And so you add glowing trees and purple apples and glowing grass to the world. A crystal appears from the ground, much like from the earlier cave sequence, your wand begins to glow purple with Super magic again. Splotches walks around demanding these things and you give it to him, cherishing the expressions of joy he makes. The game also shows you can place the apples on the floor, or add them to trees with their own little branches. So now I can him the flowers he seeks or apples he wants to eat. Then a dash of magic shoots to the book/palette and it unlocks two new brushes in the same row of the Tree brush on the palette. He walks around enjoying as I add more and more. He makes sounds and expressions of approval, heart signs appearing above his head. I place more trees in this sunny landscape. Splotch is a demanding little flame.Ī thought balloon above his head shows he wants more trees. So five minutes into this experience is this radical shift in Genie’s VR experience and what follows for the next twenty or so minutes is gameplay that is a mix of art creation and character interaction. It was nice to feel that again, if for just a moment. Such “Wow Moments” are few and far between these days in a gaming industry decades old, riddled with sequels and remakes, though VR has bought back some novelty and innovation that has the power to make you wide-eyed once more. That transition to 3D, that reimagining of the art you have been making, made me chuckle with joy. Splotch is no longer a cartoon, but here in three-dimensions.
Those flowers and trees I painted with the Move are now in 3D in the landscape. I am no longer in a dark cave with nature I painted on the walls.
Concrete genie all genie moments full#
They hit full capacity a glowing purple light gives you maximum magic, like in the campaign mode of Genie, and you beginning painting lush, glowing versions from your palette of natural elements on the walls.Īnd with a flash, it happens. You do so, the magic fueling the crystals. Your book of brushes besides containing trees and grass, also has flowers and stars to paint on to these walls. Soon, the concrete walls fall away, and now there are walls of a cave with crystal. In the non-VR version of Concrete Genie, the magical paint that the genies empower you with can bring power to electric bulbs, and you begin to do that on these flat walls. Splotch’s eyes and mouth shows a range of expressions as you fill the walls with art. Soon you are just not drawing lines, but also flowers and trees. You can begin painting strokes on the wall, though it appears more like colorful chalk than paint. You hold a magical paintbrush in one hand and a book, that lays open like a painter’s palette, in the other.Ī cartoony genie that looks like a cross between a splash of paint and a ball of flame appears, named Splotch. You stand in a room with three concrete walls before you, to your left and right, and forward. The VR sequence that is coming with PlayStation 4 game Concrete Genie had such a wondrous moment for me, but the experience started simply. Whether it is looking at a mountain vista in Tuscany, watching a dinosaur approach and then walk above you, or sitting down on a carpet for a hedgehog’s birthday party. The “Wow Moment” is the elusive something every fan of VR has been chasing like a drug.