2.6 hours played
Written 1 year and 8 months ago
[h2] Quick Take:[/h2]
For just a euro, "Back Rank Chess" is a cool little gem. It's remind me a lot of the pawns and rooks endgames with an interesting twist , but man, they could've done so much more with it.
[h2] Gameplay:[/h2]
You're basically trying to get your pawns to the other side of the board or stop the opponent's pawns from getting to yours. Simple, right? It's a fresh take, but it kind of drops the ball by not going far enough. Most of the time you're up against just pawns with a piece or two on your side. Where's the challenge in that?
[h2] Look and Sound:[/h2]
Graphics are fine—nothing flashy but they get the job done. Don't expect much from the sound though, it's pretty bare-bones.
[h2] How's it Run?[/h2]
Runs well, no complaints. The AI's mostly good but has its dumb moments. It sometimes feels like it gives up too easily, which is a letdown when you're looking for a challenge. I think it's the same problem that you can encounter with stockfish where in some losing endgame , he just rolls up and dies.
[h2] Pros and Cons:[/h2]
[h3] Pros:[/h3]
[list]
[*]Excellent way to discover/train pawns endgames.
[*]Help work on some calculation/visualisation
[*]Killer price point at just 1 euro.
[*]AI's mostly decent.
[/list]
[h3] Cons:[/h3]
[list]
[*]Could've used way more challenging puzzles.
[*]Hints are pretty useless—only gives you the first 2/3 moves.
[/list]
[h2] Value for Money?[/h2]
Can't argue with the price, it's a total steal. If you're into chess, you'll get more than your money's worth.
[h2] Extra Thoughts:[/h2]
This game has a ton of potential. More diverse puzzles that really make you think could take it from good to great. Also, more challenging puzzle with more pieces on both sides would really forces us to calculate until the end, which could even make the game challenging for more advanced player. Also, if they could fix those hints and make the AI a bit more consistent(maybe even just make it into pgn for the smaller puzzle), that'd be awesome.
[h2] Final Word:[/h2]
It's a solid buy, especially for the cost. But it could be so much better with some tweaks and more challenging puzzles.