Check and Slash

Quite fun. I love how it incorporates chess elements into a rogue-like. It has just the right amount of difficulty for me to enjoy it. the Story is pretty simple too. and the dev have a good sense of humour

Not sure why I'm only showing 30 minutes played, as I've got closer to like a bit over an hour. Ah well, whatever. Probably one of the best chess games out there. It's a roguelike with real time chess moves of sorts, and the more you play the better it gets. An incredibly giving death/rebirth mechanic means death isn't bad at all, as each time you resurrect you'll almost certainly become more powerful than you were. I wasn't a fan of the card unlocks that happened periodically because they're a mix of positive and negatives, and I'd honestly prefer to have nothing over the combo of both. What you see in the trailer is really the game you'll play, so there's not really much I can think of to say. The game is good, it's hard to put down once you start getting into it, and definitely something you should play.

Check and Slash, developed and published by Gate of Madness, is an inventive indie action roguelite that fuses real-time hack-and-slash combat with mechanics inspired by the movement logic of chess. Released on Steam in 2024, the game stands out for its unusual concept: you control a Black King navigating procedurally generated chessboard arenas, cutting through hostile White pieces while pushing toward a final confrontation with the opposing King. What initially sounds like a novelty quickly reveals itself as a tightly designed combat experience built around positioning, pattern recognition, and calculated aggression. At its core, Check and Slash blends arcade-style responsiveness with strategic awareness. Unlike traditional chess, which unfolds in turns and measured decisions, this game operates entirely in real time. Enemy pieces move and attack according to patterns loosely inspired by their classical chess counterparts, but their behavior is adapted for fast-paced combat. Pawns may rush in predictable lines, while other pieces employ more varied movement patterns, creating a battlefield that demands constant adaptation. The fusion of recognizable chess logic with roguelite un…

This is a very well-made game with mechanics elegantly designed to mix roguelike and chess. The visual and sound effects are good, the game's difficulty is balanced, and I feel like the developer put a lot of effort and attention into development. I recommend it to anyone who likes the genre and theme.

Nice idea. Later stages seems a bit confusing. (dynamic visual acuity is recommended)

I got %100 game and I am sorry I cannot recommend. It was so unnecessary to play this. Cool concept but in the end it's just button smash.