- Genigods: Nezha has just been announced
- It will be a triple-A action game for PS5 and PC, developed in China
- This God of War and Devil May Cry-inspired action game is set to launch in 2028
China-based developer Genigods Lab has announced Genigods: Nezha, an Unreal Engine 5-made action game set to come to PlayStation 5 and PC.
The game isn't releasing any time soon, with a targeted launch window of 2028, but I was recently able to get an early look at the project at a briefing with Genigods Lab's Young Lui (founder and technical expert) and Erdi Yao (co-founder and creative director).
With Genigods: Nezha, the developer is looking to put its own spin on the tale of Nezha, a deity of Chinese mythology. Gameplay will feature a mixture of ground and aerial combat, with the player being able to seamlessly switch between the two.
Like Black Myth Wukong, the game appears to heavily feature one-on-one boss battles, and from the brief snippet of gameplay I was shown, it certainly looks stylish and free-flowing. However, the team assured me that Nezha will also feature large, sandbox-like levels, as well as puzzles, encounters with groups of enemies, and opportunities for exploration that can lead to finding new weapons, outfits, and the like.
According to the team, Genigods: Nezha takes gameplay inspiration from a number of contemporary hits, including the aforementioned Black Myth Wukong, as well as God of War, Devil May Cry, Nioh, and Stellar Blade.
Many of those are fairly challenging games, so during the presentation's Q&A session, I asked the team what its approach to difficulty is going to be. I received an interesting answer, as Genigods Lab is taking inspiration from a rather unlikely place.
"We want new users to be able to master [our combat]," said technical expert Young Lui, "we've made a control method like 'Modern' in Street Fighter 6. By holding R1 and then pressing any key, you can do cool combos easily. This should help new users to start quickly. Then, for the very good players, we have a 'Classic' version, where you can do more combos and combine more moves together."
Further leaning into that fighting game feel, Genigods Lab explained that it is developing a dynamic AI for Nezha's boss fights. The aim here, on paper, is to help bosses feel a bit more like player-controlled entities. They'll potentially be able to react, predict, and attempt to counter the player's actions, thus the player must do so in return.
It all sounds pretty interesting, but it's similarly worth noting that Genigods: Nezha is in the early stages of development and, as mentioned, unlikely to release before 2028. That said, the game is still targeting PS5 as its primary platform, and is planned to feature PS5 Pro enhancements, as well as full DualSense haptic feedback and adaptive trigger support.
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