Evil Genome

 PC
Metascore
47

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 4
  3. Negative: 2 out of 4
  1. Vandal
    Sep 10, 2017
    65
    It's a quite enjoyable game, but it doesn't do anything particularly well. If you like the concept it won't disappoint you, but don't expect anything better than its competition.
  2. COGconnected
    Oct 5, 2017
    60
    Evil Genome is a Metroidvania that gets the most important part right and left me wanting in every other category. The sheer ecstasy of stringing together a dozen moves is betrayed by the game’s misunderstanding of what it wants to be. However, an unnecessarily complicated upgrade system and disappointing localization issues doesn’t stop Evil Genome from being a blast to play, for the most part.
  3. Cubed3
    Feb 5, 2020
    40
    Technical issues, and lack of polish put aside, Evil Genome is just a mediocre action-adventure, that only metroidvania aficionados can manage to enjoy for more than an hour. Bring its many problems back in, and what you get is a bargain bin metroidvania that simply isn't worth the trouble... fan or not.
  5. Meristation
    Oct 17, 2017
    35
    Crystal Depths first PC game is an outstandingly poor effort that results in a mediocre metroidvania title that few readers should buy and whose only potential relies in its "so bad it's good" appeal.

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User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. pawnperspective
    Aug 24, 2020
    5
    I’ve been playing a lot of different Metroidvania games lately, going back through my game catalog and picking some older ones as well asI’ve been playing a lot of different Metroidvania games lately, going back through my game catalog and picking some older ones as well as playing some newer ones. Evil Genome was from back in 2017 and looked pretty promising. It’s a 2.5D platformer with elements of exploration, a skill tree, equipable items, and item enhancements. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do any of those very well and is mediocre at best.

    In the game, you play as Lachesis, who, upon finding herself on a mostly destroyed planet, is trying to save it. Maybe. It’s kind of hard to tell through the games piss-poor localization. The translation is REAL bad, and it some spots there’s even leftover Chinese text that was never fully translated. The voice acting is some of the worst I’ve ever heard, and it sounds like they used two voice actors—one for Lachesis, and one for everyone else.

    Combat could be fast and exciting, with Lachesis able to perform massive combos and unlockable special abilities through play. Unfortunately, yet again, the lack of polish on the game makes combat feel sloppy and soft. Even the most basic of enemies feel like they take forever to slay, and there’s just no enough “oompf” when connecting a hit or taking a hit.

    As for how the game looks…let’s say it’s very brown. The only real color you get is the red of Lachesis’ hair. Sometimes some grey. There’s much that could have been done with the 3D models and backgrounds, yet it feels like minimal effort was put into them. Same with the music and sound effects. They’re OK, just nothing memorable.

    One of the best parts of the game is the skill tree that can be unlocked and progressed through as you level up. It’s always satisfying to get new skills, both active and passive. It’s relatively straight forward with a few branching paths and exciting choices. If only it paired better with the game’s sloppy, and often confusing inventory and item enhancement system.

    If only it paired better with the game as a whole.

    Evil Genome isn’t horrible. It isn’t awe-inspiring. Not good. Not terrible. It certainly feels like a shallow development budget game with an even worse budget for localization. There are certainly better games in the genre out there.

    A Steam key for Evil Genome was provided free for review by Crystal Depths Studio    … Full Review »