When I first heard about KOG Games’ KurtzPel, I assumed it would be just another PvP (player versus player) fighting title with unique elements for a unique combat style. Of course, that meant there would also be some PvE (player-verse enemy) options, but I didn’t expect the story to play such a big role.

At the start of the game, the story is introduced through an anime introductory scene that plays like a real anime on Crunchyroll. It starts midway through the plot and you quickly see that KurtzPel is a kind of human, or maybe superhuman, that most of humanity looks down on. You watch as a father dies to allow his daughter, who is supposed to be listed as KurtzPel, to escape with her mother. Next comes the part where you can create your own character. Once you load the lobby, you discover that it is a hideout where fellow KurtzPel members can meet and work together to save each other. However, there is actually a bigger picture that is not shown, and the story turns out to be much deeper than initially thought.

Gameplay

The best story missions to start with are where you fight alone. This is a good way to get used to the game controls, as the tutorial, or lack of one, doesn’t explain much about the game. You learn the basics, but there’s a lot you have to learn on your own.

Once you select a mission, you’re drawn into this overview map scene with all the missions laid out on a board. If there’s a real portrait image, that’s part of the story, but if there’s just a demon face or a symbol of crossing swords, these are missions to play with fellow players. If you want to play with friends, you can form a group before starting the mission; otherwise, you will simply be matched with random players in the same lobby. All of these missions are labeled with difficulty and game type if it is a PvP mode, so you know who you will be up against.

In terms of control, you will have the free-roam option. This means that you can control which way your character is facing, even if the camera is not always in front of you. This allows you to track the quick movements of your enemies, whether they are players or AI, and land your attacks with confidence. Freedom of movement is influenced by your chosen fighting style, as each weapon choice requires a different playstyle.

What the much-needed tutorial doesn’t teach you is actually something very important to know. I played around with the menus and controls until I figured out that you can actually equip two different weapons and switch between them at will during combat. So, out of the four options available in the alpha, I combined my bow attacks with batting gloves for melee actions. Personally, I decided to combine the bow and mage setup since I like to keep my distance and they both offer different attacks and super hits. Super hits are simply special moves you can perform with your weapons, like rapid fire for the bow or sending meteor-sized fireballs flying in the direction of your choice for the mage. This can be easily exploited as you can use up a super hit on one weapon set, switch to another set and use your super hits without missing a beat or waiting for a recharge. Once you’ve used up your second weapon set “super hit”, your first weapon set will recharge and become available to use again, for the entire game if you wish.

There are a few different modes of PvP action. The ones I was able to play were Capture the Flag, Deathmatch and Capture, which are all pretty self-explanatory. Each game lasts for five minutes and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins the game. It’s very easy.

Expectations

After playing the alpha, I am now expecting a very nice story where we find out why the KurtzPel all came together, what exactly and where their hideout is, and what the rest of the world claims is the problem of their existence.

There should be a better tutorial that fully explains all the components of the game. This includes the different settings, the fighting styles, how the weapons work, what the combat looks like, how the customization works, how the AP and other currency systems work, and everything in between. I felt like I was just thrown into the game with “There are missions, go play!” By the way, you can also check the options in the lobby and try out the customization options. ”

When the game is finally released, there should be even more game modes available with PvP options, and the option to complete story mode missions should also be added. Playing with friends or alone should also be an option. If the focus of the game is a 2v2 setup, the story mode should also include a 2-person team that goes head-on against it.

Conclusion

KurtzPel is a lot of fun and a joy to play. Free-roam style combat with a moderately fast-paced action setting makes it an easy to learn but hard to master game. Many of the best fighting games are just like this and I look forward to seeing the full production of this title. It’s not enough to say that this is a 2v2 PvP game, because there’s so much more to it than that.