Kernel Hearts Guides Hub

This hub is the map for every Kernel Hearts how-to on the wiki. The game is still in its launch window: Ephemera Games and Whitethorn Games set September 17, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. A shorter demo is already playable, so most of these pages mix verified demo habits with full-game systems the studio has described in trailers and patch notes.

If you only open one article, start with Getting Started. It covers Babel, the lab backup, Fernet’s first kit, and the loop you will repeat after every death. When you want a floor-by-floor route, jump to the demo walkthrough.

What these guides assume

Kernel Hearts is a co-op action RPG roguelike. You play android magical girls in the M.A.H.O.U. Unit. The job is blunt: climb the Tower of Babel, erase the angels on each Heaven, and dethrone a god while ash buries the last human city. Death is not a wipe. Your body restores from a memory backup in a laboratory on the edge of Babel. Temporary run power (mementos, relics, floor loot) resets. Permanent chips on MAHOU.OS do not.

That split is why a random trailer looks chaotic. In a single expedition you are mixing attacks, spells, and movement mods. Between expeditions you are editing a 256KB loadout. The chips and builds guide is the meta layer. The combat guide is the in-run layer.

Recommended reading order

1. Getting Started — boot sequence, Babel, first Heaven.
2. Controls — keyboard, mouse, and gamepad habits from the demo.
3. Combat combos — light, heavy, dodge, spells, and why lingering on a floor is a bet.
4. Magical girl transformation — Heavenly Curse, true form, and when to pop it.
5. Demo walkthrough — Folktale Fields, B-Cho Ringleader, shop, Ash Desert.
6. Chips and builds — 256KB budget, mementos vs relics, purification.
7. Co-op — four-player hosting, pings, revives.
8. Bosses — B-Cho Ringleader, Gabriel vs guardian names.
9. Tower and Heavens — Folktale Fields, Ash Desert, safe floors.
10. Mementos and relics — coffins, purification, what resets.
11. Unlock units — Spika’s Gabriel gate, who the demo still locks.
12. Angels — casters, Pixips, statues that wake.

Squad identity lives under Players (including Babel NPCs). If you already know the loop and only want a pick, use the character tier list. Launch logistics — date, platforms, Fernet’s Fortnite outfit, demo patch notes — sit in Updates. Store choice: pre-order.

How the Tower is structured

Public materials describe about seven Heavens in the full climb. The demo shows two floors. Director notes from the August 2026 demo update are explicit: scaling feels calmer in the demo because runs are short. Do not treat a two-floor session as the full power curve.

Known demo spaces include Folktale Fields (First Heaven), a wide ruined meadow with petrified angels, B-Cho casters, and Pixips, and Ash Desert (listed as Third Heaven in long demo captures). Between domains you pass through safe rooms and the city of Babel. Daiki, the lobby boy, is the character who moves units between domains. Gift NPCs, scavengers, and artificers sit on the social layer — they are not filler; bond progress is one of the four advertised pillars.

Pain points these pages try to solve

Players bouncing off the demo usually hit the same walls:

• The difficulty bar on the right rises the longer you stay. Clearing fast feels weak; lingering for loot feels greedy. The combat and demo pages explain that trade.
• Spika is locked until you put in work. Several demo comments say the game “clicks” after she unlocks because her aerial strings feel closer to a spectacle fighter.
• Chips sound like a joke (256KB) until you realize they are the entire between-run RPG. If you spend randomly you will re-enter Folktale Fields underpowered.
• Co-op is online with up to three allies. It is not a couch-first pitch. Matchmaking habits, ping tools, and who holds aggro all matter.
• Transformation is not a free super. The curse that enables it also buffs remaining enemies. Popping true form at the wrong time can lose a boss.

How we source claims

Everything here is checked against Steam and Epic store copy, the August 17, 2026 director post, Gematsu and Games Press announcements, the Epic Games Store demo hands-on, and public demo captures. Where a number is still studio-facing (exact chip sizes, full Heaven list, Dolce’s complete kit), the page says so instead of inventing a table. When September 17 lands, these guides should be updated from patch notes, not from guesswork.

Use Official Links for Steam, Epic, Discord, and the studio site. Use system requirements before you promise friends a four-stack on a laptop GPU.

Related hubs

• Players hub — Fernet, Spika, Laika, Dolce.
• Tier List Hub — demo-informed rankings, not gospel.
• Updates Hub — launch date and demo patches.
• Tools Hub — controls and PC specs.