Pixelopus has a clear understanding of what makes a story work, even a story done as many times as this one: bullying, empathy, reconciliation. The fact that the game is gorgeous goes a long way, too. With the amount of love and care poured into the storytelling, I wanted more from the gameplay. If the first part of Concrete Genie were more tightly done, it could have easily been one of my favorite games of the year. But like the fishing town of Denska itself, it faded before I could really appreciate it.
Pixleopus has made a triumphant return with Concrete Genie; from your very first brush stroke you'll be so swept away by the colour and narrative that by the time it's over, you'll want to jump right back in again to paint the town red, and blue… and green
Sometimes you just play a game that hits all the right notes for you and Concrete Genie has done that for me. I love this game, its characters, charm and the beautiful world that let me not just feel like an artist but become one. Concrete Genie has a warmth to it and I felt like the team at Pixel Opus put their hearts into this and the story and themes don't come off forced, cheap, or playing the same old-tune we've heard before, but instead, real and honest. For all that, Concrete Genie is one of the year's best games and a special gem every PS4 owner should play.
Concrete Genie is certainly an impressive game when it comes presentation. It's got a great score and impressive art direction, that 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.
Rather than being the PlayStation 4's worst exclusive this would be more accurately described as the most forgettable. We find it hard to imagine it's going to find any kind audience and as much as we admire the intention to create something different it really needed to be something more compelling than this.
I know its from a small team, but the lack of HDR is a huge bummer for me. I want to see this in HDR on my OLED. :/
Yeah I said that a couple of months back. The game looks like it was designed for HDR. It would look stunning in HDR. There was an interview with the devs which mentioned that it was a choice between 4k or HDR "One of the things we found with this particular artstyle is that because there's such high contrast, when you play it on an HDR TV you get a lot of the benefit anyway. So, we decided to go for 4K support." Can only imagine this person has never actually experienced an HDR display!! Sure the game looks stunning either way but HDR would take it to a whole different level.I know its from a small team, but the lack of HDR is a huge bummer for me. I want to see this in HDR on my OLED. :/
YeahReviewing good and at 30 price point it'll be alright. Good work Pixelopus!
Agreed. The contrast is still going to look really good on an OLED I think, but man with that color/light design it would look incredible in HDR on an OLED.Biggest disappointment for me by far. This game would look absolutely stunning in HDR/OLED. This and Indivisible at 79, plus Trine 4 at 80. What a good day for smaller devs. I have a lot of reading/watching to do. Probably getting this and Indiv soon.
It's probably cheaper to buy it on a sale unless you game on pc.
Generally runs fine on Pro, when there are a ton of particle effects the frame rate can dip a little but since it's a chill game I barely even noticed
I know its from a small team, but the lack of HDR is a huge bummer for me. I want to see this in HDR on my OLED. :/
I know its from a small team, but the lack of HDR is a huge bummer for me. I want to see this in HDR on my OLED. :/
I don't need (fake) 4k on consoles. 1080p+HDR+60fps or higher settings if the graphics are too expensive and its perfect. But adjusting the resolution is much easier than implementing great HDR, as we have seen so many times this generation. Even huge studios like Rockstar struggle with it.Yeah I said that a couple of months back. The game looks like it was designed for HDR. It would look stunning in HDR. There was an interview with the devs which mentioned that it was a choice between 4k or HDR "One of the things we found with this particular artstyle is that because there's such high contrast, when you play it on an HDR TV you get a lot of the benefit anyway. So, we decided to go for 4K support." Can only imagine this person has never actually experienced an HDR display!! Sure the game looks stunning either way but HDR would take it to a whole different level.
Sony's handling of this game in regards to reviews is pretty much identical (one day before release) to all but a tiny handful of titles which companies have been super, super confident about.Can't understand why Sony have kept the embargo up till this point- those reviews are fine, on the whole. Their handling of this game has been weird.
Regardless this sounds like a great sale game in a couple of months. Sub £20 will do it.
Probably because of that very reason. If your game reviews well, releases at a budget price and still isn't enough to convince more enthusiast fans to buy it on day one, better to let it go and focus on something else.Can't understand why Sony have kept the embargo up till this point- those reviews are fine, on the whole. Their handling of this game has been weird.
Regardless this sounds like a great sale game in a couple of months. Sub £20 will do it.
It's probably cheaper to buy it on a sale unless you game on pc.
yeah, I'm hoping this does really well for them, considering how this game shaped up I'd love to see what they make with a bigger budget (and maybe a bigger team)Congrats Pixelopus. I was definitely expecting stronger reviews based on the previews but this is such a massive improvement over Entwined. Less than 20 people in the studio, hope they are given opportunity to grow some more.