I’m going to come right out and say this; I’m very much inclined to like Chasm. The game has a lot going for it; it’s a 2D action-platformer with gated progression and RPG elements, it has a gameplay style that’s reminiscent of 2D Castlevania games, and it’s pretty challenging. I’ve said this many times before in the past, but I absolutely love games that embrace the sensibilities of classic game series like Metroid and Castlevania. Yes, I’m talking about Metroidvania games. The second I heard about Chasm, I knew I was going to like it a lot.
Daltyn, a young solider, is sent to investigate a small mining town after it is suddenly sealed off by paranormal forces. Stuck in the mining town, Daltyn decides to get to the bottom of whatever is ailing the town, and thus Chasm begin. Chasm takes heavy influences from Metroidvania-style platformers and dungeon crawlers, but its main pull is that the maps in Chasm are procedurally generated. This means playing through the games multiple times will yield different experiences. You may know what items you need to collect to proceed through the game, but you probably won’t find it in the same place twice. In addition to the normal story mode, Chasm also sports a time trial mode, arena mode, and other hardcore modes. And having the map procedurally generated will definitely make theses other modes more exciting, especially with the inclusion of leaderboards for speed runs.
Chasm is broken up into six main procedurally generated environments that are filled with hand-crafted rooms. As you progress through the game, you’ll gain abilities that will allow you explore areas that were previously inaccessible. This’ll no doubt lead to hours of exploring every nook and cranny of the map in hopes of finding new pieces of gear for Daltyn to equip. Speaking of which, you’ll be able to customize Daltyn by acquiring armor pieces, weapons, shields, and magic spells. Although I didn’t get to see any of this during my playthrough of the PSX demo, I did take a look at the inventory screen and equipment page. I bought a new spell from an NPC vender, a fireball skill, and quickly equipped it to my off-hand. The whole process was pretty straightforward, so there’s nothing to worry about there. The demo took place in the catacombs, a trap and monster infested dungeon, which is one of the beginning environments of the game. After avoiding spiked balls, lava, and monsters, I encountered a mini-boss who proved to be a bit difficult to fight. I narrowly defeated it and proceeded to the next area which gave me a taste of a different environment, the castle. But sadly, that is where the demo ended.
All-in-all, Chasm is shaping up to be a challenging title worthy of the Metroidvania-style. I can’t wait to play the full game which is slated for release in early 2016.