Chessplosion

This game was reviewed on PC.

With the release of Super Bomberman R Online in May of this year, the revival of Bomberman has been boosting in popularity. Many games have used the same formula as Bomberman and created many iterations of the concept. But have you ever played a Bomberman with chess pieces?

Solo-developed by CT Matthews, Chessplosion is an arcade action puzzle game where you drop chess piece-shaped bombs to create chain reactions and trap opponents. The game features various game modes where you can play solo or multiplayer; Packed with an eight-world Adventure mode, Competitive Online mode and Battle mode, Puzzle mode, Survival mode, and Arcade mode for extra fun. It also has a Training mode to sharpen your skills and Extra content to read more about the developer and game.

You play as a bird-shaped mascot with chess pieces above the head. New chess pieces will spawn randomly, and once placed, they'll explode damage patterns based on the held chess piece type. You're presented with all chess pieces besides a pawn and start your journey with the different modes. The cute and simple graphics make it stand out and have individuality over the rest. Its unseen concept automatically makes it a classic like Tetris or Bejeweled and crazy fun to play.

Even if you're not too literate on chess or Bomberman, Chessplosion features an assist mode that can tweak health, life, speed, and have the ability to skip through stages. The feature makes it accessible to all players without having to sacrifice gameplay. Training mode and Puzzle also helps get a feel for the different effects of the chess pieces. With the game's emphasis on chain reactions, it is easy to create an effective strategy against players and AI.

Chessplosion's real-time gameplay forces you to look at the whole board and act on the fly. The game challenges your critical thinking skills and reflexes. Unlike chess, you have very little time to think about your moves and how to dodge those moves. If you don't keep in mind the chess pieces on the board, it is easy to get hit, keeping you on the edge of your seat. It uses the simplicity and basics of chess and combines it into complex gameplay. The intensity and use of brainpower make the game more engaging.

The soundtrack, also by CT Matthews, is very noteworthy too. When I first entered the game, what appealed to me the most was the music. The calm riffs of the guitar yet fast-paced drums immediately got me in the flow of things. The music perfectly sets the mood and is a treat to listen to in the background.

Along with the music is the customization options. You can adjust almost every aspect of the game to your liking. A favorable mention would be the Color options available. CT Matthews even has a Trans Flag dedicated color scheme that has been appreciated by many. The color schemes are pleasant to look at without being too distracting from gameplay. You can even adjust the mascot color to fit the theme.

Mayan Cherry