Kai Berserk Preview

A battle royale free for all... In space.

Kai Berserk is an upcoming collectible card game where players are using a shared deck in order to defeat the other players. Each turn, one player will flip a location card and its effects remain active throughout the round. On your turn, you will be able to do one free attack, play cards from your hand, and then draw to end the turn. It plays in real time, however so your opponents will be able to defend against whatever you play. Everyone starts out with 5 health and the last player standing is the winner.

The Good: What instantly drew me to this was the art. It was really unique and well done. I didn't expect it to be so colorful when I opened the black and white box. The gameplay is also really balanced. I never felt like I was set up for failure. Sure, the cards are all luck of the draw but the deck is varied enough that you'll be able to counter without much concern. The event cards were a fantastic idea as well. When you reach one in the deck, you immediately resolve it and these can shift the entire game. Some may just give more cards, but some may instantly kill other players. It's brutal and hilarious when it happens.

The Okay: The health tracking is not my favorite thing in the world. Your character card acts as the counter but you need to provide an outside object to signify the amount. I would like to see a dial of sorts or something that's a little more immersive. It's completely serviceable but it's also just completely out of place.

The Not So Good: As great as the art is, it can also be very distracting to the text on the cards. Some cards are very busy making it a little bit difficult to read. The tradeoff seems to be larger and bolder text but then it also takes some away from the art. It's not the end of the world but I do hope that this can get cleaned up a bit over time.

Kai Berserk was definitely a cool experience. I'll really be intrigued to see how they expand this universe. I don't know if it's a total game changer but it's a game that I would happily pull out and play a quick match with someone. I was only provided with a starter deck but I'd really like to try and build my own deck to play with others.

Thanks to Kai Berserk for letting me try this out before release.