Beyond the Board is Making Progress

Okay, so here’s a thing about titles, right? They take something we totally get and then—bam!—flip it on its head. Like, “Whoa, didn’t see that coming.” Which is exactly what “Beyond the Board” is doing. Imagine Chess, but twisted. You’re curious, yeah? Stay with me here.

The brains at Fragile Shapes Studio—cool name, by the way—have this game, Beyond the Board, coming to Steam soon. Sneaky peeks through a demo are already up. Tried it? No? Well, maybe you should.

Here’s the scoop: you’re a lone Rook. Wandering through this trippy, chessy puzzle world. Think shifting tiles and puzzles. It’s like Monument Valley met Limbo with a chess twist. Sounds nuts, right? It is.

They showed some gameplay at the OTK Games Expo (total chaos, loved it). Pieces aren’t just sticking to your good ol’ 8×8 grid. Instead, they’re sliding all over, twisting your brain along with them. You don’t need a PhD in chess strategy to enjoy it, promise. Just bring curiosity and maybe a sense of humor.

Picture this: a bolt of lightning hits mid-game. Boom! You’re propelled into a dimension full of crumbling kingdoms and boss battles. The whole journey is a giant puzzle. Hidden paths, enemy ambushes—oh, and did I mention collapsing floors? It’s basically an existential crisis with chess pieces. Makes sense? Maybe not. But it’s awesome.

Here’s the kicker: no spoken words. It’s all visual storytelling. Let the atmosphere sink in—music, visuals, vibes. You’ll get lost, in a good way. Kind of hard to explain unless you dive in yourself.

So, if your curiosity’s tickled, the demo’s chilling on Steam. Give it a whirl. Trust me, you don’t have to love chess to get hooked. Who knows, it might just be the unexpected journey you didn’t know you needed. Check it out, or don’t—life’s unpredictable like that.