Ripstone has released Chess Ultra on Nintendo Switch for all fans of the game to enjoy, with a gorgeous presentation and solid gameplay mechanics. Read our Chess Ultra review to learn more about it!

 

Chess is a board game that has been around for maaaaaaaany years. It’s a game that might be easy to learn, but that is definitely hard to master. To be honest, I’m more of a checkers type of person! I did, however, try to learn how to play Chess in my younger years, but It wasn’t a game for me, so i gave it up, but it is a game I do respect as it takes years to master the game. So when I got a chance to review Chess Ultra, I jumped at the opportunity so that I could get back in the saddle to try and ride again!

There are many options for playing chess, from a proper physical chess board with many types of colorful pieces that represent the many “characters” of the game. You might find some browser-based or free to play versions here and there, but if you want to jump into it full-steam ahead in a release that can teach you the basics as well as advanced techniques, then Chess Ultra on Nintendo Switch is definitely the way to go.

The rules for the game of chess have been set in stone for a while now, so if you are a chess aficionado, you probably won’t need to dive into the tutorial section of the game. The good news is that if you’re new to chess or if you’re a bit rusty, the tutorials do a great job of teaching you everything you need to know about the game, the pieces you move, how they move, what they can and can’t do and more.

There is also a nice variety of styles for the pieces you can play with, as well as an array of colors. Each piece is beautifully crafted and looks incredibly authentic, both on the TV and on the Nintendo Switch’s screen. The customization options for your experience are solid as well, offering different settings for you to play chess, from a grand manor to something a little more gothic and… eccentric. You can also select different camera angles to play the game, so that you can get a better view of the board and the pieces, allowing you to find what works best for you.

Chess is quite a complex game to explain, so going over its rules would probably take me a book’s worth of a review. The basic premise is that you have to use your pieces to counter your opponent’s use of his/her pieces as you both aim to “capture” the other’s King. This is called a checkmate, which means that one of your pieces (or one of your opponents) has targeted the King, and the King can’t move to another spot without also being targeted by an opposing piece out on the attack.

The more skilled players, and those of you who end up running through all tutorials in Chess Ultra, will be able to take on the 80 available challenges in the game which present to you a particular scenario in which you’ll need to achieve a checkmate within very specific circumstances. The challenges are also part history lesson since they recreate the moves of some of the best legendary chess players the world has seen.

Chess Ultra is a very impressive game that can be enjoyed either solo, or in local or online multiplayer. The nature of the Nintendo Switch even allows you to undock the console, remove the Joy-Con, and use the console’s screen as a virtual chess game board in Tabletop Mode. It’s a solid representation of the game of chess, with gorgeous graphics for the chess boards, the chess pieces and the settings in which you’ll get to play. I definitely recommend you play the game since it makes the game more accessible for both those who are new to the game or those of you who have been playing for years. If you’re looking for the best way to digital play chess, this is exactly what you need!

Disclaimer
This Chess Ultra review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Ripstone.