Among the latest special offers on Steam, an addictive cool little game has just popped up: “A chess game without any chess” is the description provided by Minimol Games for its “Knights Retreat”. What is it all about? “Rearrange your troops to bring your best Knights back to your Kingdom in an abstract medieval world”. Minimalistic? Actually, a well-conceived game can keep you entertained for hours even if when it is simple, as all experts of online gambling can explain to you. Your skills can be trained and enhanced by repetitive actions, with the added challenge of the next level, where minimal change really modifies your perspective and forces you to engage an increased quality of attention.

“Knights Retreat” does just that, in a very relaxing and captivating way. This is what feedback from a series of very satisfies users says, in the comments section od Steam. The chess-like puzzle is offered at the symbolic price of 0.55 € as an Early Access Game. According to the rules of the house, this means that you get instant access and start playing. In this way, you get involved with this game as it develops. There is a catch: “This Early Access game is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development”.

The author has added his own explanation to the standard notice by Steam: “We would like to get player feedback to decide how many levels and worlds this game should have. In early access, the game already has 55 levels that are 100% complete (music, art, coding, and so on). We would love to get player feedback to help us decide if we should aim at a 75-85 levels game with 4-5 worlds, or if it deserves a bigger scope – let’s say 100-150 levels with 5-8 worlds.” So far, feedback from the first users is very positive. They find the game cool. The artwork is very appreciated, as it contributes to an unusually sophisticated environment for a puzzle game. The different levels are equipped with 3-D settings, albeit simplified, and different camera angles. The soundtrack is collecting a lot of kudos too: “relaxing” is the most used word to define it.

Buying an Early Access Game is a fun way to get involved: give feedback, participate in discussions, post screenshots, write guides. A cool feature is that Early Access is a full purchase of a playable game. By purchasing, you gain immediate access to download and play the game in its current form and as it evolves. You keep access to the game, even if the game later moves from Early Access into fully released. “Knights Retreat” is going to be in the Early Access stage between 30 and 90 days. It currently features:

• 55 hand-crafted levels with increasing complexity.
• A fun chess puzzle now available to everyone (even to those who never played chess).
• Beautiful, abstract world inspired by Medieval Times.
• Originally composed music to help you focus and relax while solving the puzzles.