The Chant
Featured DLC
the GameA SPIRITUAL NIGHTMARE
A single-player, third person horror action-adventure game set on a remote island spiritual retreat. A peaceful weekend soon turns to dread after a group chant opens The Gloom, a psychedelic dimension of terror that feeds off negative energy. Interact with a recurring cast of characters, untangle the complex history of the island, and witness terrifying revelations about the cosmos. Only you can fight off the creatures, reason with the survivors, and unravel the legacy of a cult from the 1970s to reverse the ritual.
EXPLORE AN ISLAND FILLED WITH COSMIC DREAD
Interact with the other members of the retreat as they slowly become consumed by their own negative energy. Survive against an array of prismatic creatures and cultists released from The Gloom as you piece together the weird history of the island.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT
You must choose your fights and battle for survival with spiritual weapons and abilities. Collect, craft, and manage your resources to take your chances in close combat – or succumb to panic and flee.
MIND BODY SPIRIT
Balance is everything. Steel your mind against horror and panic; Protect your body against physical threats; Elevate your spirit to meditate and access supernatural abilities.
MODERN PSYCHEDELIC HORROR
Inspired by the psychedelic horror of the 1970s, experience a landscape of colored lighting and an electronic rock soundtrack, composed by the award-winning Paul Ruskay.
STARRING
• Siobhan Williams, starring as Jess
• Kira Clavell, Starring as Kim
• Nicole Anthony, starring as Maya
• Praneet Akilla, starring as Sonny
• Emily Tennant, starring as Hannah
• Adam Millard starring as Tyler
Steam User 24
The Chant
Align those chakras
Cosmic horror, spirituality and new age philosophy meet in the new survival horror / action adventure game The Chant from fledgling studio Brass Token that sees a young woman attend a spiritual retreat in the hopes it will help her deal with her tormented past. This peaceful weekend soon turns to dread after a group chant opens up a portal to a psychedelic dimension of terror known as "The Gloom" that feeds on negative energy. Are you ready to balance your chakras in order to save yourself and the retreats inhabitants?
The Chant is an enjoyable but flawed experience. Dated graphics and some subpar writing are matched by a pulpy and enjoyable plot that moves at brisk and thrilling pace combined with some truly unique and grotesque enemy designs. Combat is serviceable, if a little clunky, but The Chant has promise thanks to 3 different weapon types with different attacks each matching a particular enemy health bar so you will need to switch in and out depending on the different enemies on the screen at once which adds a nice dynamic feel to the combat. As a first game from Brass Token, it's most certainly a step in the right direction.
I had an enjoyable time with the game. In the end I found that despite the many rough edges, it delivered a solid survival horror/action adventure romp and is definitely something I would recommend be played by aficionados of the genre. It exudes great atmosphere, despite the AA level graphics, it has a moody and engaging soundtrack, and while I would be hesitant to call it scary, the various enemies the player must face off with are mostly fun to engage with.
One word or phrase to sum up the experience
Enjoyable survival horror that is the ideal game to introduce newcomers to the genre
Performance/Bug related incidents
None experienced during my playthrough
Similar to games
Resident Evil 8: Village, Alan Wake, Silent Hill: Homecoming
Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Steam User 21
The concept and story seemed pretty interesting, graphics are nice. However I cannot play the game for longer than 30 minutes because the camera sway/bob is so bad the game gives me really bad motion sickness. There is no way to turn this off. Walking reduces the camera bob but many parts of the game require you to run. Also, the run is on by default (nice idea except since I cant run because of motion sickness, this is actually an inconvenience. If you aren't prone to motion sickness, then give it a try if the trailer looks interesting to you. But if you are like me, this game is unplayable. I am unfortunately, deleting it and cant play it anymore. I really really wanted to. I even tried taking motion sickness meds but this game is just too much bobbing. *if devs see this, the devs of star citizen have the best method to handle this issue, look into their approach. Issues of motion sickness really need additional attention by devs as this will greatly impact sales and reviews.
Steam User 16
Good game, I actually really enjoyed it and the story. I played on story mode and there was still quite a bit of action. Lots of searching for items which I love and puzzle tasks which were fun. Kind of spooky weird mystical theme. I took my time playing it. It's a perfect game to me.
Steam User 12
'The Chant' provides a brief yet immersive horror experience, clocking in at about 8 hours of gameplay (not including the free dlc). The game brilliantly weaves cosmic horror and Cthulhu themes, opting for genuine unease over cheap jump scares. An engaging storyline paired with striking visuals, commendable art design, and atmospheric music truly elevates the experience. However, it falls short with rigid facial animations and lacks depth in its supporting characters, making it challenging to feel a genuine connection or investment in their fates.
Overall, it's a captivating journey for horror enthusiasts looking for substance over shock.
Steam User 6
The Chant is a modern day classic.
Evoking memories of Alan Wake, Oxenfree and a smudge of Resident Evil.
The Chant offers a great overall experience and is without a doubt double AA horror that punches well above it's budget.
At the start I felt the combat was a bit weird but after a few hours it really clicked with me and I had so much fun smacking away at cultists and the horrors from the beyond without much difficulty, which introduces one of my biggest issues.
The game isn't very difficult, even on the hardest difficulty I never had much trouble and it made the resource management a lot less tense knowing I would never run out or even get close to it with how easily I could dispatch enemies.
I was very quickly drawn in by the story and characters and I really enjoyed the acting, but I think the story should have had more of a slow burn at the start. Being part of a cult is such a unique setting for a game and it's a shame it so quickly get's into the horror and I wish we could have had more time spent learning about the cult and getting to know the other characters.
Some of the characters also have too little screen time which is a huge shame since there are so few of them.
When I beat the game I had some issues with the way it ended and though the game could have done a better end game and the story really fell flat in some areas.
However with the free dlc The Gloom Below, pretty much every issue I had with the original game is fixed and gives an incredible ending to neatly tie the whole game together.
Overall as a whole package I had an absolute blast and enjoyed this game immensely and it really brought back memories of playing Alan Wake back on the 360.
In some areas the budget shows and at full price you are getting a fairly short game, so take that as you will.
But I will sing The Chant's praises to people for a long time and I can't wait to see what the developers have cooking up next!
Steam User 9
I saw the trailer and I was hooked. I really loved this premise the game has, a horror story within a cult on a remote island. Sounds amazing already. What could go wrong?
It's just that I though that it would be more of a choice-based game like Dark Pictures Anthology for instance. I was wrong, there are not much choices to be had, but I like the fact that in this game you can fight.
It's a decent action horror game, but it's not amazing in my opinion. Though it could be if the story was better and felt less generic. It feels like bad writing. And not only the story, the whole gameplay felt too generic. The characters felt bland and uninteresting. The dialogue was kinda poor, and the voice acting pretty mediocre. The fighting very basic and you are in constant need of resources.
The natural environments are pretty for the most part, but I really did not like how the gloom areas were portrayed. At first they are locked areas with a fog-like specific color. Once you unlock them, you wander within those areas seeing no other colors than the specific color set for that "supernatural" area, until you clear it of the gloom entities, and not all gloom areas can be cleared.
This game would be so much more enjoyable without any of the colored areas, in my opinion. That just makes it look bad and cheap, and there are many of such areas throughout the game. Maybe you'll think I'm exaggerating, but to me dwelling in those colored areas was annoying as hell.
Then after the locked areas there come the locked doors. There are many locked doors you must unlock by collecting 3 metal pieces and combine them together. But for me this was kinda annoying, and then there are also some doors with symbol on them and you must find the right key to unlock their padlocks.
I'm just not a fan of such puzzly obstacles in horror games. Also aligning the green ray crystals, that was another pretty annoying puzzle section followed by an annoying "boss" fight. But ok, at least later fighting the guy with the pink ray crystals was kinda fun to beat. Some enemies can be pretty annoying tho, like the entity made of fireflies, that keeps forming back to shape and never dies. However the dodge mechanic is king in this game, I'm not joking, it's just great! One of the best I have seen in any game.
Other than that the game has a basic character upgrade system which is ok.
it seems like there are different endings, I got the mind ending...
It would be unfair for me to give it a negative rating, but if I could rate it more specifically I would rate it a 5.5 out of 10.
Would I recommend this game?
Yeah I would, for one playthrough is fine, also since it's not too long.
Steam User 6
Really unorthodox plotline, loved it! Will forever treasure the moments fighting spirits with sage