We took our first look at Genesis Noir in early 2018, when we described it as "a stark romp through the entire universe." That's a very sweeping sort of description, isn't it? Fortunately the website at genesisnoirgame.com has a little more of a prosaic breakdown: It's "an adventure game with an emphasis on exploration, simple interactions, and generative art."
Ah, but then we're back to the weirdness. The game takes place on Earth, in our universe, and in higher dimensions, telling "a unique cosmic story" about narcissistic artist Golden Boy who loves to create and destroy, Miss Mass, an alluring jazz singer who attracts all who come close, and you, No Man, a watch peddler stuck in a deterministic hell. Your ultimate goal? Stop the Big Bang before someone gets hurt.
It all sounds a bit like something that would come from Amanita Design, the studio that made Samorost and Botanicula, and they're actually listed as inspirations for the project. So are "the abstract storytelling of Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino and the tactile gameplay of Windosill by Vectorpark," along with Sun Ra, William Blake, Alphaville, psychedelic poetry, jazz, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, if that helps give you an inkling of an idea about where it's coming from.
If not (and hey, that's totally fair), there's always the more practical approach, which is how I'm taking it: I think the new trailer revealed today at the PC Gaming Show looks really interesting, and even though I may not "get it" just yet, I'm eager to try figuring it out. Not for a while, though—a release date has not yet been set.
