GENKI: ShadowCast Review

GENKI: ShadowCast Review – The GENKI: ShadowCast by Human Things is a fun and enjoyable way to cast to friends at a competitive price

Capture cards have always been one of those purchases that I have thought about but never pulled the trigger on, simply because of price and availability and concerns of frame drops (where my smashers at?). With all that said Human Things (creator of a successful Bluetooth adaptor for the Nintendo Switch: Genki Audio), created a capture card that caught my eye for the price of $49.00. Which is very competitive in the world of capture cards. I eventually pulled the trigger because in the advertising they were playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Backing them through the Kickstarter I received the product in April. Thus far, it has been a great experience but not without its own flaws.

For starters, when combined with their Covert Dock the space that the capture card takes up is very minimal and is a huge plus in my book, with one plugging into the other to create a single seamless unit. After which you simply plug a USB-C cable into your computer and your setup is complete. Then you simply download their Genki Arcade Software and you are off to the races. The application itself is super stable and offers two modes: Performance Mode and Graphics Mode. As the titles suggest they have their own ideal situations. For the most part, I stay in graphics mode, and I am currently playing mostly RPGs and don’t need that super crisp input lag. But now for the strong points with the ease of the application and the current situation of the pandemic, it’s a great way to share gaming experiences with friends over Discord, or Twitch, and it is completely compatible with OBS (The program I tested with). Initially, I felt like there was a graphic’s drop off, but upon further testing, I realized it’s simply the limitations of the Nintendo Switch. Plugging in different consoles yielded much better results in terms of graphics. It was a great experience to have Smash Parties over discord and allowed for spectators without being at the mercy of the Nintendo Servers or lack thereof. Beyond that, the overall portability of the Covert Dock and ShadowCast makes it ideal for gamers that are on the move or going over to their friends’ places often and want to stream but don’t like the feeling of dragging over their entire setup. It’s simple and does exactly what is advertised. There are also some bonus functions that go along with the ShadowCast just in case you were on the fence about purchasing. First, you can use the Shadow to mirror ANY HDMI device including a DSLR to get those really crisp videos for your Twitch Streams. Additionally, as mentioned before you can use this with any next-gen system for on-the-fly capture, but it is definitely recommended for the Switch as the frame rate can sometimes not be up to par.

The simplicity of it all is genius.

While a great product overall there are some gripes. Remember how I said I got it because they played Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the trailer? Well, let’s just say they are casual players. While I felt the game was still very playable in performance mode, there was a noticeable input lag even on local play (Roughly the same as Online Game). Stack that with the natural input lag of the Nintendo Online experience and sometimes it will be frustrating to drop a tech that you would normally get. With all that said, I am not a competitive smasher and found the experience still a fun and enjoyable way to cast to friends and just have a good time, I just wouldn’t recommend it for a competitive setting. Overall, the price point isn’t something you can beat when compared to other capture cards ranging from $150-$200+. For the casual stream or discord junkie, it’s the perfect device. Overall, my ShadowCast Review gets a 9/10.