Chorus
- December 3, 2021
- Deep Silver Fishlabs
- 17h median play time
Chorus is one of the biggest surprises of the year. With a great story, excellent world-building, tight movement, thrilling combat, and rewarding progression, this is one of the most enjoyable space shooters I've played in quite some time.
"Chorus" is a single-player, sci-fi shooter game with a good story, splendid mechanics, and masterful graphics. Players control Nara, a former warrior looking to destroy the dark cult that created her, with the help of Forsaken, her sentient ship. The game features intense space combat, exploration of ancient temples and other locations, and a journey beyond reality, with a wonderful soundtrack, humor, and a highly emotional storyline.
Reviews
- Incredible space combat mechanics that feel fluid and engaging.
- Beautiful graphics and sound design that enhance the overall experience.
- Interesting story with themes of redemption and personal growth.
- The protagonist's constant whispering and inner monologue can be annoying.
- Some missions are tedious and repetitive, lacking variety.
- The save system is frustrating, as players cannot save during missions.
- story4,050 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The story of "Chorus" has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it to be generic and lacking depth. While some appreciate its themes of redemption and the relationship between the protagonist and her sentient ship, others criticize the dialogue as cringeworthy and the plot as convoluted or predictable. Overall, the narrative serves as a backdrop to the engaging gameplay, but it often feels disjointed and fails to fully immerse players in its world.
“The story is engaging right from the start and has an excellent soundtrack.”
“The story is absolutely beautiful and well-written, with a few flaws, but otherwise, quite an amazing and engaging story.”
“The story is interesting and takes itself seriously despite the arcade combat.”
“The story was weak, I think, and the world is off.”
“The story is a badly written mess, but gameplay is really good.”
“The story is pure bullshit.”
- gameplay1,296 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "Chorus" is widely praised for its fast-paced, arcade-style space combat, featuring innovative mechanics like drifting and teleportation that enhance maneuverability and combat strategy. While many players find the controls intuitive and the combat exhilarating, some criticize the repetitive nature of missions and the lack of depth in the story. Overall, the game is considered a solid experience for fans of space shooters, with engaging mechanics that overshadow its narrative shortcomings.
“Gameplay is absolutely incredible, it's like mixing a spaceship shooter with a fast-paced action RPG: teleporting behind enemies, shield mechanics, perfect dodge mechanics, interesting variety of weapons, gear sets that change your playstyle.”
“The gameplay is very fluid and thrilling -- especially as you acquire a larger variety of weapons and powers to employ while blazing around space dogfights at high speeds.”
“Excellent gameplay and space combat mechanics, fairly challenging but compelling difficulty, so-so storyline but if your focus is the action itself, this is a good game.”
“The drift mechanic is so disastrous that the game is a quick trip to carpal tunnel syndrome just to play it.”
“Just nothing is intuitive and just poor game mechanics.”
“But the gameplay is too repetitive.”
- graphics726 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim, with many users praising the stunning visuals, smooth performance, and impressive art direction, particularly in space environments. While some noted minor issues like character model quality and occasional glitches, the overall aesthetic and graphical fidelity, including support for high resolutions and ray tracing, were highlighted as standout features. Many reviewers found the graphics to be a significant draw, enhancing the gameplay experience despite some criticisms of the story and voice acting.
“Visuals are great and runs great, my 7800xt can maintain 144fps at 1440p most of the time with highest settings.”
“The innovative mechanics, challenging levels, and breathtaking visuals make it a standout title in the genre.”
“The graphics are absolutely incredible with this game and environments are just beautiful.”
“After about 2 hours it started to drop frames and freeze up, so I turned off vsync, lowered the frame rate to 30 and dropped all the graphics to medium.”
“The graphics are rather dated, with dull looking textures and low detail objects.”
“Due to the lackluster graphics, the sensation of distance and depth is literally non-existent.”
- music284 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its epic and atmospheric qualities that enhance the overall experience. The soundtrack, composed by Pedro Camacho, is often described as phenomenal, cinematic, and reminiscent of iconic scores like Halo, contributing significantly to the game's immersive combat and storytelling. However, some players noted inconsistencies, mentioning that while certain tracks are memorable, others feel more like background noise, and there are moments of silence that detract from the overall ambiance.
“The musical score is also impressive, and works in tandem with all of these moving parts to create some really special and memorable battle experiences.”
“The soundtrack is fucking phenomenal, one of the hardest main menu music scores since Skyrim.”
“An extremely fun, fast-paced, arcade space shooter with an incredible soundtrack made by the great Pedro Camacho.”
“Also, the music/atmosphere gets a solid 'meh'/10.”
“Music - had highs and lows, went with the scenes but nothing memorable stuck out to me.”
“Alot of the time there's no music at all - only when fighting or something happens, and it's not really music but more of the kind 'background noise'.”
- grinding131 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 8 % neutral mentions
- 88 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with many players finding certain elements tedious and repetitive, particularly during boss fights and long missions. While some enjoyed the combat and overall gameplay, they noted that the lack of engaging side quests and the necessity for grinding achievements detracted from the experience, making it feel overly grindy at times. Overall, players recommend enjoying the game in shorter sessions to mitigate the tedium associated with prolonged play.
“The combat is fun and not grindy at all.”
“No grinding to speak of.”
“A bit grindy sometimes.”
“The game often shifts from exciting space battles to tedious sequences of running away from guilt manifestations in cramped corridors.”
“The damn, tedious pointless missions.”
“The whole experience was a tedious slog.”
- atmosphere78 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its captivating visuals and immersive sound design, creating a unique sci-fi experience that blends elements of cosmic horror and drama. While some players noted inconsistencies in the music and occasional traversal issues, the overall ambiance is described as magnificent, with a driving energy that enhances the gameplay. The combination of whispered storytelling and a mysterious setting contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making exploration feel rewarding despite a somewhat linear structure.
“The atmosphere is magnificent!”
“The story was very captivating and the whole atmosphere as you flew through space was just fantastic.”
“The atmosphere, especially the part about a weirdly alien-influenced cult with cosmic horror tendencies, is unusual for games like this and absolutely gripping.”
“Zero atmosphere and microgravity?”
“This game could've benefitted from a few more atmosphere and design passes.”
“Also, the music/atmosphere gets a solid 'meh'/10.”
- optimization75 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is highly praised, with many users reporting smooth performance across various hardware setups, including high settings and even 8K resolution. However, some players experienced issues on the Steam Deck, citing freezing and stuttering, indicating that optimization may not be consistent across all platforms. Despite these mixed experiences, the majority of reviews highlight excellent graphics and performance, making it a strong recommendation for most players.
“I was really surprised by how well the game is optimized.”
“This is one of the best optimized games ever released with Unreal Engine so far.”
“Performance and optimization: excellent!”
“And don’t tell me that it’s my job to troubleshoot your poorly optimized game.”
“Contrary to this being verified for Steam Deck, it consistently faces freezing throughout the game and is not optimized.”
“Finally, I have to note that the optimization in this game is a bit lacking.”
- stability67 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 6 % neutral mentions
- 57 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally praised, with many players reporting smooth performance and high frame rates on various systems, including the Steam Deck. However, some users noted the presence of minor bugs and glitches, particularly in side quests and mission triggers, which can detract from the experience but are not considered game-breaking. While most players enjoyed a bug-free experience, a few mentioned occasional issues that required restarts or caused confusion during gameplay.
“The game runs super smooth (5700xt is enough to run that game at WQHD max settings @170 fps) and on my first playthrough with the release version I only had one sound loop bug that required me to restart the game; otherwise, I had no glitches, bugs, or crashes whatsoever.”
“Technically, I had a totally bug-free experience with constant max FPS for my monitor.”
“No CTDs, no FPS issues, no MTX, no glitches.”
“If you want to play it on a Steam Deck, switch to Proton 7, as other versions cause freezes.”
“There's a bunch of side content, half of which glitches out and doesn't give you rewards or resets progress, and the rewards you do get didn't seem meaningful to be worth doing.”
“As of the current version, there are still a lot of bugs and glitches.”
- replayability44 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is considered very low, with many reviewers noting a lack of additional modes and end-game content. While some mention a permadeath mode as a potential draw, the linear nature of the game and heavy reliance on dialogue significantly diminish replay value. Many recommend purchasing the game on sale, as its full price does not justify the limited replayability offered.
“Decently replayable.”
“Would love more replayability.”
“I'm not sure how high the replayability will be for me, and I would love to see more added to the world, but I'm looking forward to trying out the permadeath mode.”
“There was potential replay value here that was unfortunately missed.”
“Given the linear nature of all content, replay value is borderline nonexistent.”
“For a 40€ AA game without any replayability, this is too short in my opinion.”
- emotional30 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding the story rich and resonant, particularly with the character of Nara, while others criticize it for being emotionally flat and lacking depth. Many feel that the narrative attempts to tackle profound themes but fails to fully engage players due to pacing issues and insufficient character development. Overall, while there are moments of emotional intensity, the execution leaves some players feeling disconnected and frustrated.
“Every voice actor sounds like they're constantly on the verge of an emotional breakdown as they deliver this ponderous tale of a woman who committed a pretty big war crime and has since defected from the cult she used to fight for to help those resisting it.”
“Very filled with fetch quests, which does make the game feel a bit longer due to limited travel speeds, but the story is really rich, and Nara is a very emotional and intense character you'll 100% resonate with and connect with, which the story and that connection are why you should buy this game.”
“A thoroughly enjoyable space shooter with its own action/dogfighting philosophy and a cinematic flair, telling an emotional story of remorse, reflection, and redemption.”
- humor26 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted for its blend of intentional and unintentional comedic moments, such as janky mechanics and amusing character animations, which often elicit laughter. Players appreciate the witty dialogues and the humorous interactions with the ship's AI, although some find the gameplay mechanics and certain challenges to be frustratingly funny. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted touch to the experience, making it enjoyable despite some gameplay imbalances.
“The main character's animations do look a bit funny sometimes, but the voice acting makes up for it.”
“They have some delicate, contemplative, and funny dialogues throughout the whole game that feel real and alive.”
“I was swayed and surprised by the positive reviews, but what sold me was actually one of the negative reviews, specifically the one written by Dan, which made me laugh out loud.”
- character development20 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the depth and growth of certain characters, particularly the protagonist, others criticize the dialogue quality and the overall lack of development in key relationships. The game's demo is noted to miss crucial character interactions, which may leave players feeling disconnected from the story. Overall, opinions vary widely, with some praising the character arcs and others expressing disappointment in the storytelling.
“Warrior-witch with great story and character development.”
“A great space action shooter with a story and character development.”
“In short, unique, fun for blowing stuff up, and great character development.”
“If you are coming for the story, as I was, you may find yourself disappointed in the quality of the dialogue and lack of character development.”
“If however, you like games with at least decent storytelling and character development, then please gain as much distance from this game as you can.”
“The demo puts you a couple of hours into the game, and you miss out on a lot of crucial character development between Nara and the other characters, as well as some less intense sections that teach you how to fly without the abilities you get in the demo.”
- monetization10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its lack of microtransactions, which sets it apart from other titles that rely on such monetization strategies. Reviewers appreciate this approach, contrasting it with other games they consider cash grabs, and note that the game's marketing efforts were minimal. Overall, the absence of monetization issues contributes positively to the game's reception.
“No microtransactions.”
“No microtransactions.”
“It reminded me of the abysmal Transformers 3rd person shooter (the one that came after the amazing ones, cheap cash grab).”
“There wasn't much in the way of previews or reviews, and they didn't really do a lot in the way of building any hype, advertising, or really putting much information out there at all.”
“No EA, no microtransactions.”
Critic Reviews
Chorus review
Chorus is a good-looking, competent space shooter, but it takes itself too seriously and doesn't lean into its uniqueness enough.
65%Chorus
Chorus Review – The Void Of Space
70%"Conjures the feel of a good Star Wars battle scene"
Not everything works well in Chorus, but its inventive, hectic space shootouts deserve to have their praises sung
70%