Miasma Chronicles Review (PC)

Miasma Chronicles borrows a lot of heavy topics that have been making headlines in recent years, such as pollution and global warming. Set in a post-apocalyptic America, Miasma Chronicles presents one of the possible outcomes of a world already lost to these major problems. In this case, it’s a mysterious force called the “Miasma” that takes over the entire America.

You play as Elvis, a young mechanic who is arduously trying to get to his mother who left when he was just a few years old with a cryptic message. She’ll be waiting for him behind a Miasma wall that can only be opened using a special glove that she left with him.

After many tries and failures, our protagonist learns that he needs to upgrade his glove to finally open the way to his mother. It’s a premise that evolves into a much deeper plot that reveals the shadowy corporation behind the disaster that hit America more than 150 years ago.

Developed by The Bearded Ladies, Miasma Chronicles borrows a lot of mechanics from Mutant Year Zero: Road the Eden, the studio’s first major game. However, the world setting is unique, and the game has a much better presentation. The cutscenes and voice-acting are well above average, and the writing is definitely an improvement over the team’s previous game.

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Throughout (almost) the entire game, Elvis will be accompanied by his robotic brother, Diggs, gifted by his mother to watch over him. Just like in Mutant Year Zero, you’ll be exploring dozens of locations that feel like corridors leading the team to their objectives. The environments are much better designed and more varied this time around.

Combat is turn-based, but you can choose when to attack and even remove some of the enemies through silent kills. Silent weapons are an incredibly good asset in Miasma Chronicles, just like they were in Mutant Year Zero. Removing several enemies from the map before the battle actually starts gives players the upper hand. It requires good positioning and a few decent mods for your weapons to do more damage.

Ambushing the enemy means that you have just one turn to take out the enemy that you attacked. Obviously, you can only use silent weapons to do that, otherwise the whole squad will be alerted. It’s important to mention though that there are only a couple of silent weapons available in the game.

While you can make your fights a bit easier, you can’t really abuse the mechanic because some enemies have a lot of HP, which makes them impossible to take out in just one turn. In Miasma Chronicles, your party can have just three characters, but many more will join your crew, so you can switch between them to fit your playstyle.

The RPG elements in the game, like the character progression, makes these characters suitable for different scenarios. Some are better against robotic enemies, while others specialize in taking out Miasma or human targets. Each character’s skill tree consists of 16 abilities or upgrades that improve their survivability. Many of these are common to all characters, such as HP boosts and overwatch, but there are still plenty to make them rather unique gameplaywise.

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To add to the strategy aspect, Elvis and some of his companions can wield powerful Miasma-related abilities that can turn the tide of battles if used correctly. These abilities use energy, so they can be spammed. Knowing who you’ll be fighting next allows you to slot only the powers that would be useful in that encounter.

Although there are many Miasma powers available to discover in the game, characters able to use them can only slot a few. Typically, a fight involves the use of multiple combat options, like weapons, grenades, magical abilities and, when needed, medipods, the item that heals your characters.

There’s one particular item that I consider more important than medipods: the bottle. This rather mundane item allows you to skip entire squads of enemies if used correctly or make the battles you choose to fight much easier.

Another interesting mechanic that can trivialize some encounters is weapons modding. There are several mods available in the game, each with their own upgrade, which can be added to your weapons. Some boost your critical damage, while others add more bullets to your weapon’s magazine or boost your damage against certain enemies.

Yes, it’s annoying to have to move mods around just before the fight, but it’s totally worth it. That extra 10% damage can take down a target that would have otherwise kill one of your characters the next turn. Speaking of which, characters who are downed in combat can be revived with the use of medipods to continue to fight. Depending on the level of difficulty, only a portion of your characters’ health will be replenished.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion