Indie game studio, Nukefist, reattempted the Kickstarter crowdfunding process for their upcoming 3D hack and slash beat ’em up, Genokids, in April 2023, after the unfortunate failure of their initial crowdfunding attempt in October 2020. Only 24 hours into the campaign’s second attempt, their initial funding goal of just under $35,000 was crushed, ultimately reaching a total of $99,637 funded from 1,513 backers by the end of their campaign in May 2023.
Genokids sees you take on the role of a band of four colorful musicians who have been thrust into the midst of an alien invasion. As they battle their way through the hordes of aliens in their path, you will be able to seamlessly swap between each member of the vibrant and rowdy quartet to extend combos and add evasive movements to your repertoire. The four playable characters—Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow—each battle in their own unique ways. Blue—the guitarist—is a fast and agile dueler who weilds an equally vibrant greatsword. Green weilds a synth-based projectile launcher that excels at mid to long ranges, while Red is the rowdy heavy hitter whose true power is in his charged-up fists. Lastly, Yellow weilds a hammer, which is excellent for crowd control thanks to its large radius of wide swinging attacks. By chaining attacks from all four of the band’s members, they cover one another’s weaknesses. Where Red lacks the ability to take on multiple opponents at once, Yellow and Green offer a much-needed respite from the onslaught, while Blue would rather encourage it in favor of juggling the horde in mid-air.
Detailed on the game’s Kickstarter, the developer duo behind Nukefist outlines the inspirations behind Genokids, specifically citing Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts series and Capcom’s Devil May Cry series.
Genokids is a game about flashy, over-the-top action where player expression is highly encouraged
Fans of high combo holding, skill expression, rewarding hack and slash beat ’em up games inspired by the likes of Kingdom Hearts and Devil May Cry are sure to be excited at the announcement that Genokids released to early access with a free-to-play demo for PC via Steam. Not only that, but thanks to the success of their Kickstarter campaign, Genokids will also be seeing a release on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 in the near future.