Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 78 | 28 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 79% | 73 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 99% | 95 | 4 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 11 reviews sampled · 8 total reviews in window · weighted 6.3 up / 0.1 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (39)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 30
“Genesis Noir may have some top tier visuals and music, but everything else that makes up a good video game is absent. Poorly designed gameplay, uninteresting storyline, it just isn’t fun to play.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Very simple in its mechanics, Genesis Noir takes over with flawless atmosphere, style and a mind-blowing flight of fantasy.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Here's the thing, and it's a bit of a kick in the pants. Genesis Noir is a very cool, very interesting and exceptionally well-presented game. It tells its esoteric story in an effective, exciting way with a litany of memorable visuals, fantastic artwork and a genuinely brilliant soundtrack. And, unfortunately, we simply can't recommend playing this compromised, ill-fitting, arduous and glitchy Switch port in the slightest. Maybe it's just us, but knowing we could be experiencing the spectacle of this clearly brilliant piece of art in a much higher resolution, at much greater fidelity, and with an order of magnitude less frantically wriggling the left analogue stick because we're convinced the game has broken is just a sobering reason to ask why we would even bother if this version isn't your only option. Even if you do only have a Switch, we'd recommend waiting until you have something else. This is a game that deserves better.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“No Man's attempt to save Miss Mass from being murdered, and its implications for the universe, so brilliantly mirror the self-indulgence of a tragic romance. To the people in a relationship, everything is the start of something big and meaningful, like an entire universe forming, exploding, and expanding outward. What is it that sparks abiogenesis? What is it that sparks love? Are both an accident of proximity and fire? These questions aren't necessarily answered in Genesis Noir. But the asking is beautiful all the same.”
read full review ↗ - 74
“While it is a visual and aural feast, dripping with style, mechanically as a game it unfortunately struggles”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Underneath the gorgeous animation and the wonderful jazz music is a journey that lacks substance. Perhaps I'm just the wrong target audience, and loads of other people will find a deeper meaning that I missed entirely within Genesis Noir. It's difficult to review a game this abstract and this artistically focused with any certainty. All I can tell you about is my experience with it, and my experience was of a game that amazed with its visuals but that dragged across its short runtime, that had flashes of real brilliance mixed in with humdrum puzzling and a story that never resonated with me. Since Genesis Noir is on Game Pass, though, it's an enticing prospect, one that I'd recommend checking out if you subscribe to the service because you might just find something that speaks to you. And if you don't, well, all it has cost is a few hours.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Stirring, artistic, and emotionally resonant, Genesis Noir is quite a unique experience. The puzzles can be tedious, but the game makes up for it with gorgeous art direction and sterling creativity.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“If a great art style and self-indulgent vagueries are all you’re looking for, then Genesis Noir is the game for you. If, however, you’re one of those pesky gamers who expect things to happen for underlying reasons and stories to have characters rather than just a parade of hollow archetypes, there’s nothing here to recommend.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“It won't be everyone’s cup of tea with slower pacing and simplistic puzzles, but if you can overlook that then I believe you’ll enjoy Feral Cat Den’s Genesis Noir.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“This cosmic point-and-click looks and feels like no other game out there.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Genesis Noir is unique in the way that it is actually different from anything you consider a video game. The bits that make the full span of the game, at first glance shouldn’t really be part of the same whole but they’ve been put together so masterfully that it works beautifully on both the artistic and the emotional levels and it still feels and plays like a true video game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“A unique blend of visuals, music, gameplay, and heady story themes combine in one of the most artistically daring video games of recent years.”
read full review ↗
cublikefoot
3DNews
Nintendo Life
Paste Magazine
Nindie Spotlight
Wolf's Gaming Blog
PC Invasion
Killa Penguin
CFG Games
Eurogamer
Bazimag
Metro GameCentral…and 27 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Patch 11856Jul 14, 2022
- Patch 11162May 3, 2022
- New Update Available: The Astronomy UpdateMar 3, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 9796Sep 30, 2021
- Patch 9718Sep 6, 2021
- The Checkpoint Update!Jul 13, 2021
- Patch 9391May 6, 2021
- Patch 9364Apr 29, 2021
- Patch 9292Apr 15, 2021
- Patch 9289Apr 14, 2021
- Patch 9263Apr 5, 2021
- Patch 9245Apr 1, 2021
- Patch Version 9229Mar 30, 2021
- Patch 9221Mar 28, 2021
- Patch Notes - Build 9205Mar 27, 2021
- Demo Patch 8138 - Uncapped FramerateFeb 5, 2021
- Dev Update: Genesis Noir Coming Early 2021Sep 29, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- July Dev Update: Tech & Trailer WIPAug 10, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- June Dev Update: Scripting + SpelunkingJul 16, 2020
- Demo Update - 2020.6.19.5898Jun 19, 2020
- Demo Update - 2020.6.19.5891Jun 19, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- May Dev Update: Delay + Key ArtJun 2, 2020