Genokids Feels Like The Perfect Blend of Kingdom Hearts and Devil May Cry

If you haven't yet, follow us on X (Twitter), Mastodon, or Bluesky to know when we post new articles, and join our Reddit or Subscribe to us on YouTube to check out our content and interact with our awesome community. Thank you for supporting us!

Anyone who knows me would know that my favorite game and series is Kingdom Hearts. It's simplistic, addicting combat mixed with light RPG elements, gorgeous visuals, and an entertaining, convoluted story all enchanted me growing up. Even to this day, I still love it, and I can't wait for Kingdom Hearts 4. However, it can take so long for new releases to come out, but I still crave that addictive gameplay. I am always looking around for games that give me that same feeling, and as I was scrolling around on Twitter/X, a game popped up that hooked me in as soon as I saw it. That game is Genokids.

Being marketed as heavily inspired by Kingdom Hearts and Devil May Cry (DMC), Genokids stunned me. The fast-paced, flashy combat, the gorgeous visual style, and the skill system all showed off this incredible-looking experience. From developer Nukefist, a team of only two people, Andrés Leone and Miguel Ángel García, this game caught my attention in full, so I reached out to the team to ask some questions and see if I could try out the game for myself. Not only are the influences of Kingdom Hearts and DMC clear as day in general gameplay, but it’s implemented so well, never lets up, and I am shocked this game isn’t being talked about more.

Comparing to Kingdom Hearts and DMC is tough. DMC especially has some of the tightest combat that never lets up, so I went into Genokids with high expectations. So far, those expectations have been met. The general combat is way more DMC style, with a general attack, launcher to bring people into the air, and special abilities that can be activated once your Flow meter is full. However, the floaty verticality, ability to dash towards opponents further away, parkour-like environments, and camera angle all feel like Kingdom Hearts. They even have the death and boss battle effects from Kingdom Hearts, where it goes to slow-mo with a white screen overtaking it. It feels like the perfect combination of these two powerhouses at times, and it’s just wonderful.

Combat itself feels extremely tight, with constant dashing, attacking, dodging, and using those special abilities. That in itself is a ton of fun, but there are also four playable characters that can be switched out. The majority of this early access build only gives us two, but we get a taste of all four in the first chapter, and it just expands our combat potential. Each of the characters has their own weapon and moveset, like Blue using a fast sword while Red uses slower fists that can be charged up to deal more damage, so combining those with your assortment of available options just brings the insanity up a notch in just the right way. Switching out is instantaneous as well, so continuing combos is extremely easy.

It never overwhelms, and I can still make out everything that is happening and respond accordingly. We can even unlock an alternative weapon to add to our fights further. If I have to be overly critical, dodge rolling didn't always work in my favor, but that was partly due to me trying to dodge a little too late.

It helps that the opening of the game gives us four different presets for button layouts, with two of them being almost identical to Kingdom Hearts and Devil May Cry. So, if you are used to either of those games and want to keep that button layout, here they are. It's nice to see it as an option, and it made the general gameplay feel so familiar.

With a visual style that reminds me of Hi-Fi Rush and tons of flashy effects when running around and attacking, Genokids just stands out. The early access version right now only has Act 1 with seven chapters and some secrets and outfits to discover, and it can be completed relatively quickly, but this slice just shows the expertise and passion behind the duo devs. The other two major acts that are coming will contain new levels, abilities, bosses, power-ups, weapons, and more, so there's a lot to look forward to.

The story is pretty solid so far, too. We play as a band that has been caught up in an alien attack, and they take up the mantle as protectors to defend the world. The story is intriguing so far, but the cutscenes are a great mix of hilarious and dramatic. Finding Red in Chapter 4's opening, getting carried away, and his reaction when he wakes up, had me audibly laughing.

Genokids on the Steam Deck

As soon as I got the key to check out the game, I immediately booted it up on the Steam Deck. It has a Playable rating, due to showing incorrect controller icons and small text, but I wanted to see for myself just how it feels and performs. I am pleased to say that almost the entire time, it feels perfect. It sticks above 60 FPS in most combat scenarios, only dropping below momentarily when attacking up close to the screen or tons of enemies around, but it will almost always bounce back quickly. Running around the world is no issue at all and holds 60 the whole time.

This is also all on the Ultra Settings for the game, so bringing it down to Very High could fix these small drops, and there is even a Potato mode, which could make 90 FPS possible. However, 60 FPS at Ultra or Very High is what I say is perfect for right now. This may be a smaller-scale game with simplistic graphics, but it has fantastic optimization so far, even at the early access release.

There were also some minor drops with some massive explosions from Red and his fiery fists, but it quickly came back up. There was only one fight with the Ultra Quality settings where I found that the drops were a bit more frequent, and I was fighting about 7-8 smaller enemies, but again, this jumped back up pretty quickly.

I also asked the team if they plan to work on and optimize it further to get the Verified badge, but as it stands, they don't have time to prioritize it yet. They acknowledge that maybe in the future they can, but since the game already plays well on it, and it really does, they are focusing on other priorities. They also mentioned that Valve didn't tell them which text is too small, which is odd, but it makes sense that they need to focus on other priorities right now.

Honestly, I am surprised Genokids isn't being paraded around right now. For a team of two to make such a fantastic experience that lives up to its influences is pretty incredible. Even in its early access state, which can blow by pretty quickly, it just shows how much passion the two are putting into this title. I love the game so far, especially on the Steam Deck, and feel like the early investment is very much worthwhile. I look forward to seeing the next act in the game, and can't wait.

Genokids can be purchased for $19.99 on Steam.

If you enjoyed this article, check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that will help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got you covered!