Some say at the high level of plays, fighting games is like a high-speed game of chess. Well, Checkmate Showdown has interpreted that saying in another way.
In Checkmate Showdown, you play a metagame which is just a game of chess (with some slight additions- like the ability to “tag” in another piece to replace the piece being captured by another piece that can reach that square).
But when capturing a piece, it becomes a fighting game. The Bishop, Knight, Rook and Queen are all characters with movesets fitting your typical fighting game character archetype. Rooks are grapplers, Bishops are rushdown characters, and Knights can throw copies of themselves like they are fireballs, alluding to their ability to jump around the board. Quarter-circle motions isn’t that far from an L-shape come to think of it.
Chess Showdown is co-developed by ManaVoid Entertianment and BadRez Games which includes a team of fighting game enthusiasts. The game is inspired by the rise of chessboxing- a sport where competitors alternate rounds of playing chess and boxing- as well as the recent rise of chess in streaming sites and the current boom of fighting games. 2023 will see major fighting game franchises – Street Fighter, Tekken and Mortal Kombat– getting a new entry.
Chess Showdown will include rollback netcode.
Chess Showdown is targeting a release on PC, with a console release considered. The game is currently seeking funding via Kickstarter.