An interesting board/puzzle game with reflecting lasers which suffers from lack of accessibility and a poorly chosen setting.
Good:
- the idea of not just reflecting a laser ray but making a chess-like board game from that is unique
So-so:
- music and sounds are cheap and have this strange 1980-s feel which is an unnecessary filter for the audience. I mean, I dislike that wholeAn interesting board/puzzle game with reflecting lasers which suffers from lack of accessibility and a poorly chosen setting.
Good:
- the idea of not just reflecting a laser ray but making a chess-like board game from that is unique
So-so:
- music and sounds are cheap and have this strange 1980-s feel which is an unnecessary filter for the audience. I mean, I dislike that whole setting a lot, but I like the main game's idea. Should I play this game?
- graphics - these look cheap and annoying. It's even hard to tell pieces from each other with all the glow. I understand that the devs want to have this neon sign theme but it just distracts a lot from the reflection and spatial logic
- rotating pieces - need something else instead of the left and right buttons at the top but I don't really know what. Maybe just a mouse drag? Or show arrows close to the piece?
Bad:
- tutorials are recorded videos which are more confusing than helpful. Only in the last 2 tutorials where you finally get a chance to try it out you start understanding something. Since the game's rules are so unusual I'd suggest a completely different approach here, the one mobile games use. In the first level just introduce the king and the cannon. In level 2 add 1 reflector. In level 3 add 1 more piece. Or even spend 3-4 levels with just 1 new piece, and show different puzzle-like positions where the player has to kill the enemy king in 1 turn or protect his own king from the enemy attack. I'd say, the full selection of pieces should become available only after 15 or so solved positions.
- the UI looks cheap, with all the oversized fonts. The font itself is very annoying too.
Okay, so, overall I like the core game's concept but the current production values are atrocious simply because of the unfortunate selection of the game's overall setting and the shoestring budget this game is being developed on. I dunno. I wouldn't buy it unless it's re-skinned into something more appropriate for a logic-board game. This neon stuff would be okay for an endless runner-racing-shooter game probably, not for chess. I guess they thought lasers associate with the 1980s culture but not for me, and I don't like it.… Expand
LASER CHESS: DeflectionYour Score0 out of 10User Score
