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Genopanic is a cute and short linear platformer that the developers describe as being "metroidvania-inspired." It is not a metroidvania and that's okay. It's an action platformer with elements of progressively gathering equipment and weapons as you move from one section to the next in the game, giving you better movement and access.

There's not a lot of exploration outside of the intended path, with only a few lore tidbits to find if you do look. The areas are actually well-marked and not difficult to find. The meat of the game lies in the puzzle platforming, which is incredibly easy in the beginning and progresses to some decent challenges that you can expect to take a few tries to get past.

The platforming is rather fun, in my opinion, at no point did I feel super pressured to work out solutions with minimal time to think or to act. Sure, there are some screens that are designed with time-sensitive elements, but nothing that requires super precise jumps or utilization of the final pixel. So I did not feel that there was anything that was unfair.

There are a few boss fights, they are really easy. I usually don't have a problem with boss fights that are easier, since it allows everyone who's playing to have a better chance of seeing the whole game. Despite the ease, they are still well-designed characters and provide interesting little segue into the next sequence of platforming screens.

Platforming with puzzle focus, minimal combat and some time-sensitive screens that require fast actions. The game does not require pin-point jumps. Many save areas allow for minimal progress loss in case of death.

Preset controls on the controller work well. These cannot be rebound. Rebinding optional for keyboard settings. I played with the controller for the entire game, movement flows well.

Pixel art graphics with quite interesting designs. Overall, I am a fan of the general look and feel of this game.

Music doesn't evoke any strong emotions, more like background filler. Sound effects accompany the movement and actions well.

For people looking for a short action platformer that's not too difficult. At no point is the game gated behind challenges that are frustratingly difficult.

$14.20 base price is a little high, the game only takes about 3 hours to finish. I played through the game twice. My first run took a bit of extra time, as I was taking my sweet time, trying to explore and check for unmarked secrets. Second time through everything came together very easily and there was also a lot less dying.

The asking price is a bit high due to fairly low replay value. It's definitely one of those games that once you finish, there's very little reason to play again. (I played a second time for a couple of achievements.)

Thus, I would feel more comfortable with a lower price, perhaps on sale or in a bundle, instead of the full set price.

Genopanic is fun and the platforming puzzles are well-made. The responsive controls allow for easy navigation without frustraction. The many auto-save markers minmize progress lost when dying. Howeveer, it is a bit too short, too linear and does not provide much in terms of replay value. I had fun with it, but it's definitely not worth the full asking price. My recommendation is thus a bit weaker and you can get it on a steep sale or in a future bundle perhaps and let it occupy you for a rainy afternoon.

My score: 6.5-7/10

I received the product for free. I did not receive any compensation to write this review. The opinions represented here are entirely my own and were not influenced in any way.

I had a lot of fun with this game, but I strongly hesitate to recommend it at its current price of around $15USD. Grab it if it goes on sale below $5USD. Or play Cave Story (you the original for free from the developer's website) for a similar experience at a better price.

The game is very linear, which isn't a bad thing, but there's some confusion about whether this game counts as a metroidvania. If you go into this game expecting to be able to explore a large world at your own leisure, and backtracking to previous locations to find secrets with your newly unlocked abilities, you'll be disappointed. The experience is closer to Mega Man (but easier) or Celeste (but way easier) or, as I mentioned earlier, Cave Story.

There's very light combat, but the enemy movement patterns are extremely easy to understand and predict that they become more like background obstacle traps than actual enemies. The platforming is also fairly straightforward, perhaps around the difficulty of Super Mario World or a little harder, although the game gives you checkpoints in almost every room, so you'll rarely lose much progress if you die.

The retro art style is charming. I'm a big fan. The music was serviceable, though nothing stood out enough to want me to get the soundtrack for the game.

It takes about 4 hours to beat the whole game. I think it'd be a great introducing to metroidvanias (if you can get it on sale) -- for someone who's fairly comfortable with platformers but hasn't had to manage swapping between multiple abilities to solve various obstacle-puzzles. From there, they can move onto a "real" metroidvania like Hollow Knight for example.

I cannot say this game is bad. I had it wishlisted, and it turned out to be not what I expected from the demo. If you are considering getting it, the two important things to know is that it's very short (about 2.5 hours to 100%), and it's the opposite of a metroidvania.

It technically possesses the all-important attribute of a metroidvania, where you must acquire a skill to proceed, but it is used in an entirely linear way. You never ever have to wonder where to go next.

That in itself would make it simply a non-metroidvania, but this game does not stop there. As if to mock all Metroidvanias in existence, this game literally tells you each and every move and turn you must do on each screen. At every point where you must do a jump, a double jump, a dash, or to walk into a wall, there is a triangle pointed in the direction of doing so. Or an animated square animated in the direction of doing so. Or a literal word naming the required action. It's as if you had to sit through a dinner consisting exclusively of double-blendered baby food. At which point you start thinking it's actually good it's only 2.5 hours.

But if you are looking for an easy short platformer, it may very well turn out to be your cup of tea.