The First Playtest of Chess 2 Just Took Place, and the Results are in

Just this Sunday, the first playtest was held for Chess 2, the highly anticipated sequel to Chess 1 that’s being developed by the notable video game company EA, and we at The Stuyvesant Spectator managed to get some exclusive criticism from the playtesters. Here are the main takeaways:

Many playtesters praised the new mechanics, such as build customization, and said that the new gacha elements added much-needed extra content to what would otherwise be a pretty plain game. They also noted that while the balance between builds might need work, the pieces are now far more balanced due to the various buffs and nerfs given to them. A few notable ones include decreasing the queen’s range, increasing the king’s, and removing the knight’s ability to jump over other pieces. That last nerf in particular was very well received, as many felt that the knight’s movements were “confusing” and “counterintuitive” in Chess 1. Many vocal players have been insistent since the beta days of Chess 1 that the knight’s L-shaped movement was a bad decision, although this sentiment is not necessarily shared by the whole community. 

However, one of the biggest complaints that people had with the much-anticipated sequel was the microtransactions. In the original Chess, there existed certain special moves such as castling and promotion that allowed pieces to do things they normally couldn’t. But in Chess 2, these unique moves must be purchased beforehand. Additionally, multiple additions and expansions such as skins and emotes for the pieces are now obtainable via limited-time gachas. While these mechanics are sure to add fun elements of customization to the otherwise drab Chess, critics claim they make Chess 2 “pay-to-win” and “unhealthily addictive.” They cite the fact that the most unique and sought-after skins, such as the Tung Tung Tung Sahur rook skin and the Family Guy skin pack, have low pull rates and can often only be obtained from limited-time banners. Multiple playtesters reported rolling the gacha dozens of times and only getting common skins such as palette swaps, even though the banners advertised high drop rates for rare skins. 

Many playtesters also felt like the multiplayer mode was very unbalanced. While the starting piece lineup customization options and deckbuilding elements were praised, people also said that the meta was heavily balanced in favor of more queen and rook-heavy builds, leaving less space for experimental builds such as speccing into pawns, and creating a massive gap between casual and pro players.

The lag was also reported to be quite bad. One playtester even reported having an input delay of half a second while playing against someone sitting across from him. While the Chess 2 ProPass^TM does come with better connection and less lag, many people feel that locking it behind a paywall further exacerbates the already reportedly bad pay-to-win-ness of the game. Additionally, some playtesters complained about the slow pacing of the game. They cited issues such as a lack of interesting piece encounters and the unnecessarily long skippable cutscenes that play whenever a piece moves.

Overall, the results paint a picture of an up-and-coming game with high potential, if it can work through its flaws. While some multiplayer and online aspects may need work, new features and customization options add more strategy and freedom to the legendary game. On average, Chess 2 was given a score of six out of 10 by reviewers—not terrible, but there’s definitely room for improvement. One of the biggest suggestions that playtesters echoed was to remove the in-app purchases, or at least make their rewards available without paying, and we at The Spectator fully agree. Making certain rewards inaccessible to people who aren’t willing to pay can prevent entire player bases, most notably the pre-teen age range and the unemployed player base. However, we won’t know if any suggestions have been accepted and any changes have been made until the next playtest or teaser, so stay tuned! If you want to keep up with the development cycle of this sure-to-be incredible game, be sure to follow The Stuyvesant Spectator’s coverage!