Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate

Let's face it: chess is usually bland. As intense as high-level matches can get, most players will just sit there wondering how to play the game for hours. You know what's never boring, though? Shotguns. So why don't you combine the two things? That's what Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate brings to the table.

Players will find a surprisingly layered story involving betrayal, war, and chess pieces in this blend of chess and roguelike mechanics. Forget the classic rules of chess: here, all that matters is that you utterly annihilate each of your rival's pieces, using a shotgun as your tool of the trade.

If you're looking for ways to learn how to play chess like a pro, this might not be the game for you. However, if you're open to an innovative puzzle game that will keep you hooked for hours, prepare for Shotgun King to steal your heart.

Monochromatic Feud

In Shotgun King, you play as a black King piece. Unfortunately for you, the white pieces betrayed you, taking with them almost every last of your belongings. Except for your shotgun. A grave mistake. It will be up to you to enact vengeance and reclaim your place at the top of the board where you belong.

The game never takes itself too seriously. Humor is always present, with characters that wouldn't be out of place in a game like Borderlands. Still, Shotgun King knows when to bring the seriousness up a notch, delivering a story that can be surprisingly engaging. It's still no Metal Gear, mind you, but it's more than you'd need for a roguelite like this.

Play In Any Way

Shotgun King features three main gameplay modes that add a dash of variety to the overall package. The star of the show is the Throne Mode. That's the game's campaign, divided into twelve stages and designed to introduce players to the concepts and themes of Shotgun King.

Once you're done with Throne Mode, you might want to tackle Endless Mode, which, as the name implies, allows you to play through a gauntlet of stages until you eventually lose.

Finally, there's the Chase Mode, which works like a horde mode of sorts. The game plays more like a real-time strategy game instead of chess and that allows Shotgun King to bombard the player with endless enemies and see how they react under pressure.

Retro Life

As you might expect, you won't find fancy visuals in Shotgun King. Presented entirely in 2D, the graphics do just the bare minimum to understand this is a chess game – more or less.

Some of the pixel art is sincerely gorgeous. You'll find everything from characters that look ripped straight out of a Flash game to anime princesses in your quest for power. This visual variety helps to alleviate the tiring effect of the monochromatic tiling you'll have to stare at throughout the entirety of Shotgun King.

Pros

• Entertaining gameplay
• Great tutorials help you understand the game's basics in no time
• Surprisingly engaging plot with funny characters

Cons

• Simplistic UI
• Sprite art varies in quality
• Can get repetitive after a while

Shotgun King The Final Checkmate is the most ordinary chess combined with an action movie. How is it possible? Well, a new rule for the last remaining black piece: shotgun hits hurt and that's it. Having lost all his subjects and his queen, the King of Black Figures takes matters into his own hands. To be more precise, he takes a shotgun and destroys enemy pieces not at all according to the rules of chess. Despite the slightly unfair layout, some of the rules of chess are still present. Will you be able to face an entire army alone?

Pros of the game:

• Chess rules still affect the field and your movement
• Story and endless modes