The coolest new battle royale on the block is this Zelda-inspired indie with the cutest Link's Awakening remake-style visuals, and you can try it this week ahead of its launch later in the year

Modern online games are a paradox for me: I really like the structure of a battle royale, but I'm really, really bad at multiplayer shooters. Fall Guys was a breath of fresh air when it let me put my much-more-respectable platformer skills to the test. Thankfully, Scramble Knights Royale is here to let me have some royal battles in another genre I'm comfortable with: Zelda-style action-adventure games.

Scramble Knights Royale was announced some time ago – you might've seen it in a recent Day of the Devs showcase – and is scheduled for launch later this year, but we'll all have a chance to try it out much sooner than that.

A playtest for Scramble Knights Royale is scheduled to run this weekend – January 9 through January 11 – with sign-ups available right now on the game's Steam page. You can check the official FAQ for details on what to expect from the playtest, but the key caveat is that it'll only be available in North America.

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The first thing you'll note about Scramble Knights Royale is just how darn cute it looks. Its art style is reminiscent of the Link's Awakening remake and Echoes of Wisdom, but it goes even harder on the claymation vibes, with unsteady character models that look like they're constantly being pushed and prodded by human fingers.

Matches see 32 players land on an island (via turtleback, naturally) and spread out to discover their own, individual adventures. There are treasures to find and dungeons full of monsters to overcome, all of which will help you power up your character for your eventual battles against other players, with, of course, the goal to be the last knight standing.

It looks like a delightful variation on the battle royale formula, and I'm eager to see what the response to the first playtest will look like. It's a rough time to launch a multiplayer game that relies on a robust player count, but here's hoping Scramble Knights Royale can stand out in the battle royale sea.

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