Oh wow, this is such a strange thing, in both good and bad ways. And it’s so hard for me to structure this bunch of thoughts, so don’t expect fluidity here.
Firstly, the game shines in its visual design. It is extremely unique and enjoyable. Many moments can simply be hung in a frame. The game gradually develops it perfectly and the variety of scene direction pleases. Genesis Noir also boldly (and this is one of the key words to characterize the entire project) tries to mix noir and space, and in some places it turns out quite well. The game connects these seemingly distant genres in an interesting way, and this (as it becomes clear after the ending) at first glance strange decision works well for the final main idea. The story itself turns out to be quite ambitious and mixes classic noir romance with showing the history of the entire universe, from the Big Bang itself to the inevitable end.
However, the way the game reveals the story leads us to the main oddity of this project - the gameplay. Most of the game consists of episodes in which the main character obtains some important item and at the same time observes one of the stages of the development of the universe, and often directly takes part in them. Genesis Noir is largely abstract, and while this approach goes well with the visuals, the gameplay here is often just... boring? Perhaps, and at the same time often unobvious, primitive and sometimes even unnecessary. Often (especially in the first half of the game) it was not entirely clear what to do, where to move or how exactly to interact. The game tries, but overall doesn't do very well in the visual direction in the gameplay-oriented segments. In other moments, the game mixes elements of a quest(?) and a narrative platformer, which it does much better (though still at simple level). And initially it even seemed to me that this project should have been just an animated film (which changed by the end of the game). Another extremely strange thing for me is the almost complete absence of music. For a project that could go both in the jazz direction and in the direction of cosmic ambient music, this is almost criminally unacceptable. Up to a certain point, this can be partly explained by the narrative, but even after that the situation does not change. Even in episodes focused on music, it seems to be missing. Only very occasionally does jazz burst in for half a moment and it instantly becomes something dynamic and alive. I don’t understand at all the almost complete disregard for this aspect, because in my opinion, if the creators had made music one of the main elements of the game, each episode of the story would have become more special and memorable.
However, the plot saves a lot. At first it looks strange, too abstract, as if trying to cover too much at once and connect something too distant. And this is partly true. But once you understand a little about the structure of the game and enter its second half (or better yet, the last third), the picture of what the creators are talking about becomes a little more clear. Part of the plot is still a mystery to me (for example, I still find it difficult to firmly connect the noir part with the entire cosmic narrative), but this extremely ambitious and bold approach in a very non-obvious and slightly drawn-out way leads the player to (in my opinion) a wonderful final idea. The way this story managed to unite myths, faith, creativity and science into a single narrative about the entire history of the universe and our purpose in the world, about the eternal attempts to understand it, to find the most distant answers - is simply magnificent. This is really what makes the game worth playing for. And surprisingly, this game sparked my interest in science more than anything else in my life (which is quite strange). At the end of the game, the gameplay also perfectly complements the narrative, creating an epilogue that actually saves the game. It's quite strange that the game gives you two endings to choose from (and both are quite detached and poetically sad), but oh well okay.
Genesis Noir has aspects that are far from ideal (besides, I would like to see a slightly more polished technical state) and I understand the low ratings, but in the end, subjectively, the last half hour before the very end and especially the last text monologue are worthy of some of your not-so-best hours with a video game before. Still, Feral Cat Den are going in an interesting and original direction, and while they are stumbling over every third stone, I like the groundwork and I hope that they will reach the point. In the meantime - a fine myth, gentlemen!
"We give it a name. We call it The Constant"
Firstly, the game shines in its visual design. It is extremely unique and enjoyable. Many moments can simply be hung in a frame. The game gradually develops it perfectly and the variety of scene direction pleases. Genesis Noir also boldly (and this is one of the key words to characterize the entire project) tries to mix noir and space, and in some places it turns out quite well. The game connects these seemingly distant genres in an interesting way, and this (as it becomes clear after the ending) at first glance strange decision works well for the final main idea. The story itself turns out to be quite ambitious and mixes classic noir romance with showing the history of the entire universe, from the Big Bang itself to the inevitable end.
However, the way the game reveals the story leads us to the main oddity of this project - the gameplay. Most of the game consists of episodes in which the main character obtains some important item and at the same time observes one of the stages of the development of the universe, and often directly takes part in them. Genesis Noir is largely abstract, and while this approach goes well with the visuals, the gameplay here is often just... boring? Perhaps, and at the same time often unobvious, primitive and sometimes even unnecessary. Often (especially in the first half of the game) it was not entirely clear what to do, where to move or how exactly to interact. The game tries, but overall doesn't do very well in the visual direction in the gameplay-oriented segments. In other moments, the game mixes elements of a quest(?) and a narrative platformer, which it does much better (though still at simple level). And initially it even seemed to me that this project should have been just an animated film (which changed by the end of the game). Another extremely strange thing for me is the almost complete absence of music. For a project that could go both in the jazz direction and in the direction of cosmic ambient music, this is almost criminally unacceptable. Up to a certain point, this can be partly explained by the narrative, but even after that the situation does not change. Even in episodes focused on music, it seems to be missing. Only very occasionally does jazz burst in for half a moment and it instantly becomes something dynamic and alive. I don’t understand at all the almost complete disregard for this aspect, because in my opinion, if the creators had made music one of the main elements of the game, each episode of the story would have become more special and memorable.
However, the plot saves a lot. At first it looks strange, too abstract, as if trying to cover too much at once and connect something too distant. And this is partly true. But once you understand a little about the structure of the game and enter its second half (or better yet, the last third), the picture of what the creators are talking about becomes a little more clear. Part of the plot is still a mystery to me (for example, I still find it difficult to firmly connect the noir part with the entire cosmic narrative), but this extremely ambitious and bold approach in a very non-obvious and slightly drawn-out way leads the player to (in my opinion) a wonderful final idea. The way this story managed to unite myths, faith, creativity and science into a single narrative about the entire history of the universe and our purpose in the world, about the eternal attempts to understand it, to find the most distant answers - is simply magnificent. This is really what makes the game worth playing for. And surprisingly, this game sparked my interest in science more than anything else in my life (which is quite strange). At the end of the game, the gameplay also perfectly complements the narrative, creating an epilogue that actually saves the game. It's quite strange that the game gives you two endings to choose from (and both are quite detached and poetically sad), but oh well okay.
Genesis Noir has aspects that are far from ideal (besides, I would like to see a slightly more polished technical state) and I understand the low ratings, but in the end, subjectively, the last half hour before the very end and especially the last text monologue are worthy of some of your not-so-best hours with a video game before. Still, Feral Cat Den are going in an interesting and original direction, and while they are stumbling over every third stone, I like the groundwork and I hope that they will reach the point. In the meantime - a fine myth, gentlemen!
"We give it a name. We call it The Constant"