Kaido Genkai Developer Says ‘Big-Name Studios’ Would Never Make This Game

We’ve been a little excited ever since we stumbled upon the existence of Kaido Genkai, an in-development driving game set in a cel-shaded landscape inspired by ‘90s Japan. Really, it sounds like the stuff of our dreams.

Fortunately, not just ours. We spoke with the single-person brains behind Karoshi Electric Company, K, who told us they were making something that “big-name studios would seemingly never touch”, and that it’s “pretty darn close” to their dream game despite this being their first project. Check out the full interview below.

How long has Kaido Genkai been in the works?

K: “Kaido Genkai has been in the works since January 2024. A lot of this has been spent learning about game development and expanding the scope of the game as I work through things. Since it's my first game, I had originally planned for it to be much simpler, and I have had to refine things a lot as I build out more functionality and fidelity!

“I also only get to work on this game part-time since I have a day job. It slows things down, but having a steady income outside of the game assures that I can take my time to try and make something hopefully really special.”

Which games have been your biggest inspirations?

K: “As a kid, I loved Auto Modellista for its art style. I thought a cel-shaded racing game was such a unique and cool concept. I also have a love for open-world racing games in general, which informed the game design quite a bit. Games like Choro-Q HG2 on the PS2 are also a big inspiration, since it showed me how well driving games can work with RPG elements (also shoutout to Racing Lagoon!).

“The game is also a response to my feelings about the current state of AAA racing games, which, for a variety of reasons, comes across rather uninspired. I wanted to make something that big-name studios would seemingly never touch.”

In terms of physics, what games would it align with?

K: “Probably Midnight Club 2, but not quite as arcade-y, though definitely not sim either. The cars are fairly weighty, but responsive. It's not a drift-focused game, so you won't be sliding like crazy around corners, but you can still perform some drifts if you want to – there's just no gameplay objectives around it. I feel like there are a lot of cool JDM drifting games already out there doing this really well, so I wanted to focus on something different.” 

Do you have a target release window?

K: “I have been telling people maybe around September or October for a vertical slice demo of some kind, but really it's just a guess, so don't hold me to it. It really depends on how many bugs pop up and how smoothly development goes, and how busy my day job gets. Though I try to work on the game every single day, no matter what. The full game is still a ways out, regardless, though. 

How has the reception been so far?

K: “I had no idea what to expect in terms of reception when I first started showing the game, but it turns out there are other like-minded people who love the concept of mixing anime and cars – there’s quite a vibrant community around it.

“So those folks have been really excited by the game and are great at giving me new ideas and pushing the game further. ​The game's got around 10k Wishlists on Steam so far, and all the growth has come from organic exposure. I really want to say thank you to the community for all your interest and enthusiasm.”

How can people support Kaido Genkai ahead of release?

K: “Sharing posts does so much, as does Wishlisting on Steam – since this helps with each platform's algorithm and gets the game in front of more people. I really appreciate any shares we get, as well as comments and likes. Seeing the excitement for the game also really pushes me to raise my own standards.”

This is your first published game on Steam, but have you had any projects before this?

K: “I have made nothing before this – not even a Hello World program. It all really happened on a whim. I downloaded Blender and a game engine and immediately started trying to see how far I could get. It was always going to be an open world cel-shaded racing game, though originally, I was just going to target doing time trials with very blocky graphics.

“But one thing led to another, and now I'm making something pretty darn close to my dream game. And luckily enough, along the way, I've had the chance to work with a passionate vehicle artist, Hacao, and talented illustrator HoleeCrab, who have done wonders to bring the visual experience to life.

Is a console port an eventual goal? Or will it be PC only?

K: “PC only for now, but if the game is received well, then a console port of some kind is very likely. I don't plan to release the game on mobile, though, as I don't think the gameplay is suited for it.”

Excited as we are for Kaido Genkai? You can support K by wishlisting the game on Steam now.