Genesis Noir

This cosmic point-and-click looks and feels like no other game out there.

A little abstract in nature, but Genesis Noir is an all-around stunning audio-visual adventure.

The big bang meets the whodunnit in this dazzlingly inventive point-and-click adventure spanning time and space

By zipping through the creation of life itself, you might just find answers to why someone has been shot and how to stop it. Though some puzzles and controls can get pretty frustrating, the adventure itself is the draw, and with Genesis Noir, it's a beautiful trip through primordial creation worth taking. If you're eager to see what kind of stylish, inventive ways developers are finding to tell stories in games, this hard-boiled trip is worth the ticket.

Here's the thing, and it's a bit of a kick in the pants. Genesis Noir is a very cool, very interesting and exceptionally well-presented game. It tells its esoteric story in an effective, exciting way with a litany of memorable visuals, fantastic artwork and a genuinely brilliant soundtrack. And, unfortunately, we simply can't recommend playing this compromised, ill-fitting, arduous and glitchy Switch port in the slightest. Maybe it's just us, but knowing we could be experiencing the spectacle of this clearly brilliant piece of art in a much higher resolution, at much greater fidelity, and with an order of magnitude less frantically wriggling the left analogue stick because we're convinced the game has broken is just a sobering reason to ask why we would even bother if this version isn't your only option. Even if you do only have a Switch, we'd recommend waiting until you have something else. This is a game that deserves better.

Genesis Noir is a very curious game, and mostly in a good way. The cosmic nature of its narrative is tied down interestingly in its humanized elements and the animation and music do a good job of giving every moment life and charm, even if it can sometimes get confusing. It’s not a long game, and some of its stretches are a bit too simplistic for their own good, but Genesis Noir also features a lot of creativity in prominent portions of its puzzles and progression. If you enjoy a good point-and-click adventure and don’t mind a game that just wants a moment to share its bombastic narrative of cosmic creation and love, Genesis Noir might very well be narrative worth your time and interest.

While it is a visual and aural feast, dripping with style, mechanically as a game it unfortunately struggles

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.

Saxophones and singularities come together in a one-of-a-kind game experience. Genesis Noir takes you on a mind-blowing cosmic cruise through time and space in order to save the love of your life - and maybe your own. Will this starry adventure win you over?

A critically intelligent and passionate journey through space and time, Genesis Noir is a stellar example of gaming, noir, and art. A must-play.