New Trailer Drops For Anime Racing Game Kaido Genkai
Kaido Genkai is the debut title from Karoshi Electric Company, a new Canadian studio. It’s an open world anime racing RPG, and also a love letter to older gaming, thanks in part to a 90s setting and stylised arcade racing mechanics.
The game is set in a fictional Japanese coastal town and lets players explore, and unlock new cars, through a variety of quests. These include, of course, races, with 19 possible vehicles to collect, as well as tracks with secret routes to uncover.
“Kaido Genkai is an open world anime racing RPG set in 90’s Japan, where you explore the countryside, meet and race opponents, and complete objectives to unlock new cars and areas of the map,” the developer said on the game’s official site.
“It is focused on a narrative story line, and has been in development since January 2024 as a passion project by one developer in his spare time. It is highly influenced by PS2 games like Choro-Q (Road Trip in North America), Midnight Club, and of course, Auto Modellista for the visual style.”
Fun Over Realism
Karoshi Electric Company is headed by the main developer, Karoshi, with art courtesy of vehicle artist Hacao, and illustrator Holeecrab. Karoshi has been active on social media with game updates, including showcasing actual racing gameplay.
He has also likened the racing to the handling of older car games: “Arcady, most similar to Midnight Club 2 though without some of the mechanics like going on two wheels or slowing down time.”
Somewhat refreshingly for an indie dev who has never made a game before, Karoshi is also very upfront about the game’s limitations, as well as his own, rather than promising too much or succumbing to feature creep. The Discord channel for Kaido Genkai is already filled with over 380 supportive fans offering suggestions, which Karoshi is open to, but also honest about if it feels beyond his scope/ability.
Legally Distinct Autos
The whole team at Karoshi Electric Company have also been sharing updates on artwork and content on a regular basis with, unsurprisingly, a strong focus on the vehicles. These are all modeled after 90’s Japanese Domestic Market vehicles, to better fit the vibe of the game and also simply because the dev team likes these types of cars.
Due to licensing costs, all vehicles are the game’s own brands, rather than real-world ones (a common concession among indie racing titles). However, eagle-eyed fans have already spotted real-life parallels between a few game autos and popular Japanese brands from the 90s, such as an S-Cargo van and Suzuki Vitara jeep.
Kaido Genkai doesn’t have a release date yet, but there are tentative plans to release a demo in Fall this year.
