If you enjoy old-school platformers with a good dose of difficulty and questionable humor, then Gennady should not be overlooked. Developed by Feed 64, it’s a fast-paced action platformer about a middle-aged man who finds himself trapped inside an alien meat-processing factory, wearing nothing but his underwear. Poor fellow. As if being abducted wasn’t bad enough, he’s now expected to fight his way through an army of disgusting creatures without even having the dignity of wearing trousers. More on how much we feel for him after the trailer.
A Rather Unfortunate Situation
Our unfortunate protagonist has one simple objective: escape the factory alive. Unfortunately, the place is crawling with hostile aliens, and practically every corridor contains something that could turn him into minced meat. The game combines traditional 2D platforming with close-range combat and roguelike mechanics, meaning we’ll be making repeated attempts to reach the end while collecting upgrades that improve our chances of survival.
Gennady can jump, double-jump and punch enemies, but his most important ability is his dash. We can use it to cross dangerous gaps, smash through biological obstacles and send enemies flying into environmental hazards. The ability has limited charges, so we can’t simply dash around without paying attention. Some charges regenerate, and certain upgrades improve how quickly they recover. Learning to manage them is particularly important when navigating areas filled with moving crushers and lasers.
When it comes to combat, Gennady’s relying on his fists and alien weaponry to deal with the creatures blocking his path. Enemies have different attack patterns, and some are capable of attacking from a distance. We can also turn the environment against them by knocking them into deadly machinery. There’s also a Rage Mode that temporarily makes Gennady invulnerable and considerably more dangerous. Destroying obstacles and defeating enemies helps fuel this ability, while continuing the destruction can extend its duration. It sounds like a wonderful way of dealing with a particularly bad day at work, although we wouldn’t recommend trying it at the office.
Dying Is Part of the Job
Each attempt takes us through a different arrangement of handcrafted rooms, with alternative paths and hidden resources encouraging exploration. The full game contains more than 400 room layouts spread across four main environments, although we’ll inevitably begin recognizing certain sections after multiple attempts. At the end of each biome, a boss awaits, requiring us to learn its attacks and figure out when it’s safe to retaliate.
Along the way, we collect larvae that serve as currency for purchasing upgrades. There are more than 100 artifacts and improvements available, including Big Knuckles, which increases our punching range, and Fire Wave, which produces flames when landing. Other upgrades provide an additional jump or improve our dash recovery. Since the selection available in shops can vary, we won’t always have access to our preferred abilities.
Death can be expensive, particularly when we’ve assembled a useful collection of upgrades. Fortunately, a storage container allows us to preserve a limited number of artifacts and larvae for subsequent attempts. We can purchase a larger container, although it comes with its own limitations. This offers some relief from the usual roguelike punishment, but progression still depends heavily on learning the levels and improving our reflexes.
A Beautifully Disgusting Adventure
Visually, Gennady draws inspiration from classic animated games such as Earthworm Jim. Its hand-drawn characters inhabit a mostly black-and-white world, with occasional splashes of color highlighting environmental dangers and the considerable amount of bodily fluids flying around. There are also collectible comic-book pages revealing more about the story, although fighting and platforming is where this game trully shines.
Great fun, pants or no pants!
Gennady is clearly aimed at players who enjoy demanding platformers and don’t mind repeatedly starting over. It has an unusual presentation that we absolutely loved. That, combined with the destructive movement made us enjoy the title to the fullest, even if we had to rely on randomly available upgrades and challenging encounters. Those sure tested our patience and will most certanly test yours! If you’re looking for something strange, violent and unapologetically old-school, our poorly dressed hero might have just the adventure for you.
Our score: 9/10
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
- Developer: Feed 64
- Publisher: Feed 64 / Vsoo Games (PC), Sobaka Studio (consoles)
- Genre: Action Platformer, Roguelike
- Game Mode: Single-player
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