Chaos;Child Reviews
While it doesn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor, Chaos;Child is a strong visual novel in its own right–one that builds on and evolves what came before in interesting ways. It’s a shame this release is so lacking in polish, but Chaos;Child’s poignant thematic heart still shines through.
If there's a patch to fix the text bugs - as of the review time, the game was still on 1.0.0 - then I might endeavor to dive back into Chaos;Child. But for now, there's still plenty of other things for me to read that I'm not worried about bouncing out of the game early.
Chaos;Child was a bit of a disappointment for me. I enjoyed its improvements, but the previous game did things in a more interesting way, as it was all new to me. So having problems reappear while new ones came to light didn't convince me that this was a worthwhile sequel.
Wonky translations asid,e both Chaos;Head NoAH and Chaos;Child are filled with great characters, fantastic murder mystery whodunit stories and some twists that blew my mind. These games certainly won't be for everyone though. If you can stomach the disturbing subject matter of the games I highly recommend giving them a shot, especially if you are a fan of Steins;Gate or Robotics;Notes. It's finally great that the entire Science Adventure series is now available to play in preparation of the next game Anonymous;Code releasing next year.
Directly succeeding CHAOS;HEAD NOAH is no easy task, but CHAOS;CHILD manages to be a worthy experience. Its story is exciting and addictive from start to finish, the characters and supernatural elements are better enjoyed and the consequences of CHAOS;HEAD NOAH are approached in an extremely satisfying way for those who played it without alienating those who start their journey in this universe in the second title. It's still hard to swallow the impossibility of finishing the final and most conclusive route, and small problems with the presentation and flaws in the script pop up with some frequency.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Chaos; series has remained one of the most iconic visual novel series for years, and with good reason - despite some dated visuals and slow pacing, both titles offer jaw-dropping stories full of winding twists and incredibly well developed characters. The pacing hiccups, length and obtuse ending requirements won't be for everyone, but if you're trying to explore the history of visual novels and want to play the biggest ones, you owe it to yourself to add this double pack to the list.
While Chaos;Child may suffer a bit from some poor localization and text formatting decisions, the story is rather unique and engaging, leading to a fascinating murder mystery full of twists and turns. While I would suggest going through Chaos;Head Noah (or the non remastered version even) before going through Chaos;Child for a little more backstory and context, Chaos; Child still largely works as a standalone title, and will be a good choice for anyone looking for a grittier visual novel experience.
Chaos;Child is, by most metrics, a step up from its predecessor and has every right to stake a claim at being the best game in the Science Adventure series. There is a huge amount of content and it will take several dozen hours for players to get to the bottom of the return of the New Gen Madness case. Despite some small issues with the text's formatting, the story is compelling enough to keep most players invested through the long runtime. With solid characters and some genuinely surprising twists, fans of visual novels will want to get their hands on this one if they haven't played Chaos;Child before.
Chaos;Child is a great example of the visual novels' potential. With its dark atmosphere, the title uses concepts from Chaos;Head to create a modern and impressive experience. Though the Switch edition introduces some small technical issues that weren't present in the previous versions, it's a must-play for fans of narrative games.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Overall the Chaos;Head NoAH / Chaos;Child Double Pack is a mixed bag of a bundle. While both games have a great narrative, aesthetic, and soundtrack, the Nintendo Switch versions are unfortunately ridden with odd issues and executions. It's also worth noting that this version of Chaos;Head NoAH also cut some content from the original for censorship reasons. That said, if you'd like to play a genuinely interesting set of visual novels and don't care about the issues highlighted, there is still some enjoyment to be had with this port. Otherwise, I advise playing them on a different platform.
Chaos;Child does have some issues with its pacing and the localization is rough in places but its twisting storyline and unique cast of characters create a visual novel that is definitely worth experiencing for those who like lengthy stories.
Chaos;Child comes to PC, and we take a dive into Chaos World to see how the Visual Novel holds up.
Chaos;Child is a deviously clever visual novel from start to finish. It plays the reader like a fiddle by presenting all the ingredients for a mystery novel, but without some of the necessary tools to solve it. A megalomaniac mystery fan will look for a logical solution finding none as the important pieces are hidden away from the protagonist, and by extension, the reader. It might seem insane and risky, but it works extremely well and creates a memorable read that, while perhaps annoying for some due to certain choices made during the prose, will impress many others. Like most visual novels, it is not a crowd-pleaser, but for the intended audience it is a must read, and one that will not easily be forgotten.
CHAOS;CHILD is not a game that holds back – it has gritty, almost horror-like themes on offer, with casualties, loss and dead ends that get in the way.
Chaos;Child is, for better or worse, a 5pb visual novel.
Chaos;Child is another fantastic entry in the Science Adventure series from MAGES and 5pb. that is a must play for visual novel fans.
And interesting adventure with lots of hours to think about its deep plot, unstable characters and a great environment.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Chaos;Child brings an amazing story to the world of SciADV titles, approaching a genre yet unseen by western players in this series. Despite having localization and a few structure issues, Chaos;Child is possibly the best visual novel released for console in the last few years.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
If you're a fan of visual novels -- and you have a strong stomach and a reliable night-light -- Chaos;Child needs to be on your must-play list.
Featuring a dark atmosphere with some moving moments (and a few touches of immaturity here and there), it’s been a long time since a visual novel has grabbed me as much as this one did. Even with the weaker final quarter, this is a story that comes highly recommended.