The Chant Reviews
For how it turned out, The Chant isn’t necessarily a bad game. It just misses the mark where it counts, failing to provide any real scares or tension whatsoever. It delivers a serviceable action adventure horror romp that should take you a couple of sittings to get through. One with not enough reasons to come back to it once you’re done hearing what it has to say.
While elements of The Chant are clichéd or clunky, there’s a surprisingly fun survival thriller nestled between its flaws. Creative monster design and excellent use of lighting (or lack thereof) can make for some nerve shredding moments too.
The Chant is a very atmospheric horror game that has a perfect balance of combat, exploration, puzzles, and frights. It’s refreshing to play a character that acts like a real person, not someone trained in martial arts or a closet bad-ass just waiting to beat the crap out of anything that moves – instead, she waves the weapons around, falls over when rolling, and reacts the way I would; she runs away! There were a few good jumpscares, the combat was heavy and satisfying, and the narrative had me hooked from beginning to end, I seriously can’t recommend the game enough. The only thing which would make it better is a robust photo mode and a NG+ mode.
The Chant has some good ideas, but unfortunately squanders its current-gen pedigree by delivering a straightforward survival horror that doesn’t innovate nor entertain. Featuring underwhelming visuals and repetitive combat mechanics, its short playthrough can be a challenge. What we have is a forgettable by-the-numbers survival horror game that tried too hard to become other games when it could’ve stood on its own with its charm and ideas. Truly a missed opportunity.
I can’t hide my disappointment with The Chant. I had a real hankering for a supernatural game this year, after getting some hands-on time at Gamescom. Instead, I’ve been left with questions about what this game could have been. It could’ve usurped Until Dawn, one of the best recent examples of a supernatural horror game, but with a more intriguing and deeper plot. It could’ve been a new fascinating way to approach and manage combat situations with three meters that operate together in harmony, giving you complex gameplay decisions to tackle alongside challenging combat. It could’ve been a new campy horror game, a guilty pleasure, similar to some of those dreadful TV shows I named at the start. But unfortunately, it’s neither of these things. Instead, you’re left with a story that feels incomplete and lacking depth. You’re left with combat that lacks any sort of meaningful challenge. And ultimately, you’ll be left like me: very, very salty.
The Chant is another one of those games that don't reinvent, but entertain. Its plot brings something different from what we have seen in the horror genre lately. There's no such thing as haunted mansions, teenagers being idiots, or grandiose enemies here. The focus of the production is to bring a different story accompanied by some supernatural elements. Because it was being sold as a horror game, I found it weak in this aspect. I recommend it for those who don't like blood, violence or being scared. It is somewhat friendly to those who are no longer familiar with the horror genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Chant is a surprising horror adventure with an enormous capacity to hook the player.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Your spirit is the only one that is a purely positive attribute. Spirit acts as a kind of mana for your special attacks, but can alternatively be used to restore your mind through meditation. So you need a constant supply of all three values. Through accumulated experience points in the three disciplines and hidden crystals, you can also expand your supply in a skill tree or unlock passive bonuses. These abilities are quite nice, but with the exception of the extended bar for health, mind and mind, they often only have a noticeable effect in very specific situations.
Review in German | Read full review
I'd say The Chant is a very solid entry into the survival horror genre, especially for someone like me who isn't really a big fan of the horror genre in all media. The acting is strong, and the crafting elements help to bring a sense of defencelessness to Jess. The story kept me enthralled, and The Gloom did its job of keeping me on my toes and giving me that horror game experience. The Chant may not look as good as it perhaps should on current gen, but the griminess of the island acted as an eerie backdrop to what first seemed like paradise.
Taking a vacation, Jess ends up at the seemingly soothing Glory Island spa. Soon the situation takes an unexpected turn and she is surrounded by terrifying monsters. Can you reveal the truth about this mysterious cult?
Review in Dutch | Read full review
What a great surprise The Chant was. It's a superb debut game from Brass Token filled with top-notch motion capture and voice acting, highly detailed environments, an engaging story, and it has some truly haunting enemy designs. If you like horror adventure games, book your trip to Glory Island immediately.
The Chant offers a mix of horror you don't see often in games. It combines survival-horror with elements that could come straight out of a H.P. Lovecraft book. Besides a few flaws the game looks great and the gameplay keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way. The gameplay could use a bit more depth, especially the combat and the skill tree and sometimes you miss a bit of balance. Still, if you start this game, be ready for a ride that keeps the blood pressure going up and down.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
The Chant is a fun horror adventure with its own personality, but it fails to reach 100% of its potential due to a too predictable script and a technical compartment plagued by several shortcomings.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Despite some weak writing, The Chant is fun to play regardless with exciting fighting mechanics and entertaining lore.
The Chant is a great Journey and a massive step away from the usual style of survival horror. With an everyday character who doesn’t wield axes or guns to take down enemies. The puzzles within the game have you searching for keys or items to combine to open doors
The Chant is a promising start for new development team, Brass Token. Its premise on the most basic level might not be something unheard of, but the way that it’s implemented and explored is quite original. I was impressed by the diversity of the enemy designs and the efficient use of a relatively small map.
The Chant may very well because a cult classic as the intensity starts and doesn’t stop. The overall experience could realistically be completed in one sitting. A long one at that, but with three endings to chase, a repeated playthrough is tantalisingly present, and I am getting set to go in for a pacifist run. The pitfalls may be there, but they look shallow in the rear vision mirror, and for a first-time entry from a brand-new studio, The Chant is a solid entry into the horror genre.
The Chant is a decent horror action adventure. It’s got a good story and some interesting characters. While it isn’t scary as such I did fall victim to a couple of jump scares which caused me to launch the dog off my lap and lose ten minutes off my life. So Bravo, Brass Token, for that. As mentioned earlier, this is their first original IP and I think the team has a bright future. I would very much like to see more narrative-focused games from them. The game isn’t perfect but there’s a glimmer of something there that makes me want to see more from them in the future.
The most terrifying aspect of The Chant is how broken the end result really is. As a freshman release, it’s a strong one, but it definitely needed some additional polish to be something even remotely playable.
For fans of psychological games and games like Silent Hill or The Evil Within, The Chant is the perfect choice. However, it's not something that appeals to a broader audience.
Review in Czech | Read full review