It’s a bit embarrassing for me to admit that after years and years of playing video games, I only recently realised that rhythm-based video games are an extreme sport. Its roots trace back to arcade games, which involved either punching lit up buttons in order, or stepping on them. Personally, I remember ‘Dance Dance Revolution’ being quite prevalent in pop culture. ‘Guitar Hero’ is another big one. It had a controller in the shape of a guitar that needed to be pressed in the order that it appeared on the screen. Less flashy and more accessible (it’s free) is ‘Osu!’, which involves quick reactions using a mouse and has several user generated rhythms and levels. But this is all besides the point. Today, I’m here to talk about this new yet similar game — ‘KAZ’. And how I wish I’d gotten into this type of a game when I was much younger!
‘KAZ’ is meant for people like me, who have slightly fried dopamine receptors. If you aren’t like me, then games like this are sure to make you become this way. I know that’s not much of a recommendation to play it, but I’m sure there are advantages. While ‘KAZ’ is not strictly by definition a rhythm-based game, it comes close enough. And rhythm-based games do help you with hand-eye coordination and improved reaction speeds. There’s little else to say about this game in the way of a description. There’s no story, no semblance of game play strategy, or controls that you need to understand or learn. All you have is four directional keys and you just move your main character through a randomly generated grid using the directional keys. Enemies must be hit to get points and “curses” must be avoided. There’s a points threshold to meet in every level. Once cleared, you can select, out of multiple randomly generated upgrades, your character, so that you can earn more points in the next level. Points points points. How little it takes to make us happy.
‘KAZ’ caught my attention specifically because of its art style and music. It’s so simple and yet a complete sensory overload when you play it. It’s fast paced — starts and ends before you realise it. There are multiple characters in the game that you can play as, who each have their unique enemies and play styles, which I must admit allows for some dynamism. I had to stop playing this game because I’m not as young and sprightly as I used to be and it began to hurt my fingers and my wrist. But one of the game modes do allow you to hook up one of those dance pads and play while standing and moving around; I’ll reserve my fuller opinion of the game once I have that set up.
I’d recommend ‘KAZ’ if you’re looking for a quick distraction or a power-up in the middle of your day. It’s like a fidget toy — just crack it open a couple of times a day, play a few levels, and then forget about it. It’s quite appropriately priced at `359 and is worth playing on the keyboard.