Kazakh ’Jack | PC Review
Ever wonder what it would be like to be a lumberjack and have the trees come to life and start trying to kill you? Alright, admittedly I haven’t either. However, in Kazakh ‘Jack, brought to you by IWA Interactive, that’s exactly what’s going on. Grab your axe (because they don’t use chainsaws in Kazakhstan, apparently) and get ready to earn your employee of the month badge.
Killer…Bushes?
When Kazakhstan “accidentally” launched a nuclear missile at Russia, Forrest Woods had no idea it would impact him as well. He has been duped into the employment of the Kazakh Lumber Kompany. He must now go out into Neo-Kazakhstan and harvest the radioactive lumber to earn enough Kazakh Kredits to purchase a flight home.
The zany story, told here in an over the top comedic style, had me laughing out loud. The voice acting adds a deep layer to the comedy, done with extreme accent imitations. I just wish I could see and hear more of it.
The Razor’s Edge
The platforming levels in Kazakh ‘Jack are punishing and unforgiving. In only the second level of the game, buzzsaws are swirling all over the environment, and touching the blades more than once rewards you with starting over from the beginning. For such a seemingly rudimentary game, the required precision and timing of my movements became tiresome rather rapidly. The bullet-hell stage to open the game was slightly entertaining at best, but at least I could progress through it without wanting to throw my controller through the wall.
The hack and slash controls also feel off. Kazakh ‘Jack employs the same control scheme as a twin stick shooter, but for melee action. You press the right analog stick in the direction you want to swing your axe, but only in static directions of up, right, left, and down. You are able to throw your axe, but only by depressing the right analog stick, and you can only throw it in the direction Forrest is facing. And for some reason, IWA Interactive decided to map the jump function to the left trigger. Throw in the fact that there are no controller config changes, and you have a very uncomfortable situation. You’re stuck with what you’re given.
A Crazy World
The environments I traversed in Kazakh ‘Jack were fun, for the whole two levels I was able to experience. Running through the forest with trees bombarding you with their own lumber, the backdrop was actually very well done. The lumber mill filled with whirring blades and 3D printers launching plastic blades at you felt the way it should have, along with the crazy narrative.
Final Verdict
Kazakh ‘Jack was fun for the little bit I was able to progress. However, the platforming is just too demanding for me to actually enjoy the game. Getting through the first level was little trouble at all, but for all the time I put in, I could not get past the second. It made me really question my abilities in platforming games, so much so that I booted up others that were known to be difficult just to verify I was giving this game its fair dues.
Once I remembered that I’m not completely inept with these types of games, I felt much more comfortable with the conclusion that Kazakh ‘Jack is simply just too difficult from a platforming perspective to enjoy. This really is heartbreaking, as the story is so incredulously outrageous that I want badly to see more of it. The little bit I was able to experience had me laughing consistently. It really is a shame that the gameplay prevented me from seeing it through.
This review is based on a PC copy of Kazakh ’Jack provided by SuperIndie Games for coverage purposes.
Kazakh ’Jack
$5.99
Pros
- Zany, Crazy Comedy Story
- Great Voice Over
Cons
- Too Difficult
- Controls Feel Uncomfortable
