''Chess Ultra'' is a chess video game developed and published by Ripstone for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

, and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

in June 2017. A

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...

port was released a few months later. It is the second chess game by Ripstone after ''

Pure Chess ''Pure Chess'' is a chess video game by British developer VooFoo Studios. Release Pure Chess was released for the PlayStation Vita and the PlayStation 3. The PS3 version of the game is only available through digital download via the PlayStati ...

'' (2012). ''Chess Ultra'' is the first in-house developed game by Ripstone.

Gameplay

The game features four different graphical locations (fireplace room, living room, museum, dark cave) and four chess piece sets. In the tutorial mode, there are basic lessons for beginners, 80

checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

challenges for advanced players, and for the most experienced players there is a mode where the player has to recreate historic games by playing the closing moves. The multiplayer supports either local or online play. The online multiplayer supports

cross-platform Within computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several Computing platform, computing platforms. Some ...

play (except the PS4 version). In the portable mode in the Switch version, local multiplayer can be played by placing the console flat on the table to simulate a

chessboard A chessboard is a game board used to play chess. It consists of 64 squares, 8 rows by 8 columns, on which the chess pieces are placed. It is square in shape and uses two colours of squares, one light and one dark, in a chequered pattern. During p ...

. The computer AI has ten difficulty settings. The game calculates the player's

Elo rating The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess or esports. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American chess master and physics professor. The Elo system wa ...

when playing against the AI or other players online. The PlayStation 4 version has a

PlayStation VR The PlayStation VR (PS VR) is a virtual reality headset developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, which was released in October 2016. The headset works with the company's PlayStation 4 video game console and is forward compatible with PlaySta ...

mode.

Reception

''Chess Ultra'' received generally positive reviews from critics. ''Windows Central'' liked the tutorials and cross-platform multiplayer but disliked the

matchmaking Matchmaking is the process of pairing two or more people together, usually for the purpose of marriage, in which case the intermediary or matchmaker is also known as a marriage broker. Matchmaking may be done as a profession for a fee or it may ...

system. ''Digitally Downloaded'' thought the game is an improvement from ''Pure Chess'' in every way. They also liked the table mode in the Switch version. ''

Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...

'' said the game is " ..a polished and well constructed title. It falls short of true excellence due to controller quirks in local multiplayer and a few missing conveniences in online play, such as a notification system or means by which to communicate more directly." ''Nintendo World Report'' liked how accessible the game is and called it "outstanding". ''PlanetSwitch.de'' said that despite a few technical inconsistencies, it's a great chess for on the go.

References

External links

*{{official, https://ripstone.com/chess-ultra/ 2017 video games Chess software Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation VR games Ripstone games Unreal Engine 4 games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Windows games Xbox One games