Genesis Noir: A Cosmic Adventure Review

Genesis Noir: A Cosmic Adventure
Developed by
Feral Cat Den
Published By
Fellow Traveller
Genre
Adventure, Puzzle
Systems
Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Our Score
3.5

Genesis: the origin or mode of formation of something.

At one point and time, there was nothing but darkness until the event known as the big bang. The big bang brought light and energy causing the universe to be created as we know it. The exact origins of the big bang is a puzzle that people still study to this day and it has captivated scientists and storytellers alike. The developers at Feral Cat Den have a pretty interesting take on the subject with their recent title, Genesis Noir. Currently available for Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, Genesis Noir takes the creation myth and turns the story into a very stylized, limited color film-noir puzzle adventure game filled with love, loss, and acceptance. Let us look back into this origin story and dive deeper into it. 

In Genesis Noir, you take control of No Man trying to stop the murder of his former lover Ms. Mass at the hands of Golden Boy. No Man travels between different points in space solving puzzles to collect spirals to save Ms. Mass. There is no real dialog in Genesis Noir as most of the story is told through the items that you collect and through the soundtrack. Every time you enter a new point in space it explains more about the big bang and creation. While playing through Genesis Noir I had this weird confused feeling since I didn’t do any research into it before playing it for the first time. If I had to describe it to another piece of medi,a it was the same feeling watching the movie “Mother.” I wasn’t 100% sure what was going on but the moment it hit everything made sense and made the experience much more enjoyable. I feel like this might go over some players’ heads and some might view this game as pretentious.

Genesis Noir has a pretty simple gameplay loop: you drop into a new point in creation, walk around for a little bit, are presented with a new puzzle, and continue walking. Most of the time the puzzle are pretty self-explanatory but because of this none of the puzzles are that hard. It feels like they are just there to progress the plot instead of presenting a challenge to the player. While not something inherently bad it doesn’t make the payoff of solving the puzzles feel that rewarding in the long run. However, what this lacks in gameplay makes up for in style! The film noir style mixes well with the jazz/swing soundtrack to build up the atmosphere along your journey. 

It doesn’t overstay its welcome, clocking in at about 5 to 6 hours depending on how fast you with complete the puzzles. The only real problem I had was with playing the Switch version for this review, which did crash on me twice taking me out of the experience and causing me to put it down to play something else. This was a shame because I was on track to beat it in one sitting. Genesis Noir  is something of an interactive painting and I truly believe that this game is art. The themes, tone, style, pacing to me is reminiscent of looking and experiencing an abstract noir painting. I know not many people feel the same way about games being viewed as artistic. Still, those who choose to play Genesis Noir are in for a wonderful experience.

I wasn’t initially sure sure if I disliked or liked it. After really thinking about it I came to understand it more, leading to a better understanding and greater enjoyment of the experience that Genesis Noir has to offer. I know that it is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea with its slower pace and not super difficult puzzles. If you can overlook that then I believe you’ll enjoy Genesis Noir. Check out more info about the game here

 

Genesis Noir: A Cosmic Adventure Review
Genesis Noir: A Cosmic Adventure Review
It won't be everyone’s cup of tea with slower pacing and simplistic puzzles, but if you can overlook that then I believe you’ll enjoy Feral Cat Den’s Genesis Noir.
Pros
Oozes Style
Interesting take on the creation myth
Relaxing puzzle adventure.
Cons
Puzzles are not challenging
Switch version crashes
3.5
Genesis Noir: A Cosmic Adventure Review