The internet is filled with keyboard warriors, and maybe you have been one of them, furiously typing away to get your point across and defeat an opponent, or correct someone who was foolish enough to be wrong on the internet. In KAZ, you are a keyboard warrior of a similar sort. You have to furiously hit the direction keys as fast as you can to take out enemies and rack up points to progress through different levels.
KAZ is a roguelite grid game in which you move your chosen avatar as fast as possible around different grids to take out enemies. Each round has a score target you need to meet to progress, with failure ending your run. KAZ is just one of the avatars available as the game has different grid themes giving you new avatars, enemy designs, and music to listen to.
Different themes also come with different starting abilities for each of the avatars. With Kaz the bonus ability is for a big explosion to take place at the end of a round to clear the grid, while Bunny Bento gives a small multiplier, and Aku has shorter spell cooldowns. Not all avatars are available from the start, but are unlocked by completing quests to earn coins to spend on new themes and their new avatars.
Despite its simple look, KAZ requires quick reflexes and decision making on which abilities to choose from that will allow you to build your score as high as possible. You could go for making enemies spawn faster, having stars appear that give big points if you catch them, increase the time you have or make fugitive type enemies become worth more the further they run from you. On top of these passive abilities, you can also equip spells that you need to activate yourself through key combos. These spells can help fill the board with enemies, give a time boost, or activate bonus attacks like lightning and waves. While you do have these advantages to help, things do get harder through each round with grids getting bigger and curse tiles appearing. Hit enough of those and you have to choose debuffs to equip which can make runs much harder.
It really does tap into that compulsive high score chasing. Your keyboard may suffer as you only have 15 seconds to clear grids, unless you find boosts to increase the time, and having quests to beat helps with keeping you engaged. Additionally, there are different modes to choose from. With the Too Many Items mode you pick three items after each round, quickly building up the buffs you have. No Stress mode takes that frantic button pushing away sot that time only moves forward when you make a move. Survivor seems like the best default mode in which you go round by round racking up your score, picking one item at a time between rounds. And for those of you who have a dance pad in the attic, there is a specific mode that supports dance pads so you can build up a sweat while chasing enemies.
KAZ does not have any kind of overt story and it does not need one. Yes the themes and their heroes have different enemies to slay, but there is no plot. Instead, the game relies on and draws you in with its fast paced action, good music, and leaderboard chasing. The music goes well with the action and the visual designs are very good for avatars, enemies, and the themes alike.
