TOTAL ZUGZWANG

Chess has never looked like this. TOTAL ZUGZWANG bolts the ancient game onto a relentless steam-powered conveyor belt, feeding you endless waves of procedurally generated armies, nasty traps and game-changing power-ups. You’ll need to outwit cunning Kings, hold your flank against rogue pieces, and keep your battalion alive as the board keeps shifting beneath you.

Fallen pawns don’t have to stay dead. Resurrect them, promote them, build up your own army of Queens, and use captured pieces as currency to bribe rogues over to your side or sell off the ones you don’t need. Every grind of the belt brings you closer to a satisfying checkmate, or one careless move away from your own King’s downfall.

The whole thing is wrapped up in a properly atmospheric steampunk soundscape from Jake Gaule of Submerged Tapes, with a procedural soundtrack mixing hypnotic drumming and electrifying trumpet that reacts to the chaos on the board. Survive to the end game, take down the final mechanical terror, and see how your highscore stacks up against your mates and the rest of the world.