- Highly enjoyable and engaging gameplay
- Innovative chess roguelike integration
- Balanced and adaptable difficulty
- Frustrating AI behavior
- High difficulty and rule inconsistencies
- Unpolished art and sound design
Emotions
Players are highly satisfied with the game's core concept, its unique blend of chess and roguelike mechanics, and the strategic depth it offers. The adaptable difficulty, engaging gameplay, and generous content in the full release contribute significantly to this positive emotion, often fulfilling a desire for a deep yet relaxing puzzle experience. The game's quality, active development, and value for money are also frequently cited as sources of satisfaction.
Excitement stems from the game's innovative genre, fresh ideas, and unique approach to chess, which often exceeds player expectations. The anticipation for future updates, the variety of builds, and the desire to keep playing highlight the game's refreshing and engaging nature. The release of the full game and its overall quality as a roguelike deckbuilder also generate significant excitement.
Frustration arises from issues such as the rapid increase in chaos and complexity, and instances where the game does not allow valid chess moves. Players also experience frustration due to unpolished art design, repetitive matches, difficulty in assembling useful shop items, and problematic AI behavior, including AI making moves players cannot or forcing stalemates.
Disappointment is primarily caused by balancing issues, a perceived lack of 'vanilla' starting options, and an unpolished endgame experience. Bugs, unfinished music and art, and the game being too easy with certain badges or hard to predict due to AI rules also contribute to player disappointment.
Joy is frequently expressed due to the game's fun and satisfying gameplay, particularly when discovering new chess mechanics and pieces. The overall enjoyable experience and specific humorous elements like the 'Rubber Ducky' chess piece also contribute to this emotion.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 80% · Negative 20%. Score: 20 / 100
Positives:
- Players overwhelmingly find the game to be a fun, engaging, and highly enjoyable experience with a solid core concept and well-designed gameplay loop. Many express strong positive sentiment, highlighting its addictiveness and replayability.
- The game successfully integrates chess mechanics with roguelike elements, offering a fresh and innovative take on the genre. It respects chess fundamentals while introducing dynamic rule changes and alternative win conditions, appealing to both chess enthusiasts and new players.
- The game offers well-balanced difficulty that can be tailored to individual chess skill levels, providing a challenging yet adaptable experience. The dynamic rule changes and solid AI contribute to sustained engagement.
- Players appreciate the extensive variety of unique pieces, modifiers, and build options, which allows for creative experimentation and diverse gameplay strategies in each run.
- The full game offers significantly more content than the demo, enhancing the overall experience and providing greater value to players.
Negatives:
- Players frequently report that the AI's behavior is frustrating and unrealistic, often resorting to repetitive, defensive, or exploitative moves that lead to stalemates or unfair advantages. This makes matches feel drawn out and unengaging.
- The game's difficulty is perceived as high, even for experienced chess players, and some players report that the game enforces incorrect chess rules or allows the AI to make illegal moves. This creates a steep learning curve and a sense of unfairness.
- The game's visual and audio design, including the art style, HUD, and music, is widely criticized for being unpolished, confusing, dull, or even unpleasant. This negatively impacts the overall aesthetic appeal and user experience.
- Many players feel the game is incomplete or unpolished, resembling an early access title rather than a full release. This leads to a perception of awkward gameplay and a lack of depth, causing boredom quickly.
- The game's starting conditions and game-altering effects are often too chaotic, leading to balance issues and a desire for more 'vanilla' or less extreme options. This makes the game feel unpredictable and less strategic.
Gameplay:
- The game features diverse starting scenarios, opponent setups, and difficulty modifiers, encouraging players to experiment with different builds and challenges. This contributes to high replayability and varied run experiences.
- The game innovates on traditional chess by introducing new pieces with unique movements and constantly changing rules. This includes hybrid pieces and alternative win conditions, making each game distinct.
- Players can acquire and upgrade pieces, passives, and consumables in a shop between games. This allows for strategic customization and adaptation of the board layout and piece abilities.
- The game's chess engine is described as competent, indicating that the AI provides a reasonable challenge. This suggests a solid foundation for the core chess gameplay.
- The 'atomic power-up' is mentioned as a way to speed up endless runs. This suggests a feature designed to improve the pacing of longer game sessions.
Performance:
- -
No data available
Recommendations:
- Many players highly recommend the game, often citing its low price point and high replayability as key factors. Some suggest trying the demo first, indicating that if the demo is enjoyed, the full game is a worthwhile purchase.
- The game is frequently compared to 'Balatro' and 'Shotgun King', appealing to fans of roguelike deck-builders or chess-like mechanics. Players who enjoy traditional chess, even casually, are also likely to find the game engaging and addictive.
- One reviewer noted that players can refund the game within two hours if it doesn't meet their expectations. This suggests a low-risk trial for interested players.
- The game serves as a good alternative or break for those who regularly play traditional chess. It offers a fresh take on chess mechanics without being overly demanding.
Miscellaneous:
- Players are highly anticipating future updates and potential mobile/console ports, showing strong interest in the game's continued development and expanded accessibility. This indicates a desire for more content and platform options.
- Many players appreciated the availability of a demo, indicating it was a valuable tool for experiencing the game before purchase. This suggests the demo effectively showcased the game's appeal.
- Based on limited and somewhat vague feedback, there's a minor point about player experience with chess and early support for the game. The feedback is not highly specific or actionable.
- The developer's active engagement on Discord, including taking suggestions and fixing bugs, is highly valued by the community. This fosters a positive relationship and shows responsiveness to player feedback.
- The game's similarity to 'Knightmare Chess' is a key point of reference for players, suggesting it successfully captures a niche appeal. This comparison helps define the game's unique selling proposition.
