Evil Genome review

Reviewed on: PC

TENSION. That is how Evil Genome made me feel. But not because of the story or anything like that.

Evil Genome is a bad game. Very bad. Not as bad as it may seem at first sight and maybe it gets good when you give the game, say, its thirty-ninth chance. But it is effectively a bad game. But the point here isn’t about the quality of the game, but rather what it represents overall.
Graphically, the game is even pretty. The scenery is surprisingly well detailed and the lighting and post-processing effects are well placed, and this frames a game that, at first, promises a lot. The chosen art direction is another positive point. Clearly Eastern, with impossible hair and vibrant colors, the game has a setting leaning toward cyberpunk or something along those lines, and this is reflected in how the enemies and the equipment of Lachesis, the protagonist, are shown.

But the good things stop right there. Evil Genome uses that to trick you and make you believe the game is good, just because it is pretty. It’s as if this game were a carnivorous plant and we players the poor little flies that get screwed.

Things start to get murky for this Metroidvania stuffed with RPG elements in its sound department. The voice acting is wretched: sure, the protagonist is a cyberpunk android part Alita: Battle Angel, part Devil May Cry, but man… Did it have to be voiced by someone who seemed to rise from the tomb after a long time in lethargy? The soundtrack is equally bad and often feels completely off for the game, not conveying the intended purpose, mood or situation well.

The game’s story does have its value, but it’s not something you’d call “wow, what a rich, beautiful story!”. It is shallow, but fulfills its role well. It isn’t surprising, but leaves no loose ends. It isn’t good, but it isn’t bad. The narrative, however, is B-O-R-I-N-G. I had trouble following the game’s story not because of its quality, but because of the way it is presented.

Things finally go to hell and get stuck there when we talk about the game mechanics. On the outside, Evil Genome is a metroidvania with well-included RPG elements: levels, equipment, skill tree and everything an RPG needs. But there is something strange about the game’s controls, because Lachesis is kind of skittish. Jumps aren’t precise, hitboxes are strange – hits seem not to land properly and when they do, it feels very, very wrong. The abilities, although interesting in concept, usually have a somewhat flawed execution and end up not working the way they should.

As I said before, Evil Genome is a bad game. Period. There is plenty of room to improve and the folks at Crystal Depths can (and should!) improve a lot. But what matters is what it represents: the start of an interesting change for Chinese devs. Once known for simply taking what is successful and replicating it as shamelessly as possible, Crystal Depths dared to step out of the traditional box here, trying to reach rare heights for the Chinese. Evil Genome is not a masterpiece, by any means. But it is living proof that China is entering, very quickly, the “USA-EUR-JAP” axis.

Evil Genome is just a little silver light on a very, but very, cloudy day.

MECHANICS – 3
NARRATIVE – 2
AUDIOVISUAL 4

FINAL SCORE: 3

PC version