Chorus Reviews
Chorus' stellar space combat is brought down by a myriad of design choices that range from frustrating to outright annoying.
I felt like begging the game to try something, anything new, no matter how badly it was implemented, just to break up the monotony. But Chorus rarely takes any swings, so in theory it lacks any "misses," with few glitches or moments where one element butts up against the rest. That might mean that people won't hate it, but it also means it's a game that people won't really love, either.
Chorus is a game that works in the sense that it doesn't crash your desktop, but it's just an ambulatory shell with mere vestiges of soul left in it.
If you can look past the flaws, there are some real highs in the kinetic brilliance on display in the fight and flight element of Chorus, making it worth considering, even if it can’t be wholeheartedly recommended based on all elements of the game.
There’s a solid space shooter buried beneath Chorus’ many bumps and bruises. Unfortunately, however, I’m not sure many players will be willing to dig beyond its myriad technical issues and more frustrating moments to find it. And honestly, that’s a real shame. Because with a bit more polish and refinement, Fishlabs’ latest offering could have been a space opera to remember with its unique story and exciting blend of sci-fi action and creepy occult mysticism. If you’re willing to overlook its problems, Chorus offers about a dozen hours of dogfighting action to keep you busy. But you’re going to need plenty of patience if you hope to break the Circle.
Chorus offers a fairly middling take on a space combat shooter. The gameplay is really where Chorus shines, when you combine piloting, powers, and weapons in just the right way, you can reach a sweet spot that makes the game a delight to play. It just takes too long to reach this point, so you'll likely lose interest before then. If you enjoy space flight games there is almost certainly something here for you to enjoy as the minute to minute action in Chorus is mechanically sound, it's just been done better elsewhere (see: Elite Dangerous, Everspace 2). The real shame of Chorus is that the story can’t match the excitement of the gameplay. Lacking any real characters, the game relies on Nara and Forsaken, and unfortunately, their dynamic is so underdeveloped that it makes the climax of the game feel undeserved. Nara’s journey to overcome her guilt is an interesting one, however, the game doesn’t do enough to capitalise on the promising premise.
When you’re engaging your enemies in the middle of deep space, boosting then drifting to rotate your ship around and snipe three or more enemies with your laser rifle before warping behind another and switching to your missiles to unleash a mighty payload, there’s nothing else quite like it.
Chorus does an admirable job of trying to carve out its own identity in a genre that deserves the attention, but it just doesn't stick the landing. If you're a fan of arcade spaceship shooters and narrative adventures there's probably enough here to chew over, but there's just not much that Chorus has to offer that hasn't already been done better elsewhere. Despite being set in a gorgeous pocket of space and offering up some interesting ideas it sadly misses the mark in just about every way.
Chorus is undoubtedly ambitious, with Fishlabs undeniably putting in a lot of effort into their first full title. Aesthetically, there's a lot to praise the game for, with a photo mode that genuinely feels useful to capture the visual splendour of space and the action of combat. Combat here is also fun, responsive, and generally great to play, even if it can feel overused due to a significant lack of variety in the rest of the game. Add this lack of variety to an ambitious story, but poorly developed, and you get Chorus. For every positive, there is an undeniable negative. Is it worth playing? I would say yes, but how much mileage you get out of it will be very subjective.
Chorus' controls and awesome powers make its space dogfighting some of the best, but the convoluted story and frustrating difficulty spikes hold it back from greatness. I would love to see a sequel with more interesting missions, where it just gets out of its own way and allows players to soar.
Chorus is a good-looking, competent space shooter, but it takes itself too seriously and doesn't lean into its uniqueness enough.
At its best moments, Chorus is an intense space fighter that takes you to some gorgeous locations. However, the weak plot and technical issues hold it back from its full potential.
After a long time, a pretty simple, good-looking space fast-shooter that entertains. The ills are offset by a good dark atmosphere.
Review in Czech | Read full review
A really good choice for space combat games' fans.
Review in Greek | Read full review
If you’re a fan of space combat and can push your way through the first couple hours, I’m fairly confident you’ll find a lot to like in Chorus. The core dogfighting is just plain fun, and the setpiece fights are something to see. If you’re not already a genre fan, however, I’m not entirely sure this will be the game to win you over.
Chorus is a fun, fast-paced and beautifully designed space opera/science-fiction game that can keep you entertained for hours upon hours. The problem is that there are few activities to do in the game's big world besides the core gameplay and the plot isn't as engaging as expected for this kind of setting.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Chorus aims for the stars, and blasts it sky-high.
Chorus shines in its exceptionally fun flight chops and smooth handling. Dogfighting in space never felt so responsive or satisfying and the backdrops can be stunning. However its ambitious, heavy story and unsympathetic heroine will leave some cold, some confused, and others simply bored.
Chorus brings back a lot of elements from games from the past that I loved. But just as many elements that I didn't want to see ever again. I see the game's qualities and think you could like it, in the end, I didn't really.
Review in German | Read full review