ShyChess
- August 3, 2018
- Karosu-Maker
"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.
Reviews
- The game features a unique and engaging puzzle concept that combines chess mechanics with a captivating story and beautiful art style.
- Players find the puzzles to be challenging yet satisfying, with many recommending the use of graph paper to enhance the experience.
- The game is praised for its decent graphics and solid mechanics, making it a worthwhile purchase for puzzle fans.
- The music is considered bland and grating over time, detracting from the overall experience.
- There are issues with the writing quality, including grammatical errors in the story cutscenes, which can be distracting.
- Some players report frustrating mechanics, such as difficulties with fullscreen mode and certain late-game puzzles being excessively challenging.
- gameplay26 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized as simple yet frustrating, with a reliance on chess mechanics that some find boring and poorly executed. While there are solid mechanics and no bugs reported, players express dissatisfaction with the pacing and integration of gameplay elements into the story, feeling that the mechanics often feel like an afterthought. Additionally, issues like the full-screen mode causing technical problems detract from the overall experience.
“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.”
“- solid mechanics, no bugs found”
“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.”
“That said, this would have been acceptable if the story-wise content was sufficiently good in relation to the unexpectedly large time-investment devoted for the mechanical gameplay--an aspect the game which I had always felt like an afterthought rather than a core mechanic.”
- story20 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as short yet engaging, with characters that evoke a desire for more, though some find it predictable and lacking depth. While the narrative features a heartbreaking twist and multiple endings, it suffers from awkward presentation and grammatical issues. Overall, the story's integration with gameplay mechanics is seen as inconsistent, leading to mixed feelings about its overall impact.
“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 precious little of it actually exists in the game.”
“Awkward opening cinematic, but the actual story in the game is not as cheesy.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are generally considered decent, featuring a charming art style that draws inspiration from Mario's shy guys. Reviewers appreciate the beautiful artwork of the numerous characters, especially given the game's short length.
“I also love the art style and the play on shy guys from the Mario games.”
“And for a short game, there are a ton of characters, all with really beautiful artwork.”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game received mixed feedback, with some users expressing a lack of enthusiasm while others appreciated its sweetness. Overall, it seems to be a divisive aspect, with no strong consensus on its quality.
“☑ sweet music”
“☑ sweet music”
“The only thing that I didn't particularly care for was the music.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users consistently highlight the emotional impact of the game, describing its story as profoundly heartbreaking.
“The story is heartbreaking.”