When I first saw the trailer for The Chant, I thought it was another interactive horror movie from Supermassive Games. However, other samples made it clear that this is more of an action-adventure that is relatively close to classic survival horror films such as Resident Evil and especially The Evil Within. The novelty from the Brass Token studio is by far the closest to this series.
In the game, you take on the role of Jessica, who traveled to a remote island to escape her problems for a while. Here something like a spiritual session takes place, but it does not work at all, but on the contrary, it causes an evil being. Now she haunts people on the island and drives them crazy.
I had to play the game behind closed doors at Gamescom. First, I was shown a short presentation explaining all the important mechanics, and then I was able to jump right into the game. It’s been a pretty generous sample since the beginning of the third chapter. Most of the time I spent in open locations, but I also looked into dark mines.
From a technical point of view, this is definitely not a gem, there is no point in turning a blind eye to this. However, it’s still an AA title, so we can’t expect better. The graphics are relatively solid, the downside is the facial animation, which sometimes looks rather unnatural. And it’s a shame, because a lot of talented actors were involved in the game. The main character Jessica is voiced by Siobhan Williams, who played Laura in the recent The Quarry from the aforementioned Supermassive Games.
In any case, I have to point out the gameplay, which surprised me a bit. The game is much more dynamic than it might seem at first glance, but I do not consider this a minus, rather the opposite. I find the combat system interesting. In fact, you must take care of three characteristics at once: health, sanity and soul. Enemies not only hurt you physically, but also mentally, some locations even destroy your mind on their own. If you run away, Jess will panic and you will have no choice but to run. However, all stats can be replenished using healing items you find along the way. Sanity can then also be restored through meditation, but at the cost of losing spirituality.
As mentioned at the beginning, the game is a lot like a survival horror game. However, unlike most, there is a difference in the combat itself. While the aforementioned Resident Evil and The Evil Within series rely on firearms, in The Chant you’ll have to rely on melee weapons. In particular, you have an incendiary beam or other similar items at your disposal. They wear out anyway and you need raw materials to make more. However, Jess has other tricks up her sleeve, such as throwing salt to confuse an enemy, or using special abilities, again at the cost of her soul. But if you’re done, you’ll have to run.
In addition to the classic enemies, which, of course, are many, you will also fight bosses. First of all, with them, the key is to combine all your available arsenal, abilities, and also dodge as efficiently as possible. The bosses can give you trouble, but don’t really expect Dark Souls.
The game is quite action-packed, but it’s not just a fight, far from it. You will spend most of your time exploring locations, collecting raw materials that are key to your survival, as well as documents and filmstrips that reveal the story’s backstory. There is also a search for items important to further progress, whether they are different keys or other things that sometimes have to be combined to open the way forward. You are waiting for logic puzzles and the possibility of pumping some abilities, both active and passive.
While the developers never called the game that, and it may not seem like it at first glance, The Chant is a survival horror game. Technically it’s a little weaker, but the setting is really interesting and I really liked the gameplay, I left the demo with positive impressions. So the debut of Brass Token is in full swing and I can only hope that the full game will be as good as the demo I got to try. I’ve been wanting a third The Evil Within for a long time, and while this game is far from being a complete replacement, it definitely fulfills my desire for a similar game.
The Chant releases on November 3 this year for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
ZING.cz’s Gamescom 2022 report features Acer Nitro gaming laptops with processors up to Intel Core i7.
Source :Indian TV
