Chained: A Victorian Nightmare
- December 19, 2019
- MWM Interactive
Get on SteamIn "Chained: A Victorian Nightmare," players navigate a grim, atmospheric world inspired by 19th-century London. As protagonist Sarah, you'll uncover the truth behind your mysterious captor, while solving puzzles and confronting otherworldly beings. This suspenseful narrative-driven game explores themes of guilt, captivity, and the supernatural.
PC
Virtual Reality
Windows
Oculus Rift
Reviews
- The game features excellent voice acting and beautifully rendered characters and environments, creating an immersive experience.
- It offers a unique and creepy reinterpretation of 'A Christmas Carol,' which may appeal to fans of dark storytelling.
- The visuals and atmosphere are praised for their gothic aesthetic, making it a visually appealing VR experience.
- The experience is largely non-interactive, with minimal player engagement, leading to a feeling of just watching a cutscene.
- Performance issues are prevalent, with many players experiencing crashes and significant frame rate drops, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
- The adaptation of the story is criticized for being too abbreviated, losing key elements and emotional depth from the original narrative.
- story24 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players feeling that it strays too far from the original narrative of "A Christmas Carol," resulting in a disjointed and unresolved experience. While some appreciated the horror remix approach and found it an interesting adaptation, others criticized the lack of character development and meaningful engagement, leading to a cinematic experience that felt more like passive observation than active storytelling. Overall, the execution left many players wanting a more substantial and coherent narrative.
“What you get here is a horror remix of the story, which I suppose makes sense given the title of the game.”
“Short but nicely implemented retelling of a classic story.”
“If you love dark story-style experiences then you will love 'Chained.'”
“In an effort to make the story about the player instead of Scrooge, they've abstracted the events enough to make them lose all meaning.”
“Despite there being a line of dialogue implying that there was a choice coming, the story ends with absolutely nothing resolved, and with the player having done nothing but watch a bunch of skeletal spooky dudes slowly walk around a room.”
“The biggest issues I had is that it failed to tell any of the story; nothing about Fan, Belle, Fezziwig, not even Tiny Tim gets a mention.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the detailed environments and cool character designs, particularly in specific scenes like the graveyard. However, others note issues with darkness obscuring details and a lack of interactivity, suggesting that while the visuals are good, they may not elevate the overall experience significantly.
“I really appreciated the visuals of the game; the ghosts all looked so cool!”
“Excellent graphics, very detailed environments and characters.”
“It has some great visuals and effects, some well-detailed locations, and I loved the graveyard scene.”
“Graphics were... okay, leaning on the very dark side; on the index, there are parts that got lost in the darkness.”
“There are no options, neither graphical nor audio, other than going back and starting.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting significant performance issues, including low frame rates averaging around 40fps even on high-end hardware. Many experienced crashes and frame rate drops, particularly during dynamic scenes, leading to a frustrating experience that detracted from the overall enjoyment of the story. Overall, the game's performance problems suggest it was not well-optimized for various systems.
“Based on others' reviews, it looks like I had some optimization issues.”
“I did notice some slight performance issues on my 1060, and this is probably an experience you will only likely to try once, so put that into consideration based on its price.”
“I would have been fine with this just being a surreal and artistic experience, but adding to my frustration were performance issues that forced me to restart four times and nearly crashed my headset a few more times after that.”
“Performance also left quite a lot to be desired, especially during the Christmas past sequence, where the dynamic lighting on the character seems to cause massive frame rate loss.”
“I am running an i7-8700k @ 4.8GHz and 2080 Ti, so clearly this game was not properly optimized for the pro.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game receives mixed reviews; while some users appreciate the dark and immersive setting, others feel it falls short of its intended dramatic impact. Overall, it is recognized as a beautifully crafted experience, particularly in its interpretation of a Christmas Carol.
“I love the dark atmosphere.”
“This is a very atmospheric journey into a beautifully created version of A Christmas Carol.”
“Not sure they achieved what they were going for with the atmosphere and drama, but it was fine.”
- music1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is noted for its immersive quality, enhancing the overall experience and complementing the gameplay effectively. Users appreciate the sound design, which contributes to the atmosphere and emotional depth of the game.
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the performance is described as disorienting, leaving viewers with a sense of dizziness despite the static nature of most scenes, suggesting a unique but overwhelming experience.
“While a cool way to show the classic tale, the performance made me feel dizzy when I finished it, even if all but one scene is totally static.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users generally feel that the game lacks replayability, with many stating that there is little incentive to play it again after the initial experience.
“There is really no replay value.”
“The game lacks any incentive to play again after finishing it.”
“Once you've completed the story, there's nothing left to draw you back in.”
