KAZ Demo Preview | Twitchy Fingers

Sometimes a game looks so simple, yet I know there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. That’s the case with KAZ, an arcade-style roguelike that has me smashing the arrow buttons frantically to get the highest score possible before my time runs out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lauyIRxuwS4

The concept is pretty simple. I’m presented with a couple of tiles for my character to move on. The best way to describe it, think of a game board that may have squares or tiles to move on. The first couple of levels will only have four or five spaces. What makes it tricky is that enemies will pop up randomly on different tiles, and I need to move my character as fast as I can to hit them. It’s basically whack-a-mole, but instead of using a hammer to hit the critters as they pop up, I am using the arrow keys to get my character to the space where the baddies appear.  

For each enemy I defeat, I earn points. Each round, I need to get a certain number of points before time runs out, otherwise my run ends. As the levels increase, they get more complicated, with spaces that span across the screen, creating complicated patterns, meaning that I need to move more spaces to get where the enemies are spawning. Of course, the higher the level is, the more points I need to earn to pass the level. I move as fast as I can react, giving my fingers quite the workout and abusing the arrow keys in the process. My poor keyboard, I hope it can forgive me.

And it’s a satisfying feeling to see a score progress bar fill up after each round. It’s really fun when the bar fills up past the 100% mark, filling up the meter to 200%, 300%, or 400%; it feels like winning a jackpot.

At the end of each round, I get to choose between three buffs or items to help me. Some of these include adding more time, inflating the points earned, the ability to jump over gaps, and more. This is where each run feels so different; depending on what’s available and what I pick up, I will plan my strategy for future buffs accordingly. For example, if I pick up a buff that gives me additional time, I might then pick up a buff that allows me to carry over excess points I gain to the next level. If I get an item that inflates the points, I’m going to try to pick a powerup that spawns enemies on every square at the beginning of the round. I love how this makes me think about how each of the powerups could benefit me, and forces me to choose wisely about how I’m going to play out this run.

Some of the more powerful items will require me to input a sequence of keystrokes to trigger them, like a crystal that will give me more time. But I need to hit the arrows in a specific order to trigger it: up, up, left, right. What makes this challenging is the need to prioritize triggering the power-up over moving around the board to get points. If I’m lucky, my movements around the board will fulfill the powerup, but I’m rarely that lucky. 

The game also becomes more complicated with added traps that appear randomly on the board. Touching a trap adds to a curse meter. Once that meter is full, instead of selecting from the "up" powerups, I have to choose between four different maluses. While most are bad, like making my character invisible for a brief moment, some of them work to my advantage. For example, there’s a malus that states all enemies must move on the board (most are stationary, with the exception of a few that move). I picked that malus because I gained a buff that awarded me points whenever an enemy moved. Again, I’m not always that lucky.

The buffs and maluses stay with me throughout the rest of my run. There are powerups that allow me to remove a malus, but then I have to decide if I should prioritize getting something that would get me more points or more time or suffer the effects of the malus, knowing that power may not be available after the next round. The deeper I go into the game, the more challenging these decisions become. 

There are quests to accomplish, which earn coins to spend on new themes for the game. Quests include things like reaching a certain score with a character or defeating a certain number of enemies in a run. At first, I thought the themes just changed the look and feel of the character and enemies, but it also changes the background music as well. Besides that, there are plenty of buffs that can only be unlocked after playing with different characters, encouraging me to try different themes. 

It wouldn’t be an arcade game if there wasn’t a leaderboard. KAZ has several different modes to play: a survival mode, a weekly challenge, and a monthly challenge. Each of these has their own leaderboard, and I found myself chasing the top scores. I’m not usually one to try for a top score; I’m not that competitive. But for some reason, KAZ has me in a zone where I feel like my next run could be the one that places me in the top spot. 

Aesthetically, the game leans into the arcade-style visuals. After I hit the required points needed to beat the level, the screen flashes, confetti flies, and a musical cue plays, signaling that I’ve achieved the goal. That doesn’t mean I’m done. I’m still flying around the board, trying to rack up my score. Along with the victory sequence, the game also has a lot of explosions occurring, and anytime I hit a wall, the screen shakes and flashes. Players who are sensitive to light, take note, as there are a lot of strobing lights. While there are settings to turn off the screen shake and flashes, it doesn’t do enough to tone down the amount of flashing lights that still happen. However, the game does a nice job of providing a warning around these issues.

I spent quite a bit of time with KAZ. It’s one of those “just one more round” type of games, where I plan to play only a few minutes at the start, but then end up playing for hours. It may sound weird to call this game a cozy-roguelike, considering the pressure is on to react as quickly as I can to get points. But as frantic as the game is, it’s also a bit relaxing, especially when I’m in the zone, shutting off thinking and just relying on my reflexes to do the work. 

Big thank you to Roger for writing this preview for the Six One Indie Showcase on May 21st, 2026. Follow Roger on Bluesky and Gamerheads Podcast.