Titan Chaser
- February 23, 2021
- Stas Shostak
Titan Chaser is a meditative and atmospheric game where you drive through open fields at night as a scout, searching for wandering giants called Titans. Your goal is to use lights and the environment to make the Titans go away, all while enjoying the music of krapka;KOMA and discovering the story of the protagonist. There's no need to manage resources or health, making it a calming experience.
Reviews
- The atmosphere and commentary create a unique and immersive experience, making it feel like a work of art.
- The game features an interesting concept of guiding titans in a cozy, relaxing environment, which is a refreshing take on the genre.
- The nostalgic music and sound design enhance the overall experience, providing a calming backdrop while exploring the game world.
- The gameplay can be repetitive and lacks variety, leading to a tedious experience over time.
- Driving mechanics are clunky and can cause frustration, with issues like getting stuck on terrain and poor navigation.
- The game feels unpolished, with strange design decisions and graphical shortcomings that detract from the overall experience.
- atmosphere119 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "Titan Chaser" is widely praised for its unique blend of cozy, nostalgic, and eerie elements, creating an immersive experience that captivates players. Many reviewers highlight the game's relaxing ambiance, enhanced by its sound design and music, which contribute to a sense of exploration and wonder despite some technical shortcomings. Overall, the atmosphere stands out as the game's strongest aspect, making it a compelling choice for those seeking a chill, atmospheric gaming experience.
“The nostalgic atmosphere, coupled with immersive music and sound design, creates a captivating experience.”
“Titan chaser is a cozy and atmospheric game that I thoroughly enjoyed.”
“The atmosphere is wonderful and the titans have so much personality if you look hard enough.”
“The only good thing about this game was the melancholic atmosphere and foggy night.”
“The only thing going for it is the soundtrack that helps build the mentioned atmosphere; everything else feels like it's just a test project where someone played around with an engine.”
“They look huge in the screenshots and I couldn't wait for the atmosphere and sound to kick me off my chair... but it never did.”
- story80 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as intriguing yet underdeveloped, with players expressing a desire for more depth and content. While some appreciate the subtle storytelling and atmospheric elements, others find the narrative lacking and the missions repetitive, leading to a mixed reception regarding the overall engagement with the plot. The exploration and hints of a larger world are noted as positives, but many feel the story could benefit from more polish and expansion.
“A beautiful little game, the story is strangely in-depth and very interesting, very pretty too. I recommend playing; it's fairly short but good replay.”
“You can obviously see that this game was not made to break any technological records, only to tell a story and give you an experience, which it does—a very interesting one.”
“The titans themselves are quite well thought out, and the role they play in the story is well executed, though their animations leave something to be desired.”
“But the map is empty and the story is non-existent.”
“The story is minimal, and the tantalizing hints towards a past of more direct conflict with these enormous creatures go largely unexplored.”
“The story feels very unfinished.”
- music66 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for creating a cozy and nostalgic atmosphere, enhancing the immersive experience while driving through its eerie landscapes. Many players enjoy the chill soundtrack and old-timey radio dramas, although some find the original soundtrack lacking and the interruptions from radio programs distracting. Overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's ambiance, making it a relaxing and captivating experience for players.
“I particularly enjoyed listening to the old radio drama and music while driving a car at night in this game, which created a cozy and nostalgic atmosphere.”
“The nostalgic atmosphere, coupled with immersive music and sound design, creates a captivating experience.”
“Driving around the fog-covered countryside looking for giant supernatural titans, listening to a great synthwave soundtrack or a horror mystery radio drama, evokes a mystical, but relaxing feeling.”
“The soundtrack is insipid and the conclusion of each song leads into some horrid radio programme.”
“The music completely kills the 'horror atmosphere'.”
“Having to skip every second track because you just want to listen to music right now is irritating.”
- gameplay52 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and tedious, particularly due to clunky mechanics and a lack of engaging activities beyond driving and herding titans. While some appreciate the unique atmosphere and potential of the game, others feel that the simplistic and often frustrating gameplay detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the game shows promise but requires significant improvements in its mechanics and variety to enhance player enjoyment.
“Wonderfully atmospheric with a unique concept and gameplay!”
“Great relaxing game, chill gameplay and awesome graphics!”
“Gameplay relatively polished as well; doesn't get overly tedious and ongoing dialogue and atmosphere are enough to keep you going.”
“The gameplay is really repetitive for no good reason; the first mission has you guide a wyvern making the same thing again and again ad nauseam.”
“Overall, this game has good potential, but falls short due to its unfinished nature and tedious gameplay.”
“If you are looking for gameplay, there's basically none.”
- graphics39 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players noting that while the aesthetic and lighting can create a nostalgic atmosphere, the overall visual quality is often described as dated and lacking detail. Some appreciate the unique art style and atmospheric elements, but others criticize the low-quality models and graphical glitches, suggesting that improvements are needed for a more polished experience. Overall, the visuals are seen as a significant area for enhancement, despite some players finding charm in the game's artistic direction.
“The game's beautiful aesthetic evoked a sense of nostalgia, making it feel like I was dreaming while driving at night, discovering and solving mysteries, and chasing titans.”
“Very nice atmospheric game with beautiful visuals and interesting but chill gameplay.”
“Great visuals and audio are a great part of this little game as well as the story that goes with it.”
“The graphics are really dated, lack details, and the setting is the same everywhere.”
“2nd mission is just finding the titular titans, but their models are such ugly stretched PS1 graphics that it's actually underwhelming.”
“Very unpolished - the car remained stuck in the environment more than once, some things are not very visible and the graphics look kinda ugly in high resolution, maybe a forced low-res filter, something like a PS1/PS2 style would have helped.”
- stability12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- -17 % neutral mentions
- 92 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with many users reporting numerous bugs and glitches that can lead to crashes and gameplay interruptions. While some players find the issues manageable and still enjoy the game, others express frustration with its current state, indicating that it requires significant polishing. Overall, the consensus suggests that while the game is fun and atmospheric, its stability is a notable concern.
“It's not a triple-A experience, but it's bug-free, atmospheric, and immersive.”
“The game runs smoothly without any crashes, making for a seamless experience.”
“I appreciate how stable the gameplay is; I can focus on enjoying the story without interruptions.”
“Too buggy game, so many crashes... I don't advise this with the current state!”
“The game is buggy and needs a lot more polishing, but it has a good theme.”
“Very buggy and incomplete at the moment.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding mechanics in the game to be tedious and often detracting from the experience, with repetitive tasks and clunky interfaces leading to a sense of boredom. While some aspects of the gameplay are polished and engaging, the frequent chore-like activities can make progression feel like a slog. Despite its potential, the game's unfinished nature and tedious elements hinder its overall enjoyment.
“Mechanics are tedious which make the game a boring slogfest.”
“Overall, this game has good potential, but falls short due to its unfinished nature and tedious gameplay.”
“The gameplay can also be a bit tedious - without going into too much detail, the first titan must be led from one location to another by activating a series of points and this takes quite a while and isn't particularly interesting.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly on lower-end systems with stable frame rates between 80 to 95 FPS, players have reported issues such as heavy fog obscuring visibility, poor vehicle handling, and occasional hitching and stuttering that detracts from the experience. Additionally, the scripted nature of certain elements may contribute to a lack of dynamic gameplay.
“It does not require high computer performance.”
“Technical performance is stable, producing frame rates ranging from about 80 to 95 per second.”
“The mixed reviews are deserved; the fog is way too heavy and makes it hard to see, well, anything (probably to cover low poly models?), the vehicle handling and performance is terrible, and the 'story' (or lack of it, I'm not sure, it had some weird creepy vibes that just didn't work for me) was certainly wanting.”
“Some hitching and stuttering throughout play.”
“Probably just an optimization issue, but it felt like simulated motion sickness that would sometimes be normal then go back to being weird.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its ability to evoke deep sympathy and a range of feelings, from happiness to heartbreak, through its subtle storytelling and engaging music. Players appreciate the poignant moments that resonate despite some technical limitations, creating a memorable and impactful experience.
“Honestly, I can’t remember the last time someone made me feel so much sympathy for a man who just stood behind the counter and stared blankly into space.”
“The titans were really cool, the story was subtle but touching, and the driving/music aspects were beautiful.”
“This game made me feel very happy, and then very sad, and then very happy and then very sad again.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurd and janky mechanics, such as the comically exaggerated driving sounds and amusing animations, like a wyvern vibrating above lights. Players find joy in the game's quirks, including the hilarity of rolling down windows and the unexpected flipping of cars, which adds a lighthearted touch to the frustrating gameplay experience. Overall, the blend of realism and absurdity creates a uniquely entertaining atmosphere.
“Engine starts like it's a brand new Ferrari, yet driving sounds like it's a bucket with bolts, which is permanently fixed by a mechanic sitting under the hood (the wrench fix sound effect when driving is hilariously brilliant). Realism over 9000.”
“And playing it for barely an hour and a half, getting frustrated at the lack of checkpoints and laughing at the janky animations, I still want this game to succeed.”
“Hilariously, you can roll down your windows.”