The Chant Review (PS5)

Having unsolved life issues? Seeing ghosts and being haunted by past traumas? Join a cult, travel to a remote island, get involved in mysterious rituals with like-minded individuals, and consume psychoactive concoctions. What could go wrong? Obviously, any seasoned horror game veteran already knows the answer, but The Chant is here to give us an entertaining refreshing course on the topic, by mixing survival and adventure elements into a game that is not actually scarry.     

The first game developed by Brass Token has some Lovecraftian inspiration in the form of a cult that tries to achieve world domination. Unfortunately, as it happens in these games, the cult messes with interdimensional powers that cannot be called benevolent, let alone peaceful. The cult has all the ingredients of a stereotypical summoning ritual, which also makes as a standard background for a horror story: an isolated island, brainwashed followers with matching tunics, mysterious texts and a mask that makes as much sense as blinds on walls in windows.

But the plans are driven awry by a courageous young lady who escapes from the clutches of her father, the cult leader. Following the basic tutorial, the story is picked up several decades later, and you're in control of Jess, a young woman tormented by the death of her sister. At the behest of her friend Kim, she ends up on the same island, with a new spiritual leader, reinterpreting the same old texts and promising spiritual healing.

As the events unfold, the game clarifies the ties between the events of the past and the present, trying to produce a memorable horror story. The end result is not that memorable and is actually a bit further from the horror ambitions developers probably had initially, since the gameplay and feel are closer to an action-adventure game.

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Scaring the players seems rather an afterthought and is lost amidst the foraging, crafting, searching for lore and balancing the three attributes of your hero. Although at first glance it feels like a relatively open world, with different areas the players will soon realize that they have to follow a strictly designed path, gaining new abilities as they progress.

Even though the different areas can be revisited after finishing the encounter with the area boss, the only thing you can do in these areas is to hunt down lore items or upgrade crystals that you might have missed. The first helps with understanding the story, while the latter in combination with the answers you choose during dialogues allow you to improve the Jess' attributes.  

Split into three categories - body, spirit and mind, you are free to invest crystals in the modest ability tree, thus prioritizing any of the playstyles envisioned by the developers. In reality, there is not too much variety, the choice comes down to only one aspect: do you want to fight the nightmares around you, or would you rather avoid them?

The three main attributes have a much greater influence on the ending of the game, based on your choices, the game showing you one of the three possible outcomes. If you want to search every corner of the game, you are looking at around 10 hours spent figuring out The Chant. If you want to see the other endings as well, you will realize that by simply following the main storyline the game can be finished well under 4 hours. The replay value beyond the three different endings is zero, since the main events always unfold exactly the same way.

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As already mentioned, The Chant is an action heavy game, that means that you will do a lot of fighting. Sometimes these overlap the puzzle elements, since towards the end of the game you will have to manipulate objects in enemy infested areas. The AI of the opponents is nothing to phone home about, but their aggressivity combined with the rather vulnerable nature of Jess can lead to an atmosphere where you actually feel the tension.

There is only close combat, using items that you craft from the materials you find lying around. The limited inventory means that you should feel some extra pressure, but since there are always enough materials scattered before the areas filled with enemies, means that you will always have at least the bare minimum equipment. If you ran out of improvised weapons, you can always just dodge and shove your way, or leave the area search for more ingredients and return after crafting some more.

This is maybe what The Chant is missing the most: the sense of high stakes. Although you are facing interdimensional horrors and you are a vulnerable young lady, as a player you always feel like you have a safety net and even if you die by chance, there is no real consequence.

When it comes to graphics, the game can be attached to the “nice effort” category. The facial and body animations are clunky, the surroundings are not very detailed, and some textures seem a bit low effort. On the other hand, the visual style fits the story and manages to create an eerie atmosphere. Sadly, the soundtrack is completely bland, and the voice actors did a not so commendable job. More often than not the tone of the dialogue and the voice do not fit the character.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion