connections with the genies and the freedom to paint whatever I want. This game also has a really nice photo mode as well to take great pictures of your artwork. I also like the parcore. It's very fun climbing around from rooftop to rooftop almost like an Assassins creed game.

    There are 6 chapters in the game and each is around an hour depending on if you're grabbing collectables or not. But around the 5th chapter they introduce combat which kinda threw me off because for the first 5 hours there was no combat at all and they finally introduce it towards the end of the game. I also didn't like how you couldn't place special markers on the mini map so I found myself opening and closing the map quite often to see if i'm going to the specific area that I was wanting to go. Other than that it's a pretty bare game and only had very few characters which left the city of Denska very deserted and empty. I just wish there were more people around to make the world feel a little more believable.

    Overall concrete Genie is a fun game if you like the painting aspect and this game could very well have been a short Pixar story because of the art style and pretty views from rooftops. So overall the game gets an 8 out of 10.    … Expand
  5. ET0
    Oct 31, 2021
    8
    It is an ambitious, inspiring and charming game, but it lacks team experience to offer excellent gameplay، I hope that in their next project, they will learn from their mistakes and continue with their beautiful creative ideas ❤️
  6. WellEvil
    Sep 1, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Great game with a huge focus on story, characters, and world-building. I don't remember the last time when the story absorbed me so much. Yes, there are a few bugs here are there, but nothing game-breaking. Usually minor visual glitches.… Expand
  7. BrianDavid94
    Sep 11, 2022
    8
    Quick background on me the reviewer, I tend to like single player games that is heavy on narrative the most. I also play a lot of racing games and use to play multiplayer games in my high school days but now that it's hard for me and my friends to find a good time to link up so now it’s rarer for me to get into a multiplayer game. Up to try any genre of games and sometimes I find somethingQuick background on me the reviewer, I tend to like single player games that is heavy on narrative the most. I also play a lot of racing games and use to play multiplayer games in my high school days but now that it's hard for me and my friends to find a good time to link up so now it’s rarer for me to get into a multiplayer game. Up to try any genre of games and sometimes I find something new that I didn't think I'd like. I own a PC (built by me), Xbox One X, Xbox Series X, PS3, PS4, PS5, and a Switch. I prefer Playstation due to their focus on narrative games. For scoring, I’ll be using the Gameinformer review scale and of course influenced by my personal opinions.

    (8) Very Good. Innovated, but perhaps not in the right choice for everyone. This score indicates that there are many good things to be had, but arguable so.

    Had this game in my library for a long time before trying it out and then ended up plating it over the weekend. I’m not creative as a person so I initially stayed away since it seemed like an art game. It is a very short game, like 5-8hrs. In that time frame, about 2/3rd of it is puzzle solving with the other 1/3rd is combat. It’s a good-looking game and has a good art direction. This game has a massage about bullying.    … Expand
  8. mijan
    Jan 8, 2020
    7
    Game had beautiful world and great ideas that for me, unfortunately, weren't up to full potential what could have been. It's not a long trip to get plat but gameplay for me wasn't much fun.
  9. SuperkenGaming
    Feb 3, 2021
    7
    Concrete Genie
    A magical Journey
    Concrete Genie is a 4 and a half hour long artistic platforming game where you play as Ash, youre an artist in a worn down sea side town full of bullies that think youre a total dork for drawing You meet a genie in a light house who gives you a magical brush and you use that brush to bring color back to your town, and bring life to other genies to help    Concrete Genie
    A magical Journey
    Concrete Genie is a 4 and a half hour long artistic platforming game where you play as Ash, youre an artist in a worn down sea side town full of bullies that think youre a total dork for drawing
    You meet a genie in a light house who gives you a magical brush and you use that brush to bring color back to your town, and bring life to other genies to help you progress through the game…
    This is epic mickey meets kingdom hearts essentially…
    Youre in a hub area and your job is to just paint on the walls to light up all of the bulbs in a zone, and by doing so you will clear up this good to interact with an item that will unlock the next zone, and youll se the help of the concrete genies to open gates or help you access the next area, so youll need to paint and clear paths for them… and this time of gameplay can be a bit head scratching as concrete genie isn’t really linear, youre in a mini open map and you just figure out what you have to do as the game gives you little hints, which admittedly did have my running round in circles scratching my head a couple times… a better indication of what to do next would have been appreciated here overall…
    The hok of this game though for me, is running around these little zones and finding all of the mages for pictures I can paint on the wall, finding these collectables helps you clear other optional collectables and secrets, and then the final 3rd of the game its straight up kingdom hearts as youre taking on the darkness with your brush…
    Concrete genie is a really beautiful game at times, most of the time its pretty dull and mindless, and dealing with the bullies while youre just tryna paint is a nussaince, but obviously that’s the point, really putting you into ashes shoes… but concrete genie is something really unique, touching at times, and a game I highly recommend you give a chance to, at least through its first area
    I give concrete Genie
    a 7/10    … Expand
  10. sebastianali
    Jun 21, 2021
    7
    Concrete Genie es uno de los mejores juegos indie que he probado, cuenta con ideas super innovadoras e interesantes, así como una historia y personajes bastante conmovedores y una jugabilidad simple pero que generalmente funciona. Una obra de arte encarnada en un videojuego! Desgraciadamente el juego peca de algunos fallos. Las secciones de sigilo y combate solo están para rellenar la pocaConcrete Genie es uno de los mejores juegos indie que he probado, cuenta con ideas super innovadoras e interesantes, así como una historia y personajes bastante conmovedores y una jugabilidad simple pero que generalmente funciona. Una obra de arte encarnada en un videojuego! Desgraciadamente el juego peca de algunos fallos. Las secciones de sigilo y combate solo están para rellenar la poca duración que el videojuego tiene, ademas de un fallo de diseño garrafal es que puedes spamear el mismo arte constantemente y ganar el juego. Ademas, en lo personal, me hubiera gustado que para resolver los puzzles en vez de pulsar R1 (si mal no recuerdo) para atraer a los genios, estaria bueno poder darles ordenes de forma individual a cada uno, asi como que las pinturas que hagas influyan en el mundo del juego y no se queden tan solo en un retrato 2d. Aun así, es un juego bastante disfrutable, de los mejores que probé en los últimos meses (aunque siendo que hubieron tantas cosas que no me gustaron, tampoco es que sea decir mucho la verdad...). Es uno de esos juegos que una secuela le beneficiaria un montón, ya que tiene una idea excelente, y que si bien se exploto en cierta medida, podrían mejorarla muchísimo mas.… Expand
  11. AMKrishnan
    Sep 18, 2021
    7
    A short and charming game with a surprising twist in gameplay about halfway through. The animation is very unique and the game is very vibrant. It does, however, have a generic 'bullies vs lonely kid' plot and the change in gameplay may be considered unwelcome by some. The game is about 8 hours long in terms of story, so I'd recommend this if you want a short, but pretty decent experience.
  12. sergio123456
    Sep 10, 2021
    7
    Juego bastante original y bonito en su estética, se sale un poco de lo que son los exclusivos de Sony, me gusta el uso que hace del dualshock 4, aunque se queda un poco corto en su planteamiento.
  13. piuscorvus
    Jan 15, 2021
    7
    At first sight, this game can look like an average game. For some, it might be completely boring. However, if you are creative and dedicated to it, it can be very beautiful.

    You play as a boy with unnatural painting powers and you can draw a lot of things pretty much everywhere in the small town where everything happens. The more creative you are, the more colourful and interesting your    At first sight, this game can look like an average game. For some, it might be completely boring. However, if you are creative and dedicated to it, it can be very beautiful.

    You play as a boy with unnatural painting powers and you can draw a lot of things pretty much everywhere in the small town where everything happens. The more creative you are, the more colourful and interesting your surroundings will become. The less creative you are, your experience will be nothing more than a boring, fast walkthrough.

    The gameplay is very simple; you are running around a small town and drawing all over the houses. There is a bit of combat later in the game but it is very simple and definitely not the accent in this game. Nice music and stop-motion inspired graphics makes this a nice, short game. It is a shame that the story does not really shine here but… for some younger gamers it might be cool.

    Concrete Genie is not a masterpiece. It is not a “must play” either but it is a game to check out if you want to take a break, relax and play something a bit different.    … Expand
  14. eme3773
    Nov 29, 2021
    7
    Buen jugado, buen apartado artístico pero con un mal combate. Historia muy buena
  15. PS4isbest
    Jun 27, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. il gioco è molto molto carino, la storia va fluida (tranne per i momenti in cui devi accendere le luci).l'idea di dover disegnare con il movimento del dualshock 4 l'ho trovata un bella cosa anche se abbastanza imprecisa. inoltre a fine gioco quando si devono sconfiggere i geni "cattivi" entra in gioco una nuova forma di gameplay con tasti essenziali.
    una grande pecca è la durata del gioco infatti in 3 ore potete già aver finito la storia e in una giornata potreste platinarlo.

    conclusioni:
    non è un capolavoro, ma per quello che ci si aspetta è un buon gioco    … Expand
  16. trinovatic
    Nov 27, 2022
    7
    Bonito, colorido, corto, me sirve. Me gustaría jugar la versión VR pero no hay presupuesto xd
  17. Heracross93
    Oct 11, 2022
    7
    A bit of a novelty game in the grand scheme of things. Undoubtedly unique and memorable, with wonderful freedom and control for the player.
  18. sityoazzdown
    Oct 18, 2019
    6
    It's ok. Its a unique game with flawed game design imo. You basically run around a small town painting walls with your magical paintbrush, to clear the darkness from denska. You also create genies along the way to help with puzzles, and there are some light platforming thrown in. The story was nothing spectacular but it has a good message.
    Pros: Relaxing and charming game, unique    It's ok. Its a unique game with flawed game design imo. You basically run around a small town painting walls with your magical paintbrush, to clear the darkness from denska. You also create genies along the way to help with puzzles, and there are some light platforming thrown in. The story was nothing spectacular but it has a good message.
    Pros: Relaxing and charming game, unique gameplay,charming genie interactions (best part of the game).
    Cons: Combat section was pretty bad, I also really hate the limited art you can decorate on the walls of this game.
    Now here comes my rant. This game has a similar blueprint to a game I loved which was tearaway. Why then can't we draw what we wanted like we could with tearaway? Why are we limited to set pieces of art we find, when we are not even sure how they would integrate with other pieces. That is a big con and took away my fun from painting on the walls. As a big fan of tearaway I am very disappointed with this game. Also, another game flaw is that you can literally spam the same set art piece over all the walls and complete the game. That is not called gamer option, this is called a game design flaw. The combat section was the right call (even though it was painfully bad), but this game was so limited by it's core game design, busting out a bat to smash genies over the head would be heinous. This game was short, but if I cant wait for this game to end only about 5 hours in, that's a problem.
    To end, who is this game for? If you want a family game. Hard to reccomend to anyone else honestly, even if its priced right. It's essentially an interactive game for kids published by nickelodeon.    … Expand
  19. storageheater
    Jul 7, 2022
    6
    I was actually looking forward to this, as it looked a treat and I've really enjoyed similar games like Chicory, Tearaway and Psychonauts 2. So, the good: it's fun enough and pretty enough, I mostly liked playing it.

    Since you can't skip the cutscenes, here's the main core of why it left such a bad taste in my mouth: it's so shallow that it's actually quite loathesome. Opening with a    I was actually looking forward to this, as it looked a treat and I've really enjoyed similar games like Chicory, Tearaway and Psychonauts 2. So, the good: it's fun enough and pretty enough, I mostly liked playing it.

    Since you can't skip the cutscenes, here's the main core of why it left such a bad taste in my mouth: it's so shallow that it's actually quite loathesome. Opening with a vindictive display of contextless bullying - our perfect, smartass, confidently quipping all-American jock is cruelly victimised by the fat ugly kids for... drawing? This game posts on Twitter about how they're the real minority, and it's really giving "forgotten 80s cartoon that sells a product range" energy. A key Sad Moment is just your character crying about a 2D blob he met briefly an hour ago, and it does some baffling work regarding oil pollution and how it relates to how sad and abused you are. The merging of story and gameplay events is so unconsidered and careless that somehow everyone is shocked at the end that you have a magic paintbrush. Still, for a game so clearly focused at children, it then seems bonkers to have things like exposed electricity pylons be completely safe. Almost as if "it's for kids" is a lazy excuse for not trying very hard.

    I was a bit surprised at how restricted the arty bit actually is, but it makes more and more sense as you play. It's extremely cool that you design genies that come to life, and I liked playing around with it, but you're just adding a few presets to an existing template and they get messy and blobby pretty fast. I often had to delete the entire painting just to have a chance at seeing exactly what detail they wanted me to add, and very quickly stopped customising my Genies at all, as they would all crowd art scenes and render them hard to see even before I'd covered them up with my stickers. Still, Genie interactions were really delightful and although I'm moaning a fair bit about this aspect, I think it works. It could've been glorious, but what we have is successful and quite pleasing.

    It feels like a lot of compromises on a budget, which in fairness probably describes most games. It feels like an idea that underpaid some writer to justify its existence, which again probably describes most games. I just wish it had come to a compromise that wasn't so insipid.    … Expand
  20. Empyrea
    May 3, 2023
    6
    I played for 1'5 hours and although it's not a bad a game it felt repetitive so I gave up because I've better games to play. The city looks good althoug the mouths in the scenes are awful although you'll get use to it. In my opinion it's a totally skippable game but if you like not stressfull games and you don't mind to do repetitive things you can give it a try otherwise there are plentyI played for 1'5 hours and although it's not a bad a game it felt repetitive so I gave up because I've better games to play. The city looks good althoug the mouths in the scenes are awful although you'll get use to it. In my opinion it's a totally skippable game but if you like not stressfull games and you don't mind to do repetitive things you can give it a try otherwise there are plenty of better games out there.… Expand
  21. misancho
    Feb 22, 2022
    6
    Un juego con aspecto indie exclusivo de Sony con un arte y un estilo gráfico realmente muy bien logrado. Las mecánicas del juego son muy originales y sorprenden al comienzo del juego. La duración quizás es algo corta (unas 6 horas aproximadamente) pero para la propuesta del juego está bien. Como aspecto negativo, la dificultad no está bien balanceada, ya que casi todo el juego esUn juego con aspecto indie exclusivo de Sony con un arte y un estilo gráfico realmente muy bien logrado. Las mecánicas del juego son muy originales y sorprenden al comienzo del juego. La duración quizás es algo corta (unas 6 horas aproximadamente) pero para la propuesta del juego está bien. Como aspecto negativo, la dificultad no está bien balanceada, ya que casi todo el juego es relativamente sencillo pero con algunos picos de dificultad sobre la parte final, que no se corresponden con el resto del juego. De todas maneras, vale la pena jugarlo.… Expand
  22. yolo004
    Apr 7, 2021
    6
    The gameplay is original and fun though it can get old, the visuals are nice but the story is pretty lame,
  23. HuevoAlce
    Jun 27, 2022
    6
    I was really excited for this game. It's a shame its novelty wears off after the first hour or so.
  24. Porlono
    Oct 10, 2019
    5
    El juego pudo ser más, lamentablemente no llegó a un buen resultado principalmente por la poca ambición qué se tuvo
  25. Javiero1289
    Oct 10, 2019
    4
    Queda solo en lo que prometió algo bonito, pero decepcionante. Quizá con algún contenido adicional alarguen su miserable vida.
  26. Yeliazar
    Dec 28, 2019
    2
    This is a descent game, with a nice story and colourful graphics. Sony gets 2 from me because of the bug in the middle of the game that makes it impossible to continue playing. The developers do not even have a web site and there's no way to report a bug, so I had to replay 50% of the game.
  27. Vladmir465
    Oct 11, 2019
    2
    Jogo de baixa produção, com comando amarrados e aparentemente feito para PSVR e adaptado de forma grotesca para os consoles sem precisar o uso do PSVR.
  28. Steyraus
    Jan 27, 2021
    1
    Game is another boring walking simulator (no wonder media liked it)and very short. But worst of all is the characters, I couldnt stand ash, he looks like a wimpy **** and who puts bandaids on their face???, what kind of face wound needs a bandaid its gross and made him more unlikable.. But all the characters look stupid and all have generic problems that are suposed to make themGame is another boring walking simulator (no wonder media liked it)and very short. But worst of all is the characters, I couldnt stand ash, he looks like a wimpy **** and who puts bandaids on their face???, what kind of face wound needs a bandaid its gross and made him more unlikable.. But all the characters look stupid and all have generic problems that are suposed to make them endearing, but dosent, they are all unlikable.… Expand
  29. PANTHERS
    Oct 8, 2019
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is an indie game so its garbage I wouldn't recommend buying it because indie games are never good… Expand
  30. BmghLW29
    Dec 3, 2019
    1
    História entediante bem como a gameplay. Jogabilidade terrível por causa do sistema de mexer o controle. Graficamente o jogo é bem bonito.
  31. Panubis920
    Mar 6, 2021
    1
    Que decir, la verdad empezó siendo un juego que me atrapó desde el principio, quizás con un protagonista muy típico, aún así era algo que nunca había visto con la mecánica de pintar y demás, pude probarlo gracias al Plus, pero en un momento casi por terminar el juego se bugeo, haciendo que todo el tiempo que jugué haya sigo en vano, voy a tratar de reiniciar o algo a ver sí puedo jugar,Que decir, la verdad empezó siendo un juego que me atrapó desde el principio, quizás con un protagonista muy típico, aún así era algo que nunca había visto con la mecánica de pintar y demás, pude probarlo gracias al Plus, pero en un momento casi por terminar el juego se bugeo, haciendo que todo el tiempo que jugué haya sigo en vano, voy a tratar de reiniciar o algo a ver sí puedo jugar, pero perder todo en mi primer vuelta del juego no me gustaría y por ese bug le daré un 1.… Expand
  32. Marlim
    Oct 8, 2019
    0
    Strange game, meaningless and confusing. Art direction doesn't enchant. It looks like a game from the last generation and it doesn't get exciting. Another overrated Sony game
  33. sCALLINATOR
    Oct 8, 2019
    0
    really a bad game, not cool, really easy. i can play it blinded.
    the puzzles are sooooo easy. incredible someone give 100 to this
  34. Maurobento
    Oct 8, 2019
    0
    Mediocre and simple game, as if it had low budget. I found some bugs during gameplay. Mechanics very bad, story that does not excite. Another overrated Sony game
  35. Marlonbm
    Oct 8, 2019
    0
    Monotonous, dull and shallow game. Very colorful but not exciting. Bad and locked gameplay. Game hyped by media only.
  36. Albertvila_02
    Feb 22, 2021
    0
    Este juego ha sido de los mejores que e jugado, toda la creatividad y la historia que hay detras de los personajes me ha parecido maravilloso y lo recomiendo al 100%. Mis 11/10
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Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 83 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 50 out of 83
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 83
  3. Negative: 1 out of 83
  1. Edge Magazine
    Dec 5, 2019
    60
    One thing is certain: Concrete Genie's identity crisis proves its creators still have some maturing left to do. [Issue#340, p.106]
  2. GAMINGbible
    Dec 5, 2019
    80
    The whole game offers up an innocent thrill with the kind of naive charm you get from a well-crafted kids movie, like The Goonies. The characters all have a delightful appeal, the world of Denska is enchanting, and the story is well delivered. It is on the short side, and doesn't feel like a challenge even when the story suggests you're in a difficult moment, but it's definitely worth replaying again and again. In short, Concrete Genie is a beautiful game all about emotions and doing what's right, and it's truly very special.
    Read full review
  3. PLAY! Zine
    Dec 2, 2019
    85
    Concrete Genie is a stylized marvellous platform that will channel your inner artist. Too bad VR support is not more integrated into the core gameplay.
    Read full review
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