Written by Patrick Orquia
Title: The Chant
Developer: Brass Token
Publisher: Prime Matter
Genre: Survival Horror, Psychological Horror, Action-Adventure, RPG
Number of Players: 1
Platform: Steam
Release Date: Nov. 03, 2022
Price: $39.99
I'm not much of a horror game fan, although I have beaten quite a few, like some of the Resident Evil games. I have beaten 4 (twice on Wii), 5 (on PC), 7 (on PC), and 1 (on Nintendo DS). I have also beaten the spin-off game Resident Evil Revelations 4 times (thrice on 3DS (completed it on all difficulty settings on both the campaign and raid modes), once on Wii U). Oh, there is also the severely underrated yet what I consider the very best survival horror game ever made, ZombiU (on Wii U). I really would rather play games of different genres. Not because I'm easily scared, but… yeah, well, ok, I kind of get scared easily hahaha. Anyway, featured in this review is the horror game The Chant.
In this game, you play as Jessica Briars, a biomedicine scientist who have come to Glory Island for a badly needed holiday away from her stressful life in the city. She was invited there by a friend named Kim for a spiritual retreat. Although it is not her thing, she agrees. She has been dealing with some trauma due to some past events in her life that have been tormenting her since. Later that night, she and Kim's group of other like-minded individuals join together to perform a group chant, which unexpectedly, or at least, for Jessica, opens The Gloom. This is a psychedelic dimension that feeds off negative energy. Different nightmarish creatures also emerged from it, and Jessica is forced to stand on her own feet, face her fears head on, and try to resolve this enigma at hand.
Quite heavy, yeah? I must say, the way this game presented its brand of horror is quite impressive. The atmosphere is very eerie and both the fantastic visuals and the haunting music work in tandem very well. It really captures what it is like to be in a cult gone wrong, as if being in a cult is not bad enough in the first place.
Aside from the presentation, another notable factor in this game is the combat mechanics. You don't use guns or blades in this game to battle your way against a varied array of monsters. You get to craft your own weapons, such as the fire lash and witch stick, out of some collectible materials that you find in your environment. These weapons break over time, and due to the scarcity of crafting materials, it may be wise for you to use them wisely and avoid engaging enemies whenever possible.
There's a wide variety of enemies that you will encounter in this game. They are not really the toughest to fight, and some can even be completely evaded. Even so, when you do engage them, they can instill horror in you, due to how the stats in this game are organized. There are three main stats that you have to manage all the time: Mind, Body, and Spirit. You Mind gets depleted when you stay too long in the dark or when the enemies in the Gloom perform their mind attacks on you; once your Mind gets depleted, you enter panic mode and you will be more vulnerable to attacks. Body is your overall physical stat; it gets depleted when you get hit by enemies. Spirit gets depleted the longer you stay in the Gloom and also when you perform special spirit attacks on enemies. You can consume specific herbs assigned to specific buttons to replenish these gauges, and these are scarce as well. You can also meditate to replenish your Mind but would deplete your Spirit. Again, the key to survival is choosing your battles. If you can evade an enemy or two, do it, as they really don't drop XP points or money.
The island is divided into sections, and each chapter of the game progression allows you to open up one area after another. You will be able to loop back where you originally came from and thus you open up shortcuts for easy traversal for when you have to backtrack. There are also some areas where the Gloom is concentrated, and are represented with different colors. In order for you to enter certain Gloom areas, you have to posses a crystal that corresponds to the Gloom color. Once you're inside the Gloom,
Enemies are instantly alerted of your presence and they will try to hunt you down. Fight or flee, it is your choice, but do it as quickly as you can, as you will gradually lose your sanity, which makes you more and more vulnerable to attacks. Some areas are guarded by monsters, and you have no choice but to fight and beat them. When you kill the monster guarding a certain area, you also clear away the Gloom and progress further into the next.
There are also certain doors that require specific keys, and some of them would require you to assemble the key by collecting pieces of them that are scattered in different areas of the island. Pieces that are needed for a key for a door in a particular area are located near each other, so you don't have to worry getting lost. They are quite easy to find, just as long as you make sure that you open all treasure chests or cupboard doors. Those that can be opened are clearly marked with a white dot so you just have to look out for those. Hidden within these chests or cabinets are some collectibles as well, like salt, which stuns enemies, and crafting ingredients and herbs. You will also have to look for crystal prisms that allow you to upgrade your stats and also allows you to unlock new Spiritual attacks against the Gloom monsters.
As you explore different areas in the island, you get to also collect notes and photographs and even video tape reels that provide you more exposition. They build up the lore and give you additional clues on what to do next or how to tackle certain enemies. If ever you have to read them again, you can do so in the menu. The video tape reels, however, require the projector, which allows you to watch them. They are not overly long to watch, but they do provide more context for the overall story. None of these are a requirement, but if you are a completionist, you would probably want to look for and collect them.
REPLAY VALUE: Medium
PROS
- Excellent visuals, very reminiscent of Resident Evil games in terms of atmosphere and some of the gameplay mechanics
- Haunting music
- Eerie atmosphere
- Interesting characters
- Extensive glossary/tutorials in the menu
- Good use of rumble
CONS
- Item handling and management could take some getting used to
- Combat mechanics are quite lackluster and repetitive
- Area puzzles lack creativity
- Walls of text for exposition that you get from notes scattered everywhere that are not really interesting
- Skill tree is a bit lacking
RATING: 4/5 herbs, twigs, and evil spirits
