I’ve just spent my evening playing Kaz, and seeing as it launched on PC today, I wanted to say nice things about this shiny new arcade roguelike before I hit the sack.
What is Kaz?
Developed by Kalinarm, Kaz takes place in a grid-based arena, and it dares you to chase tile-based enemies around the place as quickly as possible, defeating them as you build a score good enough to get you through to the next round.
It’s a simple and effective setup, and at first glance, it might not appear to be that eye-catching from the screenshots; however, we roguelikers know that you should never judge a book by its cover, and when Kaz gets going, the screen fizzes with chaos.
It’s not long before the “psychedelic visuals” promised in the store listing light up the screen as you move your little square avatar from grid to grid in search of points, triggering effects and hitting enemy tiles as quickly as possible.
You earn points by killing enemies, and you kill your enemies by bashing into them like you would in any other roguelike. Enemies pop up all over the place, and you need to get to them and hit them as quickly as possible (hence the whack-a-rat reference).
This mechanical simplicity of move and hit allows the game to layer in complexity elsewhere, with clever mechanics and abilities constantly being added into the mix, whether that be more time or new attacks.
The unlocks come thick and fast, and there are loads of different ways to mix up a run. You can increase your time, boost your score or multiplier, or get extra points from smacking shields. That’s just the tip of the iceberg; there are loads of synergies to be found.
You’ll need to move fast in the main game, as the timer runs out quickly. In fact, Kaz keeps track of your inputs, and you can really hone your skills over time. For example, one skill lets you earn more points until you’ve bumped into a wall. For a skilled player with great reactions, this tempting proposition can really help you build a score.
There is a more chilled version of the game, which lets you consider your actions and where time only moves when you do. This is another simple yet elegant gameplay technique that makes the game more accessible. You can even play on a dance mat, if you’ve got one and fancy busting out a few moves. While I’ve not tried it myself, it reinforces the rhythmic aspects of the game.
Speaking of which, the audio-visual elements do come together quite well; however, I also thought it also worked really well with the sound turned off and my own music on in the background. You do you, basically.
Final thoughts before bed
With multiple characters to unlock, each with its own feel, over 100 quests, and six starting weapons to choose from, each run has the potential to go in a bunch of different directions. In fact, given its relatively low pricing, I was pretty pleased with the amount of game included here.
The gameplay is very engaging, I thought, with quick rounds and focused action where every move matters. Kaz is the kind of game that pulls you into a flow state, where you’re acting and reacting rather than thinking. But then it also gives you that sweet dopamine hit from levelling up, hitting your targets, choosing new abilities between rounds, and then watching the screen light up!
Kaz is out now on PC (Win), and I played the game via the access kindly provided by the publisher and their trenchcoat-wearing PR buddies.
