Pure Chess

Game Info

3DS games come in all sorts of flavors. I just happened to have the opportunity to review Pure Chess by Ripstone & VooFoo Studios. While playing this for countless hours I realized  a lot about myself, mainly how bad I am at chess.

In all seriousness, this game is excellent. The graphics aren’t what you would expect from the 3DS, they are actually quite top notch and have beautiful realistic renders. The top screen of the 3DS shows a beautiful 3D rendering of environments and also the chess pieces you play. You can select different chess pieces to play with; wood, stone, metal, etc.  You can also unlock many other environments as you progress through the game and also different chess pieces and chess piece materials. The music in game is also done very well. Think laid back classical modern twist and it is conducive to thinking. It doesn’t distract from the game at all. At times the music is quiet in the background and builds up now and again, but still enjoyable.

The bottom 3DS screen shows a 2d flat version of a chessboard, so you can plan your attack and strategy. This is where you make your moves against your opponents.  If you aren’t too familiar with chess the board does highlight where that piece is allowed to travel.

Alternatively if you have zero experience with chess in the main menu there is a “Learn to play” feature. There you can learn basic fundamentals or just get a refresher if it’s been a while since you’ve played some chess. They have 5 tutorials overall from basic controls to movement of each piece.

There are a surprising amount of details and extras that are packed into Pure Chess.  For scenery you can play in a variety of environments such as a cozy Library, Outdoor Parks, The Woods, Castles, etc. You can also head to the “Pure Store” and purchase a variety of themes that include new chess pieces and environments such as a Halloween chess set with metallic spooky skeletons and creatures, The temple game pack which includes a castle environment and the cast iron and gold human imperial roman army chess pieces. They even have an Easter Island set with stone chess pieces in a modern art environment. It’s quite fantastic the amount of details being shown here and options to select. Price ranges from $1.65 for older sets to $2.69 for newer ones. In all honesty I don’t think that’s bad at all because it feels like a new game with each pack.

Other options you have are being able to play against friends online; you can select friends specifically or play against people randomly. Online play is a perfect way to test your strategy skills. This is one of the strongest points of the game not only can you play against a computer and alter your difficulty setting but playing chess against real people is where its at. There is also something called chess challenges that let you play bonus games and tournaments to unlock extras in game.

The Recommendation

If you are a chess enthusiast, looking to get into chess or want a cool board game to play against your friends online this is the perfect game. Chess is a game of strategy and wit and Pure Chess hammers it perfectly. I highly recommend this game for those that love puzzle and strategy games.