It’s been since my best friend Francesco moved to Florida that I’ve been asked to visit him over the summer. Well, I can say with certainty that after playing The Chant I probably won’t do it, in fact I can proceed to block Francesco on any social media platform and on the phone line (again). But let’s go slow.
Jessica "Jess" Briars has never recovered from her sister's death. After many attempts to process the grief and the constant sense of guilt that follows her day after day, her friend Kim — who has long lived on a remote island — asks Jess to join her for a week-long spiritual retreat, which should help her forgive herself and leave the past behind. Initially reluctant, Jess eventually convinces herself and goes to her friend... only to discover that she is part of a community whose members walk barefoot and are dressed entirely in white, eat products from the earth such as berries and roots, are devoted to a so-called Prismatic Science, and spend much of their days meditating and singing in unison.
Okay, so we agree that the smell of setta is felt even at the Noldor house in Germany, right? But the protagonist, as good as bread, makes a good face for bad play. After all, it’s just a weekend, what could possibly go wrong?
Everything.... literally anything you thought was going to happen, went wrong.
So grab some popcorn, a drink, a bit of toilet paper, and a few spare change of clothes because, friends, in The Chant, action adventure survival horror in third person developed by Brass Token and distributed by Prime Matter, you’re in for a real doozy.
The Show Must Go On... even when you forget the words
The Prismatic Chant is the welcome ritual and the first step to freeing the mind — nothing impossible. Tyler, the leader of these peculiar adepts, sings something like an “ohmmm”, and slowly, one by one, all followers in a circle must join the chorus — but Kim gets it wrong. Maybe she was torn between “ohmmm” and “uhmmm” and couldn’t find the teleprompter — in short, she gets it wrong and then goes mad... yes, she really does make a mess.
Immediately after going mad, she summons these monstrous and terrifying creatures from the Prismatic Dimension. So a night centered around calming teas and chakra alignment turns into a primordial struggle for survival. Our protagonist, Jess, appears to be the only one left with her head on her shoulders, and, needless to say, she can’t avoid diving deep into this story to figure out how to restore balance and escape this hell as soon as possible! Together, we’ll unveil the legend of the Prismatic Power and reach the conclusion—through notes and old reels—that the mysterious origin of this power is precisely on this island.
What an immersion!
The recipe for a good horror story is ready: a hostile and isolated location, no chance of being helped, a community that appears friendly, a ritual that has vanished, a cursed secret, and our lives hanging by a thread. After completing the introduction and tutorial, it’s a constant stream of shocking twists and terrifying situations and the story, though somewhat clichéd, deserves to be followed and explored, thanks also to a good Italian voice acting in the game.
A small flaw in the game is the gameplay, which limits island exploration through the old trick of locked doors, forcing us to hunt tirelessly for key fragments or parts to reactivate machinery. Despite these rigid and somewhat scripted paths, the game keeps us on edge and glued to the screen, ready for the next scare call!
The wink to the genre's pioneers is always there!
Frictional Games, the creators of the Penumbra and Amnesia series, are clearly a reference point for The Chant, particularly in how it manages Jess’s stress level (kek), taking into account her human weaknesses and fears. Staying in the dark, witnessing traumatic events, or enduring psychological stress — including hearing the monsters’ roars — will have an impact on your mental energy indicator.
Below a certain threshold, we could no longer fight or effectively control our heroine. Fortunately, there’s a fairly varied recovery system, ranging from consuming certain medicinal herbs to meditating in a quiet area, free of monsters and especially well-lit. And yes, a clear and healthy mind is the key to surviving situations like these, but if your guts are scattered across the ground, mental clarity won’t help much; therefore, it’s important to monitor your health points and ensure Jess remains in good, both mental and physical, condition. Surviving on this island is no easy feat, especially for Jess, who lacks the athletic preparation of other video game colleagues (cough...cough...Lara Croft...cough)
Is this part of the job?
Since I started writing for KotaWorld, I’ve discovered a bit of the behind-the-scenes of the video game world, becoming more deeply interested, and I’ve found that there’s a training course for every character of every video game genre, from shooting in FPS to acting in visual novels. Well, in my opinion, Jess took the parkour tutorials because it’s impossible for this girl, who appears to be in perfect shape, to be so slow and mechanical... — it’s how I feel every morning when I try to get out of bed!
Seriously, Jess is slow and clumsy; every move or dodge seems more like a desperate attempt to survive than a genuine combat maneuver, and let me say, I adored this choice: putting us in the shoes of a normal girl, rather than Lara Croft’s second cousin, making it more realistic—and, why not, anxiety-inducing. Fortunately, the game doesn’t force us to fight every time; in fact, it encourages and invites what’s known as hit and run, i.e. a sprint to retrieve useful items in hostile environments, then running for it once the loot is secured. I really appreciated this choice because, once again, it perfectly mirrors the nature of a common human being thrown into a situation bigger than him.
But if Jess falters physically, she excels in brilliance and mental clarity mental. Through meditation and the recovery of crystals and prisms, we will learn to activate the psychic powers capable of slowing time, hurling enemies backward, or even summoning stalagmites from the ground—obviously, provided we have enough mana points. Magical plants and climbing plants are also our allies, as they harm monsters. Finally, we have an skill tree, represented in the game by a sort of pentacle, which allows character growth once the correct materials are found.
Technically, we’ve got it... but we can and must do better
From an artistic standpoint The Chant holds its own against the most renowned triple-A titles but doesn’t shock, failing to fully exploit the power of the PC master race or next-gen consoles. Yet, as the game is structured, the psychological factor and the use of sound are by far more effective than any VFX, but this shouldn’t be an excuse to aim for a visual experience worthy of 2023. The story, however, is capable of distracting us from the game’s technical limitations and succeeds especially in making us identify with the character, as well as allowing us to experience what our protagonist feels firsthand. And when in a survival horror you manage to do this... everything else is optional!
