Checkmate Kings

I want to like Checkmate Kings more than I probably should, because the core idea is genuinely sharp. You and another player run around a top-down arena, summoning chess pieces that fly across the screen and act as projectiles. Get hit by a single one and you are dead. No health bar, no second chances. That instant-elimination rule is borrowed straight from bullet hell design philosophy, and when both players know what they are doing, the rounds are chaotic and fast in a way that feels good. You can feel the DNA of twin-stick shooters and 2D fighters in there, and for a small indie release it is more mechanically coherent than it has any right to be. The roster gives you eight characters, each inspired by fictional or historical kings and queens, each with a distinct playstyle. Some lean into piece placement and board control, others pressure through aggressive dash play. That variety is real and appreciated. The crown-stealing mechanic, where you gather crowns mid-match to seize enemy pieces and flip the tempo, adds a comeback layer that keeps rounds from snowballing completely in one direction. In a 1v1 format, that kind of momentum swing matters. The problem is the player count attached to the game. Online lobbies are thin. A post-launch developer update from a month after release admitted that finding online matches had been tough, and not much has changed in the years since. There is also an arcade mode (Kings Gauntlet) and an endless survival mode added after launch, which give solo players something to do, but the game is fundamentally designed as a PvP experience. Controller support is where things get annoying fast. Community posts shortly after launch flagged that only Xbox controllers were properly supported, with DualShock 4 and third-party pads behaving badly even with remapping software. That is a friction point that should not exist in 2023 for a party-focused game where couch co-op is a primary use case. Local play with two Xbox pads works, and honestly that is probably the best version of this game right now. Sit next to someone, play a set, rotate characters. The TTK is instant, matches are thirty seconds to two minutes, and the learning curve is short enough to get a non-gamer friend into it without a thirty-minute tutorial. What is missing is depth on the outer edges. There is no ranked ladder, no real progression system with mechanical weight behind it, and the character roster has not grown since launch. Monka Studios is a small team and the scope reflects that honestly, but if you are the type who needs a ranked climb to stay engaged, Checkmate Kings runs out of runway quickly. The arena customization and crowd-fill cosmetic options are nice but cosmetic-only, which tells you where the dev resources were not going. Steam user reviews sit around 80 percent positive across a small sample, which tracks. People who play it tend to enjoy the sessions. The issue is getting people into the sessions in the first place. If you have a regular couch gaming setup and a second person willing to sit down for some fast, punishing local PvP, this delivers on that premise without needing a big time investment. Online is a gamble depending on when you are reading this. Go in expecting a party game, not a competitive ladder.

Fred · Scout Team

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