I got all the rules and eventually made my way to an ending after a little over two hours (I am not good at chess), but was ultimately quite disappointed with this game. Unique mechanics and surprises and the art style all intrigued me. But it was mostly a painful cycle of "play some weird chess, experiment (likely throwing away your current chess game with an illegal move) or wait until the end of a chess game where you might lose or make a mistake and just hope that the game randomly revealed at least one new rule so your game wasn't wasted. Repeat with no idea what to try or when the next rule reveal will be."

If there were, say, a promise that a new rule would be revealed each time you you survived more than X moves or something, that would have eased the frustration. But mostly it was fumbling around in the dark until I finally had all the rules and could focus on playing chess a little better and making sure I caught all of the troll's cheating.

I started playing this, and enjoyed its chill feel and customizable pixelation. Then I needed to get up for something during the first major cutscene in the middle of the game. My chill went to stress when I searched in vain for a way to pause it, and then anger when I found that I couldn't review it later without replaying through the beginning of the game. Fix this (or point out I missed something obvious), and I'd probably love the game, but right now I just have a sour taste in my mouth.

500 clicks to get through the first mode? No problem.

5000 clicks to get through a challenge mode? Okay, I'm up for a challenge. You're on! I recommend it to anyone who would enjoy pointless clicking to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.

100000(? maybe) clicks to get through Impossible Mode? Look upon my Steam playtime, ye confident, and despair! After several days, I got to 1500 rpm and then my computer rebooted before I could go further. Impossible Mode is exactly what it says on the tin, and is not beatable by human hands. I have learned the meaning of "hubris" this day. Thank you, Spin Time, for teaching me such a valuable lesson.

8.7/10

I like walking simulators. I like games with hamfisted messages. I like cryptic games. I like easy games. But this is a game that fights the player at a fundamental game-design level. Almost-identical (even to someone with full color vision) shades of blue and green being important to distinguish? So many meaningless achievements they distract from the gameplay? Critical depth perception information not being clearly indicated to the player, especially but not only when it's too dark to see you surroundings? Encouragement to grind otherwise-meaningless backtracking and memorization of where permanently-missable things are? Intentionally hard-to-see puzzle components? This game has got it all. I paid almost nothing for this game but I wish I had my time back.

A good framework for puzzles that could use more levels/exploration of the concepts presented.

One a few games in which you get to have fun rewriting how things in the game work. But it's also one of a few games in which [spoilers]. And it's *also* one of a few games in which [other spoilers]. A very unique game that doesn't overstay its welcome.