Chessarama from Minimol Games offers a fresh twist on the classic game of chess. Instead of traditional checkmate scenarios, it presents players with a series of levels that require chess-like moves to accomplish specific objectives. Check our Chessarama review!

 

Chessarama is a collection of original puzzle and strategy games inspired by chess. It reimagines chess rules and tactics using many different themes. Each game has its own set of rules, visual theme and original handcrafted challenges for you to play!

Chessarama from Minimol Games offers a fresh twist on the classic game of chess. Instead of traditional checkmate scenarios, it presents players with a series of levels that require chess-like moves to accomplish specific objectives. It features multiple campaigns, each with its own unique spin on the classic chess gameplay we all know and love. Now, let’s talk about some of the game modes this release offers!

 

“Farm Life” is the first campaign, and it centers around the Knight piece. Players move the knight across a grid, turning “unlabored” tiles into cultivated ones. The gameplay is straightforward, and the basic concept is self-explanatory. The primary objective is to cultivate every tile in each level. Most levels also include secondary objectives. Completing levels earns you experience points, with bonus points awarded for achieving the secondary objectives. These experience points are needed to unlock the other three campaigns. The animal sound effects are overwhelmingly abundant, to the point of distraction – the cow’s moos sounds are occurring almost every five seconds.

The second campaign is a “Street Soccer” game, which offers a change of pace. Players start with a Rook, moving it in line with another piece that has the ball. The Rook can only move in straight lines, either vertically or horizontally. Additional chess pieces, such as the Bishop – which moves diagonally) – are introduced as the campaign progresses. In terms of difficulty, the Street Soccer campaign starts off easy but quickly becomes more challenging. Players should expect to make multiple attempts to progress through the levels.

However, I noticed some interface issues in this campaign. While possible piece paths are highlighted in blue, the actual selected tile is invisible beneath the blue overlay, making it difficult to keep track of the selected tile. Another minor annoyance is the need to manually select the player with the ball to initiate a run. It would have been more convenient if passing could be triggered automatically once all pieces were in position or by pressing one of the shoulder buttons. One recurring frustration I had with this mode was the game’s refusal to allow passes when other characters aren’t correctly positioned, particularly in situations where trial and error might have been helpful.

The “Lady Ronin” campaign is based on the Queen chess piece. The Queen can move in all directions and is strong enough to eliminate other pieces, which is the mode’s primary objective. A key challenge is that enemies will attack the Queen when she is in line with them. The puzzles, therefore, often revolve around ensuring that the Queen is confronted by no more than two enemies at any given time. I enjoyed this mode more than the previous ones. However, its late availability, requiring a significant grind through earlier modes to unlock, was a notable drawback.

Another one of the campaigns in this game is “Dragon Slayer.” This mode will have you trying to get your pawn to the end of the path so that it can kill the big, mighty dragon. While it does sound easy enough, you’ll need to pay attention as you move your pawn so that you can avoid the attacks from the dragon… or else! If you’re not careful, you’ll quickly be destroyed.

Overall, Chessarama’s campaign modes offer a diverse range of puzzle experiences, each with a unique twist on chess mechanics. While modes like Farm Life and Street Soccer provide interesting takes on piece movement, I did prefer others like the Lady Ronin mode, with its focus on the powerful Queen – but I thought its late-game placement is a notable drawback. The need to grind through earlier modes to access the later, more enjoyable ones may deter some players.

Disclaimer
This Chessarama review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Minimol Games.