KUR (PC) Review

Movement in KUR is a bit clunky, aiming feels a bit off, and upon remapping controls one can realise that 'right' is actually 'left,' but somehow the developer hasn't realised that mistake before releasing this. This is basically the problem here. There are many more flaws to talk about, like graphical glitches, performance issues, cut-scenes that don't play, or how unbalanced everything is, whether that's enemy damage, ammo economy, and so on. In the end, all these are fine in a piece of software tagged as Early Access… but this is a full release, which begs the question: why?! Why throw months of work out of the window, and don't spend any time polishing your game?

Yes, patches will eventually come, so one can just wait a bit. Technical issues put aside, however, does this provide any reason to endure the wait? In all honesty, the answer is 'no,' and that comes from someone who is really glad of the re-appearance of the so called "boomer shooters" (hate the label, love the games). The moment-to-moment gameplay just isn't very enjoyable, which is a shame, as there are some interesting ideas here. Err… make that one interesting idea actually[/i].

This is very generic in terms of the gunplay involved, to the point that there is nothing to talk about. The protagonist runs around, shoots at - simplistic AI-wise - baddies that come near or shoot their own guns, and then collect money to buy more equipment (in-level). That's it. Nothing worthy of mention. The only real addition in KUR is a… kick(?!). This move, apart from doing what you expect it to (hit enemies or objects towards enemies), it can also be used to reach a higher location (by kicking the floor, basically), or wall jump and reach secret areas and the like. Neat? Yes. Enough to save the game? No.

At the end of the day, this feels like a proof of concept, rather than something that's really done. It's also worth mentioning that it just isn't very appealing, with the environments in particular ranging from bland areas full of vibrant colours, to those who fall into the category "I can't understand what I'm looking at." The - supposedly - dark humour on offer also tends to lean more towards cringy than pleasantly silly, but as is always the case with humour, you have to experience it for yourself and decide. This is a shooter, though, so the problem was never the quality of its comedic aspect…