City of Chains
- December 8, 2015
- Astronomic Games
- 9h median play time
Get on Steam"City of Chains: Astronomic" is a first-person shooter game set in a dystopian, futuristic city. As a member of the rebellion, players must fight against the oppressive government and its enforcers, using a variety of weapons and abilities. The game features a rich story, detailed environments, and intense combat that will keep players engaged and challenged.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- City of Chains offers a unique cyberpunk setting that deviates from the typical fantasy RPG Maker games, providing a refreshing experience.
- The game features meaningful choices that affect the storyline and character development, enhancing replayability with multiple endings.
- The combat system allows for strategic gameplay, enabling players to avoid battles through skills like hacking or using grenades, rather than relying solely on traditional combat.
- The graphics and overall presentation are considered outdated, which may detract from the experience for some players.
- The writing and dialogue contain grammatical errors and lack depth, making characters feel one-dimensional and the story predictable.
- Combat can be frustrating due to unbalanced enemy damage and the lack of visible health bars, leading to confusion during battles.
- story135 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mix of intriguing elements and familiar tropes, set in a cyberpunk world where player choices significantly impact the narrative and lead to multiple endings. While some players appreciate the well-written dialogue and character development, others find the plot predictable and the characters stereotypical. Overall, the story is engaging and offers a balance of linear progression with branching paths, making it enjoyable for RPG fans who value narrative depth.
“The story branches at a couple of points and there are a few different ways it can wrap up.”
“The story is well-written, and some memorable characters and villains are present.”
“You'll be following his adventures in this 6-hour sci-fi RPG where you'll battle, hack, and charm your way through four different acts: City of Chains has a quite good story and setting and is enjoyable to play despite a few gripes with its UI and combat system.”
“Pretending this isn't RPG Maker trash, reviewing the game on its merits, ugly retro pixel graphics, fixed resolution, massively outdated gameplay mechanisms, mediocre story, and terrible balance all cement this as a low-quality, overrated game.”
“The story, though it has potential and some little twists, is cliché and just uninteresting.”
“Great crafting mechanic as well as nice map layouts, but the story is boring and the characters are so stereotypical.”
- gameplay42 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "City of Chains" features a mix of traditional RPG mechanics and innovative elements, including crafting, turn-based combat, and a morale system that influences character interactions. While some players appreciate the engaging mechanics and strategic depth, others criticize the outdated graphics and balance issues, particularly in combat difficulty. Overall, the game offers a blend of linear storytelling and diverse gameplay choices, appealing to fans of the genre despite its flaws.
“The dark sci-fi setting, compelling narrative, non-linear gameplay, and wonderful turn-based strategic combat come together to create quite the exciting adventure.”
“The story is well made, gameplay is perfectly balanced (although a bit hard at the beginning) and the leveling system gives the game a pleasant new touch.”
“City of Chains takes the foundations of a retro-inspired RPG and attempts to combine them with an ambitious array of modern gameplay mechanics.”
“That does nothing to fix the awful gameplay endemic to RPG Maker; it's designed specifically for making low effort, low quality clones of Final Fantasy.”
“Pretending this isn't RPG Maker trash, reviewing the game on its merits, ugly retro pixel graphics, fixed resolution, massively outdated gameplay mechanisms, mediocre story, and terrible balance all cement this as a low quality, overrated game.”
“Gameplay sucks.”
- graphics38 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some praising its unique cyberpunk aesthetic and custom artwork that diverges from typical RPG Maker styles, while others criticize the outdated pixel graphics and clunky interface. Despite the low-resolution visuals, many players find the overall design and atmosphere engaging, contributing positively to the game's narrative and gameplay experience. However, the simplistic graphics and limited interactivity with the environment are noted as drawbacks by several reviewers.
“The graphics are superior to most games of this genre, and this, along with a nice overall flow, makes this an above average RPG Maker title.”
“Graphically, the title is absolutely fantastic and is also without a doubt the best looking RPG Maker game out there, hands down.”
“It's a joy to see a JRPG-type game that doesn't feature manga/anime-style graphics but more stylized western cyberpunk graphics.”
“Pretending this isn't RPG Maker trash, reviewing the game on its merits, ugly retro pixel graphics, fixed resolution, massively outdated gameplay mechanisms, mediocre story, and terrible balance all cement this as a low-quality, overrated game.”
“The graphics look like they've been run through a third-party Sega Saturn game filter, and the major characters are all matched with awful, kludgy 3D portrait art.”
“The graphics are in an old school 90's poop-and-vomit color palette.”
- music29 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its variety and ability to enhance the atmosphere, particularly in a cyberpunk setting. While some find the combat music simplistic and repetitive over time, others enjoy the engaging and diverse tracks that fit different scenarios. Overall, the soundtrack is noted for its quality and suitability, contributing positively to the game's immersive experience.
“In just a short time, I have fallen in love with this soundtrack as it is really good.”
“The soundtrack is very nice and varied.”
“Good techno-style space-age music really sets the mood.”
“For example, I found the combat music really basic, and it wasn't that pleasant to listen to for very long.”
“My only gripe with it was the music became extremely repetitive in the long run (can be forgiven).”
“The artwork and music all lend to an inhospitable place.”
- grinding7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 71 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's approach to grinding, noting that it eliminates traditional grinding for experience by rewarding skill points for exploration and progression instead. The fixed encounters and focus on completing objectives rather than combat contribute to a more engaging experience, avoiding the tediousness often associated with grinding in RPGs. Overall, the game strikes a balance between story and side quests, keeping players motivated without the need for excessive grinding.
“There's no grinding for experience: you get points as you complete portions of the game and spend them on abilities you desire.”
“As skill points are awarded for completing objectives rather than combat, there is no grinding to be done.”
“It does not offer up that much loot and astronomical grinding for experience points.”
“It does things I wish every RPG would do, like having fixed encounters which are actually different instead of just endless filler, and awarding skill points for exploration/progression instead of grinding.”
“Where it is short, it maintains a tight story with just enough freedom and side quests to keep you hunting without it seeming like the tedious slog of many AAA games.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its somber and gritty sci-fi tone, complemented by fitting music that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the realistic visuals and well-crafted environment, which contribute to an immersive setting that aligns with the game's narrative and themes. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, effectively balancing story, music, and gameplay elements.
“If you enjoy the ideas from the sci-fi genre or gritty themes, this game has the perfect atmosphere for both.”
“Finally, no more enemies that appear from nowhere, no more fantasy world with magic and other stuff... the atmosphere is great, the drawings and light are realistic; I really couldn't find anything wrong with this beauty of a game.”
“Keeping in mind the somber tone of the setting, the music is well-suited for this atmosphere, though I don't know how strongly it feels like sci-fi tunes.”
“The battle gameplay itself is familiar turn-based territory, while the music fits the sci-fi/futuristic atmosphere.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers high replayability due to its impactful decision-making, which leads to different paths and scenes, encouraging multiple playthroughs. With three difficulty modes and a variety of weapons and skills to choose from, players can experience the game in diverse ways despite its relatively short length of 6-8 hours. Overall, the combination of choices and customization significantly enhances its replay value.
“Thanks to this, the game also has a good replayability value, in addition to its length of 6-8 hours for the first play-through.”
“There are three difficulty modes—casual, hardy, dystopia—and given the number of weapons and skills to select for your team, as well as the many decisions to be made throughout the story, the replay value of this game is quite high.”
“Worth noting that the decisions you make are very important and bring a lot of replayability to the game, thanks to different paths or scenes depending on which choices you make.”
“There are three difficulty modes - casual, hardy, dystopia - and given the number of weapons and skills to select for your team, as well as the many decisions to be made throughout the story, the replay value of this game is quite high.”
- character development3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight that the game features a more realistic visual style in character design, setting it apart from typical RPG Maker titles. Additionally, the mechanics of character development are praised for their solid execution, contributing to memorable character experiences.
“+ memorable character designs”
“The mechanics of character development are equally solid.”
“I believe the main difference, at least to me, is that this title doesn't have the 'anime' or 'cartoony' look of your average RPG Maker title and has opted for a more realistic visual style, especially when it comes to character design.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The optimization of "Serve No Master" has been praised for its impressive performance, showcasing a well-executed gameplay experience that enhances player engagement.
“Serve no master is the correct term to end this review into bragging rights on beating this breakout performance game!”
“The game suffers from severe optimization issues, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
“Despite its potential, the lack of proper optimization makes it nearly unplayable on lower-end systems.”
“I was disappointed to find that the game is poorly optimized, resulting in long loading times and crashes.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is noted for its darker tone compared to typical astronomical games, yet it retains the developer's signature style and character types, offering a unique comedic experience.
“I could always expect the developer's humor to take things in a different direction.”
“Yes, it is much darker than usual astronomical games, but it still has its signature humor and character types.”
