Later in the game, as space becomes a greater influence, the lack of sound is also played with to emphasize the literal and figurative isolation that is being felt at different points in the game. The moment the player takes control of No-Man on the street corner, the jazzy tunes from the club nearby coincide with the motions of the No-Man’s mannerisms. What would noir be without a solemn soundtrack? Genesis Noir uses its soundtrack to help strike a balance between its noir and science fiction routes it plays with its sound to enhance the emotions that are occurring on screen fairly well. Finding these tidbits of influence were always a joy during my time playing. In fact, there are a lot of references to the sources of inspiration in the game from famous quantum physics ideas to works of art like Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. It works on both levels thematically and I appreciate that tremendously. The heavy emphasis on shadow and light is reminiscent of noir films while at the same time coinciding with the far out space setting. However, it’s beautifully done with some of the most unique visuals I have ever seen in a video game. The story might go over some people’s heads as it becomes more and more complicated the further No-Man travels through the universe. It is a simple warm up puzzle that is perfectly executed from a visual design standpoint but this quality in execution is not uniform throughout the game, more on that in a little while. No-Man must find the number and understand how to dial them. No-Man picks up the phone and wants to try to call the woman he’s infatuated with and in so doing, the rotary dial displays over the giant clock face in the back of his apartment, where the player inputs the numbers. There are some really creative examples of these puzzles like the rotary phone in the beginning of the story. As you jump from different pockets of the universe, you must figure out puzzles that rely on light and motion to solve. Genesis Noir is focused heavily on the story of No-Man as he dives into different dimensions and time periods of the universe in an attempt to learn how to stop what has already been set in motion. You play as No-Man as he attempts to stop the murder of the woman he loves and in doing so, stop the Big Bang. I bought it the moment that it was available, but I kind of wish I had waited a few more weeks. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, Feral Cat Den announced that the game would be releasing on March 26th this year. The striking light and dark aesthetic of the game was an immediate attention grabber but it was the themes of love, substance abuse, and noir mystery that made me check for news of this game every few days to see when a release date was pinned down. I have been following the release of Genesis Noir for some time now.
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