Kernel Hearts ▶ Trailer
Kernel Hearts screenshot 1Kernel Hearts screenshot 2
ActionIndieRPGHack and SlashAction RPGOnline Co-OpMultiplayerAction Roguelike

17 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 23

Peak in the last 7 days: 35

Kernel Hearts Steam store

Game description

Gather your allies. Eliminate Angels. Transform into a Magical Girl. Slay god. Kernel Hearts is a Multiplayer Co-Op Roguelike Action RPG about four magical girls and their attempt to save a world that's drowning in ashes

Basic info

DeveloperEphemera Games
PublisherWhitethorn Games
PlatformsWindows
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateSep 17, 2026
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 10 or Above
ProcessorIntel Core i7-9750H @ 2.60GHz or equivalent
Memory8 GB
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or equivalent
Storage15 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 216 reviews from the past 1 year

77.7/ 100
Bottom 50%

Steam rating: Very Positive (80%)

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 15, 2026)

Most praise for Kernel Hearts is simple enjoyment, in 37 reviews, though others find the combat clunky; it scores 77.7.

👍 Strengths

The most upvoted of them says it has heart and rewards investment with satisfying progression. 34 praise the music, the most upvoted also liking the bosses, and 32 rate the artwork and soundtrack highly. Visuals & Sound appears in 60% of analyzed reviews and ranks 476th of 1249. Others call the characters, story and world building genuinely strong, and some enjoy fast paced co-op for up to four players. Story & World ranks 506th of 1096, and Multiplayer ranks 309th of 642.

👎 Where it falls short

Gameplay appears in 77% of analyzed reviews and ranks 1119th of 1396. 41 reviews criticize the combat, the most upvoted citing inconsistent hitboxes and frustrating dodge timing. 25 find enemies too tough from the start, and 20 say the tutorial explains almost nothing about core systems. Others report crashes, missing textures and levels that fail to load, and some call progression slow enough to feel like punishment. Tech & Support ranks 632nd of 1399, and Content Volume ranks 834th of 1351.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“game has heart and rewards investment with satisfying progression moments” · 37 reviews
“great music and cool bosses” · 34 reviews
“characters, story, visuals and world-building are genuinely strong” · 26 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 77% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Onboarding -1.63 · How easy it is to learn — tutorials and the first hours
Negative “tutorial explains almost nothing about core mechanics or progression systems” · 20 reviews

Progression 31% · Difficulty 40% · Freedom 10% · Strategy 30% · Controls & feel 45%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 54% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Story +2.58 · Plot, quests, writing, and the ending
Positive “characters, story, visuals and world-building are genuinely strong” · 26 reviews
Negative “generic anime-trope ending disappoints after buildup” · 5 reviews

Characters 29% · World 19%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 29% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Variety -1.73 · Fresh content and situations versus repetition
Negative “the gameplay loop feels very similar in each run despite enjoyment” · 8 reviews
Positive “huge variety of active and passive abilities to choose from” · 1 review

Volume 13% · Replayability 11%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 60% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Audio +4.25 · Music, sound effects, and voice acting
Positive “great music and cool bosses” · 34 reviews

Visuals 45%

Playing with others, the community and servers
Mentioned in 25% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Playing together +1.80 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals
Positive “awesome fast-paced co-op action for up to four players” · 14 reviews
Negative “co-op progress non-existent, joiners don't progress bonds” · 3 reviews

Community 1% · Servers & Connection 1%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 20% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.36 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “Spika's jump combo trivializes platforming and bosses, no viable build variety” · 3 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Pricing 7% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 33% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Stability -0.33 · Crashes, freezes, save loss, and game-breaking bugs
Negative “frequent crashes, bugs, missing textures, and levels fail to load” · 16 reviews

Performance 6% · Developer support 16%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

Was this analysis useful? Sign in with Steam to vote

🎲 What kind of gamer are you? Find your title in 3 minutes.