Thanks for the thorough feedback! I really appreciate it :)
Agree with everything you've said. I guess I should've made the connection between the story and puzzle elements more clear. Basically I wanted to represent the different bucket list items as places and thought of a chessboard :)
As for the shocking ending, I'm glad that's how it got conveyed. I made this game for a friend who's recently committed suicide. There were no signs, nothing. This game was my way to cope with the shock, I guess.
Thanks for playing!!