棋路地牢

This is a dungeon roguelite where movement is based on cards representing chess pieces and their movement patterns. By clicking on a card, such as a knight, you can move to tiles on the stage’s grid that correspond to the movement of that chess piece. While some cards are used for actions such as placing traps or platforms over holes, the majority of them are chess pieces. The knight is the only piece with particularly unusual movement, while the rest are fairly straightforward, moving either in straight lines or diagonally. The number of tiles you can reach also depends on the piece. A pawn can only move one tile, while a queen can reach almost anywhere on the grid. The objective is to reach the exit before you run out of movement cards. If you run out, the run immediately ends and you are sent back to the main menu to start another attempt. You also have to either kill or avoid enemies along the way. Since you begin without any equipment, not even a weapon, your first priority is finding a coffer that allows you to choose your starting gear. If you want a realistic chance of surviving, however, the sword is the only viable option. Combat works exactly like movement. You select a chess card and then move onto a tile occupied by an enemy. The placement of coffers and enemies is randomized at the start of each run, which can lead to some unfortunate situations. You might spawn with enemies nearby while the coffer is placed on the opposite side of the stage. This can make the run effectively unwinnable, as enemies follow you around the grid and attack whenever you move within their range. The grid can be rotated, although the camera is positioned quite far away and the zoom function does not make much of a difference. Thankfully, you are not left guessing what different objects on the grid are. Clicking on them provides more information, while clicking on an enemy also shows its movement range and stats such as health and damage. Whether you choose to take risks by exploring the entire stage, opening chests, and fighting enemies, or simply make a run for the exit, completing a stage lets you choose a new card from a random selection of three. Building up your collection of movement cards makes it much easier to explore each stage and collect its rewards without running out of options. The stages themselves are randomized, with most consisting of standard grids filled with enemies and loot. There are also special characters and events where you make decisions after interacting with them, as well as puzzle rooms that make use of the grid-based design and unusual camera perspective. In these puzzle rooms, certain tiles are marked with yellow squares, but the path between them is filled with holes that you cannot cross. The solution is to rotate the camera until the two marked tiles line up, allowing you to create a path between them. These puzzles are essentially all about perspective. The game is enjoyable enough for a few runs, but there simply is not much content here, which is reflected in its price. The English translation also leaves quite a bit to be desired. Because of the limited content and rough translation, I would recommend giving it a try only when it is available at a deep discount.