Chasm (2018)

 PC
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 56 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 56
  3. Negative: 13 out of 56

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  1. Nigel-rpgamers
    Jan 19, 2020
    10
    Chasm is a better version of SOTN and later Castlevania games.

    Its rythm is pure and perfect and this game rewards precision. In this game, all is just what we need, no massive unnecessary things like all current metroidvanias. Learn, don't be a fool, make a good move at the right time, that's what a Metroidvania is. And Chasm is, at last, a GOOD, a REAL metroidvania. For me, now,    Chasm is a better version of SOTN and later Castlevania games.

    Its rythm is pure and perfect and this game rewards precision. In this game, all is just what we need, no massive unnecessary things like all current metroidvanias.

    Learn, don't be a fool, make a good move at the right time, that's what a Metroidvania is. And Chasm is, at last, a GOOD, a REAL metroidvania.

    For me, now, Chasm replaces SOTN in my heart.

    But scanlines are mandatory. Fortunately, there is an option for that.
    Random generation do not bring anything gameplay wise, but... OK why not. Just play the same seed over and over if you don't like it.    … Expand
  2. Babutto
    Dec 30, 2019
    8
    Pros.:
    - Fluidity;
    - Story;
    - Intuitive gameplay;
    - Easy to control, no major bugs.

    Cons.:
    - Too easy for metroidvanias;
    - Short;
    - No real challenge with bosses;
    - Music is not super sophisticated.

    If we check the credits we see, the team was very small. For the small team the game is awesome. But for hardcore players or Super Metroid fans it would be a disappointment.
  3. veilex
    Aug 1, 2018
    8
    The game has a substantial amount of charm with its pixel-based graphics and Castlevania style game play. The mechanics may be a bit too close to Castlevania for some, but for me it only added a sense of nostalgia. The game doesn't necessarily do anything new, but what is does do, it tends to do quite well. There are some very minor issues with attack flow, but generally this can beThe game has a substantial amount of charm with its pixel-based graphics and Castlevania style game play. The mechanics may be a bit too close to Castlevania for some, but for me it only added a sense of nostalgia. The game doesn't necessarily do anything new, but what is does do, it tends to do quite well. There are some very minor issues with attack flow, but generally this can be resolved through weapon choice. Ultimately, while the game does have some minor bugs, its a fantastic buy for a mere $20. I definitely recommend it.… Expand
  4. webbey
    Sep 8, 2018
    9
    Chasm is the type of game that I feel lucky to have found on Kickstarter. I would later experience the opposite reaction: wishing I'd never backed a campaign. A lot can happen from the fundraising stage to release, and your opinions in games can change a lot. In this case, a game poised to crit my nostalgia weak spot wasn't likely to become less appealing to me over the course ofChasm is the type of game that I feel lucky to have found on Kickstarter. I would later experience the opposite reaction: wishing I'd never backed a campaign. A lot can happen from the fundraising stage to release, and your opinions in games can change a lot. In this case, a game poised to crit my nostalgia weak spot wasn't likely to become less appealing to me over the course of development. These guys knew exactly what they wanted to make and they delivered.

    Chasm makes use of a procedurally generated level design. When you first create a new game, you are given the opportunity to create a new random seed, or enter a specific seed. Being able to choose the seed may be tailored to speedrunners, however, I wouldn’t be opposed to using the same layout for additional runs. I never found that the same layout in Castlevania games was a hindrance. The familiarity of knowing what was where was more appealing to me than the feeling of exploration. I’ll often encounter points of frustration in metroidvania games where I haven’t found that item or that area that’s required to move forward. Shuffling the level design seems like a deliberate way to accomplish this frustration, but I felt that my level layout worked pretty well and the portal system divided the maps up well enough. Although, I did find myself going back to town more often than every other save point.

    I loved the music, but like a lot of Chasm, I wish there was more. The way the game is broken up, you’ll spend a fair amount of time with the same music. Eventually it just blended in as I went about my business. On the other hand, I found some tracks amazing. I'd just leave the game paused with the music playing in the background while I worked on some other tasks between gaming. With the wind howling and Dom hammering away at the forge, I never grew tired of coming back to town. The track in Karthas really brought the snowy little town together.

    I chuckled out loud when I first recovered one of the artifacts. Bitkid’s choice in audio track for the event struck me immediately as something from a Quentin Tarantino movie. It’s like when they pause the move to introduce some villain, except in this case, you’re being introduced to one of your newest items. Better get those shoelaces tightened, you’re about to go someplace new.

    Pixel art may not be for everyone, but I'd argue that taking the time to play through a game that uses an art style that's perceived as looking old or outdated can provide perspective on games from the current generation. It reminds me of going back and watching older movies. They sometimes feel strange because they look different and the people sound different, or the effects are almost comical, but how many people hold the original Star Wars movies in higher regard than any of the modern releases? Better graphics don't necessarily make a better game.

    I'm completely biased towards pixel art, and I believe that it has an appropriate place as an art style for games. All the vistas that you come across on your journey provide a stunning amount of depth to this 2D experience.

    The monster design in look and mechanics gets more complex as you progress through the game. While The first zone may start to feel like a bit of an extended tutorial, the following zones may almost feel unforgiving when first encountered. The combat mechanics may feel halted at first, but after learning the limitations of combat, I began to appreciate the design. There's a more push and pull feel to each encounter, rather than hacking and slashing your way through the game.

    I wish that there was more content and I hope that Bitkid is able to come up with a way to continue the adventure. Chasm will hold a place in my list of favored games of the last couple years. I'm more Castlevania than Metroid, and I'm glad to have found a game that tried to capture that experience. I wish I held out for a Nintendo Switch release, because I think these lightweight games are perfect for that platform.

    The dollar to hours of entertainment ratio is well worth it. If you're a fan of Castlevania, you should look into Chasm.    … Expand
  5. Deeter79
    Aug 1, 2018
    9
    Beautiful pixel art and the soundtrack is amazing. I love this genre and the game does not disappoint. Don’t listen to the nay-sayers, Chasm was worth the wait.
  6. Ayreos
    Aug 7, 2018
    5
    A fun demo that needed more levels and little else to be great, and 5 years later it's the same demo diluted over many more hours, with clunky controls and poorly written, predictable "lore" dumped on the player from the first few seconds of play, coupled with inane characters to boot. A disappointment and a lesson on protracted developed. How is it possible that the game regressed fromA fun demo that needed more levels and little else to be great, and 5 years later it's the same demo diluted over many more hours, with clunky controls and poorly written, predictable "lore" dumped on the player from the first few seconds of play, coupled with inane characters to boot. A disappointment and a lesson on protracted developed. How is it possible that the game regressed from its Kickstarter demo state?… Expand
  7. Cyber_Angel
    Nov 17, 2018
    5
    Clunky controls, repetitive combat, uninspired generated dungeons and checkpoints that are just too far from each other that result in a fairly large loss of progress if you die - those problems plague this otherwise charming game. What a shame.
  8. GoiabaSunshine
    Jan 13, 2019
    6
    Chasm ins't a bad game by any means, it contains a great pixelated graphic and it is well made. However, the game doens't innovate anything on the metroidvania genre making the experience pretty generic. Against something like hollow knight, we can see that Chasm has no place in an over-satured genre like this.
  9. QAOSbringer
    Feb 25, 2023
    2
    Visually appealing, yet mechanically terrrible game. It is amazing that this game gets "mostly positive" in Steam, yet it is very very weak compared to better Metroidvania style games around here. Doesn't even worth to install this poorly made game. I wish they cared about the mechanics as much as the visuals.
    Storytelling is weak, and heavily depended on the books we collect around. They    Visually appealing, yet mechanically terrrible game. It is amazing that this game gets "mostly positive" in Steam, yet it is very very weak compared to better Metroidvania style games around here. Doesn't even worth to install this poorly made game. I wish they cared about the mechanics as much as the visuals.
    Storytelling is weak, and heavily depended on the books we collect around. They didn't even care to implement storytelling to the dialogues or the level design.
    They used a RPG style level up system inside the Metroidvania style. However combat with mobs are just plain boring.
    When you hit a monster, the attack doesn't affect it and it continues to walk towards you, and due to delay after your attack, you can't run away from their attacks and take damage for unavoidable reasons. You get movement delays after you attack, yet monsters don't get any delay or stun after getting damaged. This system is plain stupid. Check out Hollow Knight for better combat mechanics.
    And just to salt the wound, they removed any "combat animations" from the monsters. Monsters simply walk around, and damage you whenever they touch you (even from behind).
    Waste of time, waste of money.

    2: Intolerable - Bad enough to make you refund the game.    … Expand
  10. SilverOrlov
    May 10, 2023
    7
    The first thought that could describe this whole game - a sterile room according to the very correct template. I was thinking in a such way during all my walk-through. I can't say that it's bad, but it makes a number of mistakes that could be forgiven for a game with a good story, at least. It has the story itself, but it is very superficial and is simply given to the player as point byThe first thought that could describe this whole game - a sterile room according to the very correct template. I was thinking in a such way during all my walk-through. I can't say that it's bad, but it makes a number of mistakes that could be forgiven for a game with a good story, at least. It has the story itself, but it is very superficial and is simply given to the player as point by point, not like a living stream as you can say. There is no involvement in this story. And without this atmosphere and history, other bad things become more noticeable and irritable. What I liked about this game is that it doesn't make any big mistakes and it doesn't have any bugs (yes, sometimes even simple platformers catch bugs and freezes(hello to Teslagrad Remaster)). There is also a good variety of bosses. They are interestingly drawn(except for The Worm). And I liked the design of the save rooms and portal caves. In general, that's all that I can say here. The whole World is built under a certain non-diverse template, which is interesting to explore only for the first time, and returning to finish something there is no longer particularly interesting. Some places in all zones of the game are simply copied by copy-paste. All enemies die in the same way - they burn out. It looks primitive.
    I VERY disliked the lack of a dodging and the fact that it was replaced by a step back - it was periodically confusing and instead of avoiding damage, I simply jumped on the enemy. And some enemies either catch up faster or hit further and this step back is useless. I understand it in that way, that the developer simply could not implement a normal roll over the enemy mechanics and made it easier - just jump back. That's how it feels, anyway. Monotonous and non-varied music. It seemed to me that work with inventory and crafting was weak. Often in the chests in difficult rooms there is a much weaker drop than what was dropped from some ordinary monster much earlier. Or the last level craft at the forge actually turns out to be weaker than the same drop from random monster much earlier. The last wave of monsters in the Arena also pissed me off. They dealt some WILD damage and I went through this damn 3rd arena 10 times longer than the local boss and the champion of this arena, whom I killed with the first try. And, by the way, about bosses: all mini-bosses and bosses, after the second, easily or just normally can be defeated by just butted in the face. Except the last boss of the game, everyone after the 2nd boss - you come into the room, turn on the shields and foolishly kick him as fast as you can with the strongest sword in the inventory. That's it! No duels, no tricks are needed. I received some share of pleasure from this adventure in general, and I can advise it to those who love platformers and metro-idvanias, but: 1st, Only at a discount 2nd, Only for fans of these genres, as the rest will be, most likely boring with it. In two words the game can be described as follows: some amateur man decided to make his first game with some standard sets of graphics and characters from the Internet, and according to standard semantic content(story, dialogues). It turned out quite satisfactorily and without mistakes, but also without anything that could stand out and be remembered.    … Expand
  11. PeakZach
    Sep 20, 2020
    6
    A solid looking platformer with some flaws. Multi-directional attacking would be very useful in a platformer game like this, especially one where you bounce off of the ceiling. Attacking is difficult and sometimes doesn't make sense with only one direction to attack in.
  12. GabFire
    Aug 10, 2020
    5
    A ideia do jogo é legal e quando se olha vídeos sobre ele, parece algo que será muito incrível, infelizmente o jogo é bem genérico, ''bugado'' e chato, mesmo que você que estiver lendo goste do estilo, não recomendo, há jogos bem melhores.
  13. foxonarock
    Oct 3, 2020
    10
    This game gives you exactly what you expect of it. A great retro MetroidVania ! I have tried many games to try and recreate the emotions I felt playing CastleVania: Aria of Sorrow as a kid, and Chasm is the only one that hit that spot right on (for me). For the price asked, it delivers a tremendous amount of fun. amazing work from Bit Kid!

Awards & Rankings

28
#28 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
  1. CD-Action
    Dec 4, 2018
    80
    An enjoyable old-school metroidvania with wonderful pixel art, focused on platforming rather than combat. [10/2018, p.54]
  2. CGMagazine
    Sep 19, 2018
    60
    Chasm tries something new with its procedurally generated map but it failure to create interesting maps results in a lackluster experience.
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  3. Eurogamer Italy
    Sep 13, 2018
    70
    An enjoyable Metroidvania with great platforming, gorgeous visuals and solid old-school gameplay... but also some balancing issues due to its procedurally generated dungeons.
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