Gennady Upgrades: How Vendors, Dash, and Stats Work

Gennady upgrades are character improvements that alter movement speeds, weapon power, and defensive survivability across runs. Players collect them from Zina in trade zones, purchase artifacts with larvae from the merchant Sho, and bank select items for future attempts.

How Do Gennady Upgrades Differ From Artifacts?

Upgrade systems in the game divide into two distinct categories: character enhancements and passive artifacts. Enhancements are direct improvements obtained for free at Zina's trade zones, focusing on character agility, weapon effectiveness, and mobility. In contrast, artifacts are items purchased from the junk merchant Sho using larvae collected from broken bio-blocks and defeated enemies.

According to DevLog details on the Steam store page, artifacts span three distinct rarity tiers based on their impact. Some alter base numerical attributes such as shield duration, while others grant active mechanics like revival tickets. Players discover additional artifacts inside level chests or by clearing optional challenge rooms. While in-run upgrades vanish upon defeat by default, the Alley of the Dead allows players to fire stored artifacts into container slots, preserving vital progression for subsequent attempts.

As confirmed in the console release announcement on Noisy Pixel:

Gennady was a perfect title for us to port and publish on consoles, as a brutal action game like the ones we make ourselves, but with a distinct monochromatic look. We couldn’t let PC players hog this one to themselves. — Dmitry Kachkov, Head of Sobaka Studio

Trapped inside the hostile facility, players must battle through procedurally generated stages using melee combat, alien weapons, and the ability to launch Gennady himself as a living projectile.

— Monochrome Roguelike Platformer 'Gennady' Launches October 28

Which Upgrades Should You Choose for Survival?

Stat selection is the difference between surviving a full biome run and losing your health to sudden trap layouts. Different upgrades prioritize specific playstyles, varying in their resource cost and strategic trade-offs.

How Does Dash Progression Change Character Mobility?

Dash upgrades are fundamental movement mechanics that turn the player character into an offensive projectile. Basic movement relies on a recharging meter, but visiting Zina allows you to expand how these dashes behave during combat.

Upgrades tied to dashing alter trajectory control and hit properties:

• Control Dash allows full steering over the dash path and grants an extra charge whenever your dash strikes an enemy.
• Pure Dash amplifies impact force, pushing enemies backward into room hazards or presses.
• Charge Dash increases the maximum capacity of dash charges held at one time.
• Fire Wave triggers secondary bursts along surfaces when Gennady returns to the ground after vertical actions.

By combining expanded charges with direct trajectory manipulation, you bypass room obstacles like spikes, lasers, and presses without expending baseline health.

What Upgrades Work Best with Different Weapons?

Weapon choices are made before starting an attempt, accessed from the interactive fridge in the starting room. The base fist weapon benefits heavily from direct combat perks such as Excessive Cruelty for increased punch damage, Big Knuckles for extended melee reach, and Brick to punish undamaged targets.

Ranged builds using the blaster or alternate options like squirrel extract require different offensive synergies. Players focusing on shockwaves can combine Magnetic Power, which pulls targets toward the player, with Dynamite to double shockwave radius and damage output.

To keep character builds functional through difficult biome transitions, manage survivability alongside damage:

1. Visit Zina at room checkpoints to claim free movement perks and weapon upgrades.
2. Spend excess larvae at Sho's stall to buy shields, healing food items, or passive protection artifacts.
3. Secure carryover crates from Sho to bank crucial upgrades through the Alley of the Dead before challenging biome encounters.

Players can verify platform features, control options, and store data through the official console listing on the PlayStation Store. Expanding your knowledge of basic gameplay flow, timing each dash across hostile rooms, and experimenting with shop artifacts provides steady progression through the factory.