Usurper

Released on September 9th, 2024 on Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux

Skills: Designing, UI/UX, Debugging, Art, Video editing, Pitching, Programming

An indie roguelike deck-building game made with a small team of 4 people. Over 10,000 sales and 82% positive user reviews from people who played it for 1 hour up to 100+ hours. Designed gameplay through a very iterative process with my friend and collaborator, Jason Reff, who I've done several game jams with. I did a lot of work to make the UI/UX intuitive and the gameplay clear. Assisted with the enemy AI logic. The Steam capsule art and trailers were drawn and edited by me. Even though we ended up self-publishing, I created a pitch presentations for publishers.

Usurper was a part of Steam Next Fest June 2024. We got a lot of attention from our demo and our Wishlists surged so that by the time we released in September we had over 5,000 Wishlists. After releaseing on Steam we supported and patched the game as well as added 2 content updates, 1.1.0 Vampire Update & 1.2.0 Cultist Update.

Usurper was also a part of Humble Bundle: Checkmate! A Chess Games Collection for 4 weeks in March/April 2026 where $18,355 from sales went to World Central Kitchen charity.

We are currently developing our next game but are not ready to show anything yet.

Rogue Brain Website

Usurper Steam Page

(Release Trailer)

(Icely Puzzles plays our updated Summer 2024 Next Fest Demo)

Description:

A turn-based roguelike deckbuilder where your King is your strongest weapon. Play cards from your deck to drop units onto the battlefield and checkmate your opponent. Build your Deck, Upgrade your Ruler, and Claim the Throne.

Steam User Reviews:

"Usurper is one of my all time favourite games. Whether you're a chess fan, or a newbie who needs a new pass time, this is a great game to buy."
- CFox0319 111.5 hrs on record (110.6 hrs at review time)

"Fantastic chess-based rogue-lite. I've been looking for this game for my whole life. No other chess based game that I've played manage to scratch the itch of combing chess knowledge with an interesting rogue-lite twist. It is worth full price."
- DirtyEarsBill 37.7 hrs on record (37.3 hrs at review time)

"This game is beyond addicting, probably the best you can get as a chess enjoyer. While this roguelike deckbuilder version of chess seems to play very similarly to chess, you will find out that it is much more complex than what meets the eye, and requires a whole new level of strategy."
- SubSet122 30.8 hrs on record (22.7 hrs at review time)

"I installed the demo on a whim. I had read "chess rogue like" and assumed I would get bored after 10 minutes and uninstall the game. The next time I looked up, two hours had passed. I went an purchased the game almost immediately."
- Turd Ferguson 14.2 hrs on record (1.4 hrs at review time)

"It made me realise why chess is still such a popular game, even after literal centuries. But it isn't just chess, it adapts that game's rules and format into something unique, a faster and more aggressive game about adapting to the opponent on the fly. As any roguelike should, it really gets ahold of you and keeps you playing for embarrassingly long periods of time."
- treese 58.3 hrs on record (37.2 hrs at review time)

"Usurper is a strategy roguelike that will appeal to chess enthusiasts. The game's unique but simple mechanics, such as dropping pieces with a reserves and power system, create a compelling layer of strategy."
- slippery pete 23.9 hrs on record (19.8 hrs at review time)

"The game mechanics alone make for an excellent chess variant, and the roguelike elements take things a step further. Surefire recommendation for fans of chess and/or strategy roguelikes."
- lunacyn 35.6 hrs on record (0.4 hrs at review time)

"As a casual chess player, this game almost feels tailor-made for me. Keeps the original competitive feel of the board game even with the roguelike mechanical changes. One of the most relaxing roguelikes I've ever played too."
- ThatCreepyGuyInTheCorner 10.7 hrs on record (9.6 hrs at review time)

"If you are a fan of chess, this is a must play!"
- Sushi 39.3 hrs on record (15.1 hrs at review time)

"Love all the crazy creative chess pieces. Very well thought-out game."
- squeak 7.8 hrs on record (0.6 hrs at review time)

"This game is really interesting, really creative, and incredibly fun"
- GeneralGunkRat 11.2 hrs on record (5.9 hrs at review time)

"Highly recommend, very fun. I've only played a bit so far, but it's already exceptionally good."
- Ashara 8.1 hrs on record (3.0 hrs at review time)

----Global Appeal----

(Google Translated from Korean)
"I'm finding it quite fun even after just two hours of play. Although it currently only supports English, the game is based on chess rules, and right-clicking on a piece explains exactly how it works, so the language barrier isn't a major issue."
- leonraven 5.1 hrs on record (2.4 hrs at review time)

(Google Translated from Japanese)
"A deck-building roguelike inspired by chess and shogi. Among the many games that blend roguelike elements with established genres, this title stands out for how naturally the concepts mesh."
- Joaaat 30.6 hrs on record (16.6 hrs at review time)

(Google Translated from Chinese (Simplified) )
"This is a distinctive chess-based roguelike. While the overall content isn't massive, the combination of inherent chess strategy and roguelike elements ensures good replayability; I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys chess."
- ETsc2 28.7 hrs on record (21.2 hrs at review time)

(Google Translated from Portuguese (Brazil) )
"A unique chess positioning exercise featuring various pieces and mechanics that ramp up the fun and difficulty."
- saulofcosta 14.2 hrs on record (9.3 hrs at review time)