Chorus (2021)

Solid look and feel, but rather mundane and lifeless to play. I only made it a handful of hours in before I realized I was having to force myself every step of the way. I don't think it's poorly made*, but its open world nature, at least in its first few hours, sacrifices excitement for plodding, wide-open expanses with little to do. I think, based on trailers, I was expecting more of a Starfox/Colony Wars-esque experience. And maybe it gets there eventually, but at 42 I simply don't have the time anymore to invest in games that take more than a few hours to show me why I should be emotionally invested. Toss in some pretty uninspired music and a bland script and... yeah. Maybe it gets good, but after spending more than just a couple of hours with it I'm not willing to waste anymore time—especially since it's done a poor job keeping my attention thus far. Glad I picked it up on sale for 7.99 on PS5, but that was still too much for what I got. A first pass at an idea that needed a lot more fleshing out IMO.

(*It's not poorly made, but god the lead character's voice acting is rough. Mostly the whispered interior asides, which elicit a laugh more often than anything else—and that is most certainly not the intent.)

Chorus is a game that often gets mixed up with EverSpace, and for good reasons. Both are modern arcade space-sims, but Chorus stands out with its strong narrative focus. The story revolves around Nara, a former Cult member haunted by her dark past, including the destruction of a planet. Her companion, a sentient ship named Forsaken (or Forsa), shares a similar vendetta against the Cult.

The game takes a refreshing approach to space simulation, not treating every spaceship as a mere fighter. You get to pilot a capital ship, equipped with turrets that can fire independently of the ship's direction, adding a realistic touch to space combat.

Chorus introduces an interesting shields-and-hull mechanic, where different weapons are effective against either shields or hulls, requiring constant strategy shifts. Missiles are specifically used against armored enemies. However, the game's heavy reliance on the 'drift' mechanic can be off-putting, especially in early missions involving narrow corridors and timed challenges, which are more frustrating than fun.

The game's universe is divided into several asteroid field zones with a decent sense of scale and verticality. Missions are diverse, offering multiple objectives and the freedom to choose their order, alongside sidequests and random encounters. This lends Chorus a space-sim-RPG hybrid feel.

Equipment in Chorus resembles the tiered item sets found in games like Diablo, offering significant bonuses when combined. Combat requires skill, as enemies are highly agile, but Nara's abilities, reminiscent of a 'Sith turned Jedi,' including a teleportation skill, make dogfights engaging. Larger enemy ships, like Wraiths, present unique challenges, requiring specific strategies to defeat.

Time to note, the game's soundtrack is exceptional, enhancing the overall experience. https://open.spotify.com/track/6DuUDtWhLM0WqCGwUgYlwv

As players progress and gain more skills, gameplay becomes smoother and less tedious. Even enemies with formidable shields become manageable.

Chorus offers a limited but varied arsenal of weapons, including miniguns and slug throwers, each with distinct characteristics. There's even a quest line for acquiring and upgrading the powerful Werewolf missile launcher.

Despite its strengths, the game has some annoying moments, like battling swarms in tight spaces or engaging in dogfights without special abilities, which can be tough. The game's spectacle, however, is undeniable, with stunning space battles forming a magnificent backdrop.

The final battle against 'the Dragon' is intense, with a multitude of threats, but manageable thanks to well-placed checkpoints. The storyline is predictable yet well-executed, following a Mass Effect-like narrative of uniting forces against a cosmic threat.

Interestingly, despite early encouragements to switch weapons, players can comfortably rely on the minigun towards the end. The final episodes, especially the dramatic spear through frigates, are visually spectacular, making Chorus a memorable space-sim experience.

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I came to this looking for a Star Fox-like experience. It delivers on that somewhat. There are a few large Star Fox-worthy bosses in this that are great, but most of the time, I am just fighting small fighter ships. I wish they provided more bosses and enemy variety like Star Fox does, but the game is still really good anyways.

Moving on from the Star Fox comparison, what makes this game different is that it's a semi open-world game in that you fly around multiple large areas in space taking on main missions, side missions, and small conflicts that seem to randomly occur. The side missions were done right. They are meaty with story and characters (some which pop up again in other side missions). The main story is very heavy-handed on it's message of accepting yourself. There are some interesting bits around the relationship with the main character Nara, and the artificial intelligence in her ship named Forsaken though.

The combat is good. Flying and shooting down ships feels fun and satisfying. Dog fights are appropriately tense and the ability to drift is fun and extremely useful. There's a redundancy in attacks that seems to be a poor design choice as the game features laser guns for Nara's ship that are useful for destroying shields of enemy ships while also giving Nara a special ability that can destroy shields in one go. The laser guns take two shots to destroy shields, so I stuck to the special ability once I got it. Eventually in the late game, I got a laser gun powerful enough to not only destroy the shield of the standard shielded enemy, but also completely destroy the ship along with it. At that point, I spent about half the game ignoring the laser guns on my ship.