I recently got a chance to play around an hour of Gennady on a PlayStation 5 Pro, thanks to a review copy provided by Feed 64 and Vsoo Games.
You can check out my gameplay, as well as my first impressions, below:
Pros:
- Hand drawn visuals.
- Responsive controls.
- Collectible comics.
Cons:
- Can be frustrating.
Overall:
Gennady is a dynamic roguelike 2D platformer with a very stylish hand drawn visuals. Most of the world is displayed in noire-like monotone while bright colors highlight important objects.
In terms of gameplay, your goal is to make it to the end of the level, which is filled with enemies and obstacles designed to kill you. To help with combat and navigation, you can use a dash ability to attack enemies and dodge traps.
There is also a rage meter that you can fill up to use. In rage mode, you will be temporary invulnerable while your attacks become faster and stronger. You can keep your rage going as long as you keep destroy enemies and blocks.
The roguelike elements come in when you visit shops. These allow you to purchase items and relics that will help you along the way. After death, you have the chance to retain some of the relics if you shoot at them during a quick mini-game.
As a platformer, controls are crucial. Fortuantely, the controls feel quite responsive in Gennady.
Even with great controls, however, the game can be quite challenging as dying means you have to start the level all over again, often without any of the relics you found. Not to mention that some of the relics and power-ups aren’t as useful as others, so your runs often come down to RNG.
If you don’t mind the challenging difficulty, then Gennady is a great platforming game with unique visuals, especially if you are a fan of the Wario 2D platformers.