CHESS with LASERS

[h1]IN A WORD: [b] MAYBE[/b][/h1] [h1]IN A NUTSHELL:[/h1] [quote=] [b]WHAT TO EXPECT:[/b] Indie made, using Unity. Digital adaptation inspired by Khet boardgame and videogame classic Laser Chess. Turn-based strategy through chess-like gameplay. Plays casually but complex in difficulty and strategy. Tutorial and info screens provide accessibility. Neon colourful 3D visuals. Sci-fi, cyberpunk styled ambience. Single-player and, local and online multiplayer modes. Cool retro style soundtrack. Steam achievements and stats supported. Steam workshop support promised. Level editor included. Basic content, needs more maps. [hr][/hr][b]ACHIEVEMENTS:[/b] Mostly encourage play. A few straightforward multiplayer and editor ones. Some require grinding. [b]STATUS:[/b] Released. Needs expanding. [b]FOR WHOM:[/b] Will suit chess lovers open to something a little different. [b]WHEN TO BUY:[/b] Best on a small sale for the current content.[/quote] [i]More info below....[/i] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2735984407 [h1]THE LOWDOWN:[/h1] CHESS with LASERS (CwL) formerly known as Deflection, is a digital adaptation inspired by the boardgame Khet and the classic video game Laser Chess. A turn-based strategy title with casual gameplay and puzzle-like strategy, requiring deep-thinking that leans heavily on surprise, surprise... Chess. Visuals incorporate a neon coloured aesthetic to produce a sci-fi/cyberpunk influenced ambience, which is aptly supported by an appropriately themed, retro soundtrack. Games of CwL take place upon square-tiled boards of increasing scale and complexity, rather than just the eight by eight used in standard Chess. These are created using a variety of layouts, piece allocation and starting positions. Instead of the traditional or Egyptian themed pieces used in Khet, CwL has its own roster of pieces. Among them are mirrors, teslas, portals, disruptors, sentries, splitters and spikes. All designed to influence offensive and defensive strategies. A short tutorial and info screens detailing individual pieces, provide accessibility for new players. An inspection tool allows players to select and reveal what each piece is and does. Three game modes allow the choice of playing against humans online or locally, or against an AI with two difficulty modes. Multi-player games can be played with timed turns of adjustable minutes. A replay feature allows for players to analyse previous games step-by-step. <Follow the laser for the full review> [quote=][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khet_(game)] Khet's wiki-page[/url].[/quote] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2742817764 [h1]THE GOOD:[/h1] + Solid digital adaptation of the boardgame. + Tough challenging gameplay that is puzzle-solving in nature. + Good enough accessibility to explain the rules and pieces. + An energetic and catchy multi-track retro musical score provides background music. + Well designed maps with good variety, that introduce new pieces incrementally. + An almost full array of game modes; Single-player, local versus and online versus multi-player supported. [h1]THE BAD:[/h1] - Gameplay may be too challenging and given its apparent casual style. To a point its not suitable for casual gamers. - Graphically, the pieces could have done with some more definition. - Map randomisation feature would have added better replayability to such a pool of maps. I.e. Remove, change some starting pieces and to vary their starting positions. - Gameplay can become mired against the AI, given the nature of moving and counter-moving. - Mid-game saving is not permitted. - Could do with a ladder for competitive match-ups, based on player ability. - A distinct lack of community makes online multiplayer redundant. [h1]AND THE REST:[/h1] * Neon cyberpunkesque aesthetic. * 12x unique pieces. * Adequate accessibility: How to play tutorial & piece guide. * Adequate level Editor for players to mod new maps. * Contains game Stats information. * 7x single-player maps. * 2x single-player AI difficulties. * Steam Workshop integration has been promised. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2745095356 [h1]ANALYSIS:[/h1] My short time with the game proved to be enjoyable but limited. As someone who stopped playing chess to any level a while ago, I found my TBT gaming skills practically useless here. This curtailed the chance to really get stuck into the larger maps. Online multiplayer looks to be a better fit for me personally, depending on if I can find humans of my ability level. [b]In its genre[/b] With zero experience of Khet and faded memories of playing Laser Chess its hard to compare this game to the impressive inspiration behind it. It definitely feels like a solid attempt at making a digital adaptation. However against other boardgames and especially tactically strong games, gameplay feels limited. It would be quite easy for it to be lost in the sea of adequate but unremarkable games of its ilk, expect that the sum of its parts let it stand-out. If only just. [b]Accessibility[/b] The tutorial and info screens do a perfect job of introducing the game to new players. A casual and straightforward play-style allows the rules to be picked up rather easily. Something that can also be said about the differences between it and its counterparts. It falls into the category of easy to play while being difficult to master. Made so by a capable AI. Chess players will have an advantage over those that haven't any experience of it. Playing against humans may better suit these gamers. [b]Ambience & Aesthetic[/b] The neon, retro visuals were suitably complemented by the wonderfully psychedelic soundtrack. For me one of the best parts of the game. A real highlight probably due to my own particular tastes. It was so good I had it playing in the background while writing this review. The aesthetic could also prove problematic with its majority black background and the use of neon colouring causing pieces to merge together. Perhaps this is a trick of the eye or somesuch, but I definitely had to do a double take on larger maps with more pieces. Given there are no alternatives to the visuals, this may prove an issue for those who would prefer to change them. [b]Gameplay[/b] Gameplay is solid. The simple one action per turn approach to its IGOUGO makes it play pretty close to chess. The strategy involved also, requiring deep-thinking aptitude. Its most unique aspects; the use of distinct pieces and lasers took it past variant country. Neutral tiles and pieces give gameplay an additional, much needed extra depth. Especially given that the only real considerations are positioning and facing. Given the move and counter-move nature of this type of game it is possible that gameplay can stall, constantly moving or rotating the same pieces back and forth. <Follow the laser for the full review> [h1]VERDICT:[/h1] Chess with Lasers proved to be an intriguing game. Not merely a variant. Similar in the way it plays but very different in its strategizing. Its appeal is sure to point to those who enjoy chess or chess-like games. With only a basic amount of content and a small player base, its going to be difficult to get the number of maps to deliver the longevity that reflects the price. For those of you who enjoy planning many moves ahead it could be a worthwhile purchase or better. For those of us less inclined it MAYBE of some interest at best. [h1][url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/TheIrregularGamer/discussions/0/3178980819239392316/] Full Review[/url][/h1] [quote=]Thank you for reading. | Follow my curator[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40556040-The-Irregular-Gamer/] here[/url]. | Key provided by [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/tbtactics]Turn-Based Tactics[/url][/quote]

Back in the day, I used to play the old Laser Chess game on the Atari ST, and also the board game Khet. I can say for a fact, that this game takes Laser Chess to a whole new level, with so much more features and things to play around with. The Level Editor also ads so much replay value. Truly had blast playing with my friend, even though he was beating me in the maps I MADE haha. This quote from a review describes well the game lol: "Just as you think you are getting somewhere, it is so easy for one of your pieces to be suddenly used against you. Therefore, you have to keep running all of the scenarios in your head Dr. Strange style else pay the ultimate price!" The Tron style graphics, the nice Synth/Electronic music and the cool cutscenes and visual effects when shooting the laser makes me feel like a kid again. TLDR: All I can say is that if you enjoy strategy games and don't buy the game, your making a mistake.

---{Graphics}--- ☐You forget what reality is ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{Gameplay}--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It‘s just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{Audio}--- ☑ Eargasm ☐Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{Audience}--- ☐ Kids ☐ Teens ☐ Adults ☑ All ---{PC Requirements}--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{Difficulity}--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☐ Easy ☑ Significant brain usage ☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls ---{Grind}--- ☑ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks ☐ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ You‘ll need a second live for grinding ---{Game Time}--- ☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee ☐ Short ☑ Average ☐ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond ---{Price}--- ☐ It’s free! ☑ Worth the price ☐ If it's on sale ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{Bugs}--- ☑ Never heard of ☐Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ Cyberpunk 2077 ---{?/10}--- ☐1 ☐2 ☐3 ☐4 ☐5 ☐6 ☐7 ☐8 ☐9 ☑10

It is clear that the developers made this game with a soul. I hope that new updates with various gameplay innovations will be released. In any case, I can recommend this game to all fans of strategies.

This game is quite suitable for a weak Pс. Everything is quite stable on my laptop. The gameplay as a whole is interesting and does not get bored with time.

it's okay, I'll try to play with a friend sometime

Variability is an extremely interesting idea, especially for a strategy, but please add more localizations

Quite an interesting strategic puzzle game, where there are many functional elements. The graphics are simple and don't strain the eye, which is very convenient.

The game leaves a pleasant impression. Actually, I didn't quite understand how to play with friends, but the singplayer is really good.

This game is basic but pretty damn awsome. Its like a game I played with my sons a while back with lazers, pretty sweet well woth the price tag, just needs some more options for the pieces like metal, plastic and wood. Thumbs up from me.