The action game genre is varied and full of creative efforts. Some notable examples include 2023’s musical Hi-Fi Rush, the wild action from the famous Devil May Cry series, and the crossover adventures of Kingdom Hearts. All three are great, on their own, but what if you combined them together? That’s what Genokids from Nukefist sets out to answer.
Playing through the public demo, I walked away quite excited for the full experience.
Premise of Genokids
The premise of Genokids, as described from the game’s official Steam Page, says the following;
A bizarre music band named Genokids is rocking one of their best concerts to date when The Infinite Empire of Zenodia decides to invade Earth and assimilate mankind, landing right on top of the band and ruining both their concert and mood.
The demo puts you right in the middle of the action, with Blue and Red teaming up to take on some of these invaders in a run down theme park. The voice acting for both characters is charming, feeling ripped out from a Saturday Morning Cartoon. Of the two, I really enjoyed Reds aggressive grunts and screams during combat, reflecting his brash personality.
That being said, the game’s writing isn’t particularly amazing. The second cut-scene has Red be particularly annoying to Blue and I didn’t laugh at the attempt at comedy. Considering this is a demo of a early-game level, I’m sure the writing will improve in the final release.
Gameplay – Combat
Once the action begins, players can freely switch between Red and Blue with the press of the D-Pad. Their core movement options are identical, with their core differences being movesets during combat. Blue uses a sword, having fast strikes and being a great for areal combat. Meanwhile, Red has heavy punches which can be charged up mid-combo when holding down the attack button.
Switching between Red and Blue mid-combo feels amazing, letting you chain together really fun combos. In addition to your main attacks, you also have ‘Flow’ attacks. Using a portion of your special meter, you hold down the left bumper and press one of the face buttons to pull off a powerful attack.
While both Red and Blue have similar ‘kinds’ of abilities for these ‘Flow’ attacks, they fully reflect their characters. Red, for example, has an explosive ranged punch and a attack that has him launch a furry of punches for a single target. And Blue, meanwhile, has homing-lasers that can hit multiple targets and a lunge attack that can be repeated as long as you have meter.
But if foes are out of reach, pressing the left trigger will launch you towards any locked-on target. It helps a lot for the airborne enemies and also plays a part in the game’s exploration.
The last layer to the combat system is a very Kingdom Hearts-inspired block and dodge-roll mechanic. When pressing the X button, your player character can either block incoming attacks or roll out of the way. Most attacks can be blocked, which nailing one helps restore the ‘Flow’ meter but Red attacks require jumping out of the way.
Overall, I really enjoyed the combat in this demo build and looking forward to the additional layers that additional playable characters will add to the mix.
Gameplay – Exploration
One aspect of Genokids that played a sizable role of the demo, was solid platforming mechanics. Your player character can jump in the air and use the air dodge as a make-shift double jump. In addition, pressing the left trigger on targeted-objects in the world lets you interact with them. For example, you can effortlessly switch between wall running between two areas and then use your lock-on dash to land on a perch.
In a lot of ways, it feels somewhat auto-mated, streaming a process that other games would let you have more control over. Action games like Kingdom Hearts 3 gives you full control on wall running and other parkour mechanics, for comparison’s sake.
Considering this is an demo, I look forward to seeing how the developers flesh out exploration in the final game. There are little nooks and cranes to find in the demo, inspiring confidence in collectables to discover in the final game.
Visuals of Genokids
The art style is striking, going for a cell-shaded, comic-book inspired look. This is empathized with great animation work from Red and Blue, with every hit from them having noticeable impact on the world around them.
Animation work on your enemies is solid too, reminding me a lot of how the heartless moved around in Kingdom Hearts.
Another highlight for Genokids visuals, is the levels themselves. While the initial area is basic, it quickly evolves into more ruined roads and even an underground area to explore, sporting a simple but aesthetically pleasing look.
The cut-scenes stand out as well, utilizing a mixture of character animatics and 3D environments, giving them a unique personality.
Sound/Music
A critical aspect to an action title, is a killer soundtrack. And thanks to the talented Gaute Vist Grong, Genokids sports a rocking score to keep the action pumping.
Having a dynamic score, the demo has two main themes, which change depending on if your in combat or not. The combat score, the one linked above, has this high-energy you would hear from a Kingdom Hearts or Hi-Fi Rush. Meanwhile, the ‘calm’ version of the track grounds you while exploring the level with an equally enjoyable melody.
Other music released for this project inspires confidence that the final game will have a varied score that knocks it out of the park.
Closing Thoughts on Genokids
I have been following Genokids since it’s 2023 Kickstarter reveal. The premise of the game excited me from the jump as a fan of Hi-Fi Rush, Kingdom Hearts, and other action titles.
Playing the demo extensively, it was amazing seeing how much depth the combat has on offer with only two characters. Can’t wait to see future updates on this project and be sure to check out the games Kickstarter page for additional updates. And if you want to play the demo yourself, it’s up on Steam right now!
