Leave a Review Pawnbarian
Perfect Match
Fun game made by an indie developer that adds something new to the roguelike deckbuilder genre.
By basing play around chess piece movement and a mini-chess board, the game feels familiar with a new twist.
You move your character with your deck of classic chess pieces and can use gold earned by defeating enemies to add new upgraded pieces that have special abilities (adding cross and diagonal attacks, a shield to block damage, or additional movement and draw for more plays).
As you build your deck to defeat cool and distinct looking fantasy creatures with abilities and movements of their own, your journey to the end of the dungeon helps you complete chains that unlock harder difficulties.
Buy the full-version of the game, and you’ll also get access to different characters that have their own styles of play after completing your first dungeon, or course.
Highly recommend to everyone who likes chess variants and roguelikes.Show lessPloop99
Lame
Would be more fun if you weren’t gang-tackled every screenVargUlfr
Developer Response
Hey! Even at the basic difficulty, Pawnbarian is meant to be a challenging game where you have to carefully think through every move. I promise that makes it all the more satisfying once you start seeing the right moves to beat a huge mob of enemies and come out unscathed.Clever idea, great execution, amazing game!
I preordered this game a while back and, to be honest, totally forgot about it. But once I saw it on my phone I remembered about it and got pretty excited.
After the tutorial I figured out the basic rules, and the touch and hold feature to check out what things do was extremely helpful. The only thing I hadn’t quite figured out was how to win. I lost my first try in the goblin caves on room 6, but by the time I reached there again I had developed a better overall understanding and strategy.
Overall the game idea is original and entertaining, and the simple layout makes it easy to learn. It might take time to remember all the monster traits, but what game is mastered in an hour.
With all this being said, I feel as if the $6.99 price tag for only 2 more dungeons is a difficult price to justify. Even with all the other features in the full version, the fact that you only get 2 new groups of enemies is a deal breaker for me.
Regardless, it’s a wonderful game and I think the devs did a wonderful job.Show lessOutLancer
Awesome game but scared to commit
First things first, awesome game, I love the chess move gameplay and think there is a sufficient amount of upgrades for the pieces and variation in enemies and floors, all done amazingly. I finished the first dungeon on my 3rd or 4th run and was excited for more and was a bit spooked by the price, I definitely want to buy it but don’t currently have any free money at this time.
Don’t be discouraged though, I will be buying when I can x:)Show lessNeonNinja164
Lovely chess like game
Love this game
Wish it was more of RPG like game with levelling up system and equipment but overall it’s greatSharmin20
If you like chess PLAY THIS
You are reading this review because you like chess and also like games. SO PLAY THIS, it’s basically chess puzzles but “gameified” I’ve put countless hours into this on steam and was honestly happy to pay the 6.99 to play the full thing here too.
Yes, it’s does cost money to play the full game but there is so many hours here that it’s fully worth it from such a good game dev.
Even if you refuse to pay just download and play it, there’s still enough free contentShow lessPertzborn99
Lives up to the hype
Great game! I’ve been following this dev for a while on twitter so I was holding out for the mobile version. Good thing I did because this works really well as a mobile game! Lots of replay ability with all the different player classes.Bronto Games
Great puzzle roguelike
Pawnbarian is a great, challenging game that’s much deeper than it might first appear. The mechanics are easy to pick up, even if you don’t know chess well—hold on a card or enemy for useful tips. Figuring out how to get through a floor without too much damage and what upgrades to use on your deck is more challenging.
I first played the game in its mobile beta, when it was just one character and dungeon. I’m blown away by what the developer’s added since then. Well worth the $6.99 unlock for the full game, in my opinion, but it costs you nothing to try and see if it’s up your alley.Show lessgeigerm
New and fire look is amazing
Preorder this game because it look cool but it also looked complicated so I was a little nervous but the in game tutorial worked very well. I played for a hour last night and it blew me away it is a better and more complete and complicated chess-ish. So far I have not experienced add which in a free mobile game is unheard of so the experience and story flow better (I don’t know for shore if there is a story but as far as I can tell there is a story). All on all amazing game right from release.
(I for got to say how amazing the art is I would love to have that as my background)Show lessKEVU24O8
Epic chess!
I love this game! Despite only having the demo for a few hours, I have played through over and over again. I love the strategy that is involved and the creativity that comes with it. Each time I played through the first dungeon, I could feel and see myself getting better at the game. The game provides a challenge while still offering a flawless reward system. I am definitely going to purchase the full game ASAP!!!Show lessLord Vor'en
