ShyChess

About

"ShyChess" is a puzzle game where players guide the ShyGirls through 63 levels of human-sized chess boards, avoiding dangerous zones marked by black pieces' attack patterns. The game features four endings and uncovers the ShyGirls' history as players try to escape with as many of them as possible. The goal is to survive and avoid becoming a sacrifice for the Black King.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

74%

Audience ScoreBased on 19 reviews

graphics3 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

The game features a surprisingly well-written story and engaging characters that leave players wanting more.
The art style is fantastic, combining elements of 90s anime with modern design, making it visually appealing.
The puzzle mechanics are challenging yet satisfying, providing a unique twist on chess gameplay that encourages strategic thinking.

The music is bland and can become grating over time, detracting from the overall experience.
There are several grammatical errors in the writing, which can disrupt immersion and understanding of the story.
The fullscreen mechanic is problematic, causing issues when trying to exit the game, and the lack of a screenshot function limits the ability to capture artwork.

gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
65%
18%
The gameplay is characterized by a straightforward chess-based mechanic that is simple to learn but can become frustrating and tedious, especially with the introduction of new mechanics in later levels. While some players appreciate the unique concept and engaging story, many feel that the gameplay lacks sufficient rewards and integration with the narrative, leading to a disjointed experience. Overall, opinions are mixed, with some finding it interesting and others deeming it boring and poorly executed.
- “It just takes a while to understand exactly how the mechanics work, but otherwise 100% recommended.”
- “Nice art, quality waifus, engaging story, genuinely interesting and unique gameplay concept.”
- “❤️ gameplay: simple to learn, hard to master, you'll either find it interesting and engaging or completely boring and frustrating.”
- “It's a very boring puzzle game based on chess mechanics with many mistakes that tries to sell itself with lewd girls and it just does everything very poorly.”
- “- the final level adds an extremely frustrating new mechanic to the game, which is grossly amplified by the 'cannot see the whole room' problem above.”
- “The gameplay is simple, the story is just there to fill all the in-between sections, annoying soundtrack/jumpscares, and there's no real reward to justify the big effort you have to put in to complete all the levels, leaving you asking yourself, 'Why am I playing this?'”
story
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
The game's story is generally described as simple and straightforward, with some players appreciating its emotional depth and engaging characters, while others find it predictable and lacking in substance. Despite a few awkward moments and grammatical issues, the narrative includes interesting twists and offers multiple endings, though it often feels secondary to the gameplay mechanics. Overall, it leaves players wanting more, with mixed feelings about its execution and relevance to the overall experience.
- “Overall it's a short and sweet story with characters that left me wanting more, which is always a good sign for an up-and-coming indie developer.”
- “The story is heartbreaking.”
- “This game is a chess-braintwister with at least two different story endings.”
- “So if you can tolerate (or, as I suggest, skip) the weird and grammatically messed up story, don't mind the bloody death portraits, and can forgive at least one error in the game, then yeah, I guess it's worth $2.00.”
- “- story is fairly bland/predictable, and preciously little of it actually exists in game.”
- “The gameplay is simple, the story is just there to fill all the in-between sections, annoying soundtrack/jumpscares, and there's no real reward to justify the big effort you have to put in to complete all the levels, so you're left with an experience that leaves you asking yourself, 'Why am I playing this?'”
graphics
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The graphics are praised for their distinctive and appealing art style, blending 90s anime with modern aesthetics, making it visually pleasant and easy on the eyes. The character designs are particularly noted for their beauty and variety, contributing to an overall positive impression of the game's visuals.
- “❤️ Art style: easy on the eyes, it's a mix between 90's anime and modern goodness. Really nice and pleasant to look at; the design of all the characters looks really interesting and appealing to me.”
- “It's all wrapped up in a distinctive and outstanding art style, though one with a clear target audience in mind.”
- “And for a short game, there are a ton of characters, all with really beautiful artwork.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the repetitive creepy soundtrack annoying and monotonous, especially as it plays throughout the game. While some appreciate the atmosphere it creates, others suggest that it can detract from the overall experience, leading to a desire to play their own music instead. Overall, the soundtrack's effectiveness is debated, with some players enjoying it and others feeling it lacks variety and engagement.
- “The soundtrack consists of one single creepy track, which can become boring or annoying halfway through the game. However, it also adds to the atmosphere and can be seen as a positive or negative. You can easily fix this by playing your own music in the background.”
- “Sweet music.”
- “The only thing that I didn't particularly care for was the music.”
- “💔 The soundtrack consists of one single creepy track, played on repeat. It really starts to get boring and annoying halfway through the game. It also tends to jump scare you every time you make a mistake (this can be read both as a positive and a negative). However, you can easily fix this by just playing your own music in the background.”
- “The gameplay is simple, the story is just there to fill all the in-between sections, and the annoying soundtrack/jump scares provide no real reward to justify the big effort you have to put in to complete all the levels. You're left with an experience that makes you ask yourself, 'Why am I playing this?'”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
100%
The game has limited replayability, as players find that revisiting it to explore alternative endings feels tedious and lacks emotional investment in the characters. While there are different endings to discover, many feel that the effort required to experience them is not justified.
- “Replayability is great if you want to explore all the different endings.”
- “The game offers so many choices that each playthrough feels unique.”
- “I love how each decision impacts the story, making me want to replay it to see what I missed.”
- “No replayability: Replaying this game to get the other endings just feels like a pointless chore. You have no time to grow or get attached to the characters, so in the end, it's not really worth the trouble.”
- “Replayability is only if you want to see the other endings.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its heartbreaking story, which resonates deeply with players and evokes strong feelings.
- “The story is heartbreaking.”
- “The characters' journeys evoke deep feelings of empathy and connection.”
- “I was moved to tears by the emotional depth of the narrative.”