Access all of our TGS 2018 coverage here!
A bullied teenager finds a magical paintbrush that can bring his creations to life. An ideal scenario for plenty of budding creatives out there, and perhaps a ray of hope for those of us who are lonely?
That’s the basic premise of Pixelopus’ Concrete Genie, an upcoming game for the PlayStation 4.
Concrete Genie follows the story of teenager named Ash, who escapes his troubles by painting spectacular living landscapes and mischievous creatures throughout his abandoned hometown of Denska.
A gameplay demonstration at TGS showed off the possibilities of the unique painting mechanic. Using Ash’s magical paintbrush, he can paint on the walls of the town, making it brighter and cheerier, ridding the town of the darkness that has started to envelop it.
Painting is done using the motion of the DualShock 4, to make it as intuitive as possible. The game has preset brushes that players can use to brighten the town of Denska. Your creations will then make the walls come to life.
By painting swaying trees, rolling grass, shimmering auroras, and many other things, it’s literally watching art come to life.
Players can also create magical creatures called genies (hence the name) that’ll help players get through certain levels. Once Ash has managed to clear a zone, he can then proceed to paint his “masterpiece”.
The game is easy to pick up and players don’t need to know how to actually paint, all you need is a bit of a creative streak. What’s great about Concrete Genie is that every playthrough will be unique, depending on how players decide to paint the town.
But all is not peaceful for Ash as he goes about painting his hometown. There will be times where bullies will show up to disrupt the player’s attempts to paint the walls, by yanking at Ash’s brush and trying to snatch it away from him. Even the areas where they stand at will cause the already painted walls to dim, and hinder the player’s progress in each zone.
From what we’ve seen so far, Concrete Genie certainly looks like a unique little gem of a game that can be enjoyed with the whole family. We’re just a little concerned about how repetitive the gameplay will get after the 3rd zone of painting and brightening up the town.
But hey, at least gamers will get to experience what it’s like to be an artist, thanks to how easily anyone can pick up the controller and create an oil painting masterpiece.
Access all of our TGS 2018 coverage here!
Yonk is a geek who is fortunate enough to have an equally geeky Star Wars fan for a wife, who owns a LEGO Millennium Falcon encased in a glass coffee table as their home’s centre-piece.
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