Pawnbarian is a quick-playing, turn-based puzzle roguelike. Play cards to move your hero like a chess piece, and conquer challenging dungeons full of cunning monsters!
All Reviews:
Very Positive (409) - 91% of the 409 user reviews for this game are positive.
Release Date:
Sep 24, 2021
Developer:

Sign in to add this item to your wishlist, follow it, or mark it as ignored

Download Pawnbarian Demo

Buy Pawnbarian

Buy King's Gambit Bundle BUNDLE (?)

Includes 3 items: Dark Chess, Pawnbarian, The Ouroboros King

-20%
$26.37

Buy Chess-like Rogue-like Bundle BUNDLE (?)

Includes 3 items: Pawnbarian, The Ouroboros King, Usurper

-20%
$23.97

Buy Sewer Dev Buds BUNDLE (?)

Includes 10 items: Alphaman, Blocky Dungeon, Dizzy Rogues, HAYAI, Mech Chip, Pawnbarian, Wyvia, Quadrilla, Your Only Move Is HUSTLE, sunny-place

-10%
$53.90
 

Reviews

“A tiny and mighty game.”
Rock Paper Shotgun

“It’s a simple looking, but very addictive game that does a great job of channelling the classic strategic gameplay of Chess into a roguelike dungeon crawling format.”
Alpha Beta Gamer

“The depth of strategy and decision room in what is truly a rather tiny game is what’s important here. I think a great way to describe it would be in terms of ‘density’, as in how much is packed into the relative size of the experience. In which case, what we have here is a neutron star.”
DarkZero

About This Game

Pawnbarian is a turn-based puzzle roguelike with bite-sized, but challenging sessions. Play cards to control your hero like a chess piece on a tiny dungeon board, outmaneuver enemies with their assortment of tricky abilities, and become the mightiest warrior of the Chesslands!

Features

  • Use a deck of chess pieces to hack and slash through hordes of monsters.
  • Pick up the basics instantly if you're familiar with chess, or learn in minutes if you aren't.
  • Carefully plan your moves to navigate challenging, emergent tactical situations.
  • Spend treasure to upgrade your cards with additional powers.
  • Blitz through quick 15-30 minute runs - or die trying.
  • Take on the infinite post-run Gauntlet to see how long you can survive.
  • Pick from 6 characters to conquer 3 dungeons, all requiring an unique approach.
  • Progress through Chains, a series of extra difficulty modifiers.

Not Features

  • No permanent upgrades, and not much that needs unlocking. The progress and satisfaction come from your growing mastery of the game's elegant systems!
  • No complex and varied builds. The shops provide a few key decisions, but the bulk of the roguelike depth lies in how you approach the emergent combat puzzles!

System Requirements

Windows
macOS
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS *: Windows 7 SP1+
    • Processor: SSE2 support
    • DirectX: Version 10
    • Storage: 200 MB available space
    Recommended:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
* Starting January 1st, 2024, the Steam Client will only support Windows 10 and later versions.
    Minimum:
    • OS: macOS High Sierra 10.13
    • Processor: SSE2 support
    • Graphics: Metal capable (starting at late 2012 models)
    • Storage: 200 MB available space
    Recommended:
      Minimum:
      • OS: Ubuntu 18.04
      • Processor: SSE2 support
      • Graphics: OpenGL 3.2+, Vulkan capable
      • Storage: 200 MB available space
      Recommended:

      Customer reviews for Pawnbarian

      Review Type


      Purchase Type


      Language


      Date Range
      To view reviews within a date range, please click and drag a selection on a graph above or click on a specific bar.

      Show graph



      Playtime
      Filter reviews by the user's playtime when the review was written:



      No minimum to No maximum

      Display
      Show reviews in selected display order





      Learn More
      Show graph
       
      Hide graph
       
      Filters
      Excluding Off-topic Review Activity
      Playtime:
      Played Mostly on Steam Deck
      There are no more reviews that match the filters set above
      Adjust the filters above to see other reviews
      Loading reviews...