Don’t you just hate it when the entire universe is determined to mess with the love of your life? Or in this case, the very creation of the universe, as in Genesis Noir, The Big Bang takes on the role of a jealous god and fires a bullet at your special someone. Ugh. Real mature way of dealing, The Big Bang. Fortunately, No Man (the protagonist) has more than a few tricks up his sleeve.
See, that shot fired by The Big Bang? Yeah. That also marks creation – as in, the creation. Of everything. I’m not sure I’d have the balls to traverse such an event, but I’m also not No Man, and he has zero qualms about leaping into the expanding universe to look for a way to, well, save his girl. It’s a lot to take in, sure, although if there’s one thing No Man has on his side, it’s time. Pockets of Time. Lots and lots of pockets of time, containing “moments throughout the lifespan of the universe”. Hopefully one of them also contains a way to change the course of destiny.
As is often the case with a tale revolving around a trip through time, the tiniest things can have the largest impact, in Genesis Noir. Dialling a rotary phone, for example, might not seem like it’s going to do anything… and who knows, maybe it won’t. How about improvising with a musician? Or planting a small garden? Again, maybe they’ll drastically alter the future, and maybe they won’t. If such seemingly tiny modifications were the extent of No Man’s powers, I’m honestly not sure how he’d be able to pull off defying The Big Bang on the level required.
You’ll observe moments in the history of the universe, from the first microseconds of Life to trillions of years in the future. What will you learn about these new creations, in your search to destroy them?
According to the developer, ‘powerless’ is not even remotely how one would dare describe Genesis Noir‘s protagonist, however, as this guy has the power to destroy entire civilizations and create life; all without the player breaking a sweat, events triggered by way of tactile puzzles and, to some extent surely, exploration. With an absolutely beautiful art style and a world interactable in ways that one has to experience to believe possible (or do what I did, and examine the trailer below), I have a feeling we’re in for one helluva ride – to infinity and beyond!
Genesis Noir is available on Steam, GOG.com, Humble Store, Epic Game Store, Xbox One, and Switch, carrying a $14.99 price tag.
