KurtzPel Play Session Impressions on Steam Early Access

Recently, I got the opportunity to play KurtzPel, an online action game by KOG. In it, you fight against either boss monsters or other players in action-oriented gameplay, where, knowing when and how to dodge an attack is a lifesaver.

There are currently 2 base classes—called “karmas”—in the game with others being added as paid DLC. While it might seem shady for only 2 of the game’s karmas to come with the base game, I would like to point out 2 things: 1) the base game is free-to-play and 2) the 2 base karmas are in no way inferior to the current set of DLC karmas. Currently, when you create a new character, you can only have them start with one of the 2 base karmas, regardless of whether or not you have any of the DLC’s. It is possible to unlock the other karmas you have access to by playing missions. Once you unlock a karma, you can freely switch between it and others you’ve unlocked while outside of missions. You can even equip 2 karmas at once and switch between them mid-mission. A thing to keep in mind though; with the exception of your starting karma, you only unlock a karma AFTER you complete all its missions. So far, every karma has only 3 missions to complete, so you should be able to unlock the ones you have access to fairly quickly.

When starting the game, you only have access to your starting karma’s missions. Once you beat those, the rest of the game opens up. You gain access to co-op, PvP, and the missions of any karmas you have access to. A thing to keep in mind though, with the karma missions you need to complete them by yourself first before you can play them on co-op. The karma missions are supposed to be set to their easiest difficulty if you haven’t beaten them before with that character, so the game isn’t too unfair about this. Also, the promise of a higher difficulty—and possibly more rewards—provides an incentive to go back and replay levels on co-op.

While its possible to play this game singleplayer, the game truly shines during its multiplayer. As previously mentioned, none of the karmas feel so overpowered that there is one “golden” karma that beats the rest. Each of the karmas has a time and place where it is appropriate. Karmas that deal a lot of damage usually have long charge-up times compared to the ones that don’t, so if an enemy is using quick attacks, you need to either switch to a karma that is weaker and faster, or have another player run interception for you so you don’t get interrupted while you try to prepare your attack.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with this game; while the singleplayer was ok, I really enjoyed when I was able to play the game with others.

Check Out the KurtzPel Trailer:

KurtzPel arrives today for PC via Steam Early Access.