CHAOS;HEAD NOAH

 Switch
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Digitally Downloaded
    Oct 13, 2022
    90
    You come to a visual novel for the narrative, of course, and Chaos;Head Noah does some exceptional things with its storytelling. Throwing such an unlikable protagonist at players seems like an outright risk in 2022, given that YA authors have somehow dominated the literature discourse to demand we must always sympathise with a heroic protagonist at all times else the story is problematic. Being willing to depict some pretty extreme scenarios that are designed to make the player uncomfortable is, equally, a risk in a world that has decided that all entertainment should be uplifting and positive. Chaos;Head is probably more transgressive now, in 2022, than it would have been back in 2008, and that only makes it more potent, and essential, as a work of art.
  2. Nintendo Life
    Oct 7, 2022
    80
    Chaos;Head Noah isn’t the best game in the Science Adventure series, but it is a great point for players to jump in if they’re new to the genre. Visual novel veterans will find plenty to enjoy here as well, with a story that goes to some dark and unsettling places. The plot makes no attempt at making sense and there are times when we wanted to strangle Takumi for being such a weirdo, but it remains engaging and fun throughout. This is an easy one to recommend, either on its own or as part of the bundle with its sequel.
  3. Noisy Pixel
    Oct 3, 2022
    80
    I’m delighted Spike Chunsoft and MAGES have finally brought this highly-desired game to the West after over a decade. Still, it should’ve been treated with more care, so here’s hoping they address these problems with patches in the near future.
  5. GameGrin
    Nov 2, 2022
    75
    The team behind Chaos;Head Noah, did a fine job doing what they set out to do, but confusing choices surrounding their game’s interactivity and accessibility features aren’t enough to save its gorgeous animation or strong plot and characters.
  6. Impulsegamer
    Oct 11, 2022
    62
    Chaos;Head NoAH / Chaos;Child Double Pack is a mixed bag of a bundle. While both games offer a fantastic story and endearing characters, the Nintendo Switch versions are unfortunately ridden with odd issues and executions.
  7. CGMagazine
    Oct 4, 2022
    60
    Chaos;Head Noah and its sequel, Chaos;Child, are bleak and dated visual novels, probably only suited to a very niche audience.
  8. NintendoWorldReport
    Nov 3, 2022
    50
    If you’re OK with putting up with -chan lingo and otaku of the highest order, then it might be worth sitting down with Chaos;Head Noah for a weekend - or even if you want to see what led to the Steins;Gate series. As for me, I’m going to head to the sequel and hope the main character is a little less irritating. (Or maybe J. Michael Tatum can make him not sound like a complete twit, I don’t know.)

User Reviews

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User Score
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No user score yet- Awaiting 1 more rating

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Tortor
    Aug 9, 2023
    7
    This was really engaging and a fun story. The main character though is so incredibly unlikable and creepy that it threw me off at first. ForThis was really engaging and a fun story. The main character though is so incredibly unlikable and creepy that it threw me off at first. For anyone that is thrown off by a character like this, it makes sense why he's like that later in the story.

    I've never really seen a main character portrayal like this to this extreme of a creep. The writing would have to be really creative to redeem this gross character and make it make sense why he's like that and thankfully it sorta does.

    Obviously can't spoil anything but a big downside still to the character, even though I did end up liking the direction it went, it took way too long to build the main character up. This is a lengthy visual novel and through the main route and even some alternative routes, i think maybe 20ish hours in it was starting to click to not be painful. That's just too long to have a pathetic character pathetic all over the plot like that. It got exhausting in long stretches and sometimes his internal dialog was just laughably way too long to get to the point that I was thankful I could speed read. He gets so repetitive and that just isn't fun even if it's to build up his characters flaws. Speed reading was easy because he'd like say the same thing to himself 10 - 30 times before stuff starts moving again haha.

    The main premise/concepts were interesting. Sometimes I sort of questioned if it was as simplistic as it sounds or maybe I was just overlooking something that gave it depth. It was weird and different at least, which I liked a lot but maybe could have used some fleshing out motivations more then what was given for some of the antagonists, they just sorta come out of nowhere without a lot to attach to, it's very villainy villain foe the sake of being a villain trope that a lot of anime sometimes does. The co-star ladies though I enjoyed their stories and writing for them though so it balanced out in a way to still be engaging even if the antagonists suck at least the co-stars were fun.

    I'm a female gamer and not attracted to females, a lot of the sexy stuff didn't do anything for me, was a lot of the times creepy but didn't get in the way too much for the story. Very fan service heavy for men out there to enjoy. It's easy to ignore though because the creeper main character makes it sorta his personality so much that you get numb to it.

    I'd recommend, it's no Steins Gate, but it's a good time still.    … Full Review »
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