Usurper

Of the several deckbuilding roguelikes themed around tabletop games I played in 2024, Usurper is probably the least great of the bunch, but it's still an awesome game. The gameplay is really, really fun once you get the hang of it. It made me realise why chess is still such a popular game, even after literal centuries. But it isn't just chess, it adapts that game's rules and format into something unique, a faster and more aggressive game about adapting to the opponent on the fly. As any roguelike should, it really gets ahold of you and keeps you playing for embarrassingly long periods of time. My main issues with the game likely stem from its small scale. The replayability factor is somewhat low compared to its contemporaries, while I'm still getting fun out of it 30 hours in I'm already feeling like there isn't much more to see. There are basically only 4 distinct "characters" or sets of pieces, and then everything else is just remixes of those base factions, albeit they're moreso just encumbered with annoying restrictions rather than having meaningfully different strengths and weakness. As a result, you see all the different pieces the game has to offer pretty quickly. The presentation is also a surprisingly big issue I take with the game, which is something I usually don't care too much about. The overall aesthetic of the game is just exceedingly bland, the music sounds like it's from a stock library and the visual design is incredibly boring and generic. It just lacks in personality and charm. I know chess itself isn't exactly the most exciting game on the planet, but we've seen how games like Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers and especially Balatro can give traditionally stale tabletop games like this a ton of personality with just a little bit of flavorful user experience design. Some livelier music, some more interesting and fun pixel art, and a touch of spunkiness to the overall vibe would really give the game some much-needed character. As much as I've complained, I don't want to give the impression that I dislike this game, I really love it, actually. These issues don't really drag down the fun factor all that much, if anything I think they're just opportunities to improve upon the game and flesh out its potential, which it's absolutely brimming with. I also know that this is a small and inexperienced dev team so I don't want to harp on them too much, like I said these problems are mostly just a result of the game/team's small scale, which isn't exactly in their control. However, that's also why I went into so much detail, since, as a junior dev myself, I know how important it is to get detailed feedback. Anyways, play the game, it's real good.

체스에 카드 게임과 로그라이크를 결합한 독특한 게임입니다. 플레이어는 매 턴마다 덱에서 랜덤하게 나오는 3장 중 1 장의 카드(체스 기물)를 드로우하며, 매 턴마다 유닛을 배치할 수 있는 재화를 얻습니다. 카드를 뽑지 않아도 되는데, 안 뽑는 경우 다음 턴에 쓰지 않은 재화가 합산되어 비싸지만 강력한 퀸과 같은 고급 병종을 뽑을 수도 있습니다. 드로우한 유닛은 무조건 킹 근처에만 배치할 수 있습니다. 배치하자마자 움직일 수 있는 기물은 아직까진 없는 것 같고, 게임의 목표는 일반 체스처럼 상대방 킹을 잡는 것입니다. 단 일종의 턴 제한이 있는데, 배틀그라운드처럼 일정 턴이 지나면 곧 무너질 선이 빨간색으로 표시되면서 게임판이 외곽부터 시작해 점점 안쪽으로 무너져 내립니다. 게임이 루즈해지는 것을 방지하기 위함인데, 이를 전략적으로 활용해 상대방 킹 혹은 고급 병종을 구석으로 몰아넣어 없앨수도 있습니다. 팩션은 총 4개가 있는데, 원래의 체스 기물을 바탕으로 한 킹덤 팩션으로 시작해 점수를 얻어 레벨을 올리면 다른 팩션도 해금됩니다. 팩션은 고유 기물이 있어서 기존 체스보다 전략적으로 활용하는 재미가 있습니다. 가령 가장 먼저 해금되는 '쇼군' 팩션의 폰은 대각선만 공격 가능한 일반 폰과 달리 앞으로 전진하며 공격이 가능합니다. 또, 장기의 포와 비슷하지만 기물을 보내지 않고도 특정 조건 하에 원거리 공격이 가능한 '제국' 팩션도 있는 등 밸런스를 떠나 신선한 느낌을 주는 말들이 많이 있습니다. 이런 특성들 덕분에 아직 2시간밖에 해보지 않았는데도 상당히 재밌습니다. 아직 영어만 지원하는데, 체스 룰 기반에다 마우스 오른쪽을 누르면 해당 기물을 어떻게 쓰는지 다 알려주기 때문에 언어 압박은 크게 없는 편입니다. (그래도 언젠가 한국어 지원해줬으면 좋겠네요.) 캠페인 모드는 다른 로크라이크 게임들처럼 매 판 승리시 보상을 주니 이 점 참조하시기 바랍니다.

An absolutely fantastic game for fans of chess (as well as cultural variants like shogi) and deck builders. The four factions are all well-designed and offer people with different play styles plenty of options. Can't wait to see more

I installed the demo on a whim. I had read "chess rogue like" and assumed I would get bored after 10 minutes and uninstall the game. The next time I looked up, two hours had passed. I went an purchased the game almost immediately. I'm surprised that this game isn't much more popular. I would recommend it to anyone that has a passing knowledge of chess and enjoys games like Balatro. I can't really describe why it drew me in. It sort of makes playing chess more interesting and fluid. I would definitely give the demo a try if it sparks your interest even a little.

This game is really interesting, really creative, and incredibly fun

Love all the crazy creative chess pieces. Very well thought-out game.

Very fun roguelike spin on chess with tons of interesting new pieces.

Like many chess games on Steam, a weird bastardization of chess that is notably worse than just playing Chess.

great chess styled rogue. hard to get the hang of initially but once you do it turns out to be pretty fun of a game. highly recommended

good game if u like chess