Concrete Genie is an unusual PlayStation game

We usually think of video games being exclusively about competition and entertainment. They are that, but along the way they also behave a lot like other media too.

Case in point is the game we are looking at today, Concrete Genie on the PlayStation 4. It's essentially a platform game with a really nice painting part to the action where playings create beautiful worlds and creatures to help them progress.

But along with this is a story of a young boy named Ash. He's a teenager who escapes his troubles by bringing painting and sketching and exploring his hometown of Denska – a once bright and bustling seaside town now polluted by Darkness.

As the game unfolds, Ash has his sketchbook stollen by town bullies and discovers a mysterious lighthouse, where he finds a magical paintbrush charged with ‘Living Paint’ capable of creating magnificent masterpieces that can purify Denska’s polluted walls.

Here we go an adventure together to both bring life back to Ash's home town but to also resolve his struggle with the bullies. It's a well-balanced game that has won praise from critics.

It's in the home of a real family that it really comes to life though. As Mum, dad, and daughter work together to progress in the game there's a lovely emotional quality to the conversations in the room.

It's a chance not only to play together but also offer space to talk about a difficult subject in a way that isn't forced or pressured. There's a lightheartedness throughout so that by the end of each level it's the sense of teamwork and togetherness that remains.

Concrete Genie is PEGI 12 and available on PlayStation 4. If you have a family with children of the appropriate age it's well worth checking out.