Chess of Blades
The king is having a huge birthday celebration! Five days of dancing, festivals, and drinking, culminating in a grand masquerade ball. It just so happens that Rivian Varrison, the introverted son of a famous nobleman, is forced to attend this giant event by his father. By chance, or maybe something more deliberate, he runs into a host of colorful and shady characters, all with their own stories to tell.
But when a sudden and mysterious crime happens on the second day of the party, Rivian finds himself thrown into the middle of it, and has to discover the truth behind what really happened — and who the people around him really are.Features:
- 125,000 words — 12+ hours of gameplay
- 3 BxB romance options (+1 unlockable route!)
- 9 endings
- 30+ CGs
- Full English Voice Acting
- 14 track OST
- Windows/Mac/Linux/Android platforms
For those unfamiliar with visual novels, they are primarily 2D narrative-based games that present the user with important choices that alter the story’s path. For Chess of Blades, mystery and intrigue are a central part of the story, but there are also three prominent romance routes that significantly change the later portions of the game.
Play the demo through the "Download Demo" button to the right!
Argent Games
Argent Games is a 2-person team comprised of a writer/programmer/designer (Dovah) and a producer/manager (Gamma). Bonded together over a shared love of things such as games, anime, and Yaoi, we formed Argent Games in 2016 to launch our first title, Requiescence (also available on Steam).
Chess of Blades is the second Boy’s Love (or yaoi) mystery/romance visual novel game developed by Argent Games, and many more are planned in the future!
Game Discussion
Steam User 0
I have a strong nostalgia factor for this BL (boys love) visual novel since I had watched a playthrough of it back in high school but I'm glad I got the game and played it for myself! Is it the best visual novel for BL out there? No, I definitely would not say so but I got it while on sale (which is what I suggest you do as well) and enjoyed my time playing it!
The routes are substantial and aren't carbon copies of each other, you know just doing the same storyline with a different guy which I truly appreciate. Each storyline played out so differently and created such a fun mystery to solve each time on top of the romance happening! I'm very much a person who enjoys completing all of the routes after completing my favorite route first and the different storylines made it so much fun! Linnaeus's route is by far my favorite but I'm very much biased in that opinion. There is also a hidden route with a character in Arden's route that was very fun to find and play through as well! It made the game feel a bit more complete in a way. The only wish I had for the storylines was for a bit more at the end of each route other than the quick wrap up scene given in the future but that's just my personal preference !
Lastly, to touch upon the voice acting, truly it's hit or miss as another reviewer said. I couldn't take some of the scenes as serious because of the voice acting BUT it makes the story so much more immersive and engaging so I'd rather have every line voice acted than none at all. Also please take note for the hidden character make sure to turn your headphones down and that your volume isn't up very high. He caught me off guard quite a bit and blasted my eardrums a few times before I just decided to keep my headphones at a lower volume during his scenes. I suggest you do as well if you play the game.
Overall though, if you're looking for a fun mystery filled royal/medieval ages vibe BL visual novel with twists and turns then I do recommend Chess of Blades !
Steam User 0
I only played the steam version without the patch yet, but this game is adorable. And pretty exciting. The MC is easily likeable, as well as all of the other characters. And the music is beautiful, especially the one we hear when the credits roll.
Steam User 0
Severely underrated game. Linnaeus best boi - the ballroom scene had me swooning
Steam User 0
Chess of Blades is such a treat. But a few warnings: You might hate all the characters at first. I did. Until the story branches they are all a bit insuferable, MC included. But when you are on a route, they get quite charming. All routes are actually good, I was surprise by it.
When the story branches you get different stories mostly, which is nice. Some MLs are a bit late to appear. I highly recommend doing them all, I assure you the first part doesn't make justice to the MLs.
The fact that is totally voiced is so good, even if most of them at first sound a little too... victorian gay. Sometimes they seem to relax and don't sound so haunty. And you get some surprises along the way.
If you are doubtful about doing all of them, you really should.