Chasm

You know the saying, that good things come to those who wait? Well, this wait for Chasm has definitely yielded an amazing fun title, that should appeal to even the more hardcore of Metroidvania games. Beautiful, lots of stuff to do and tons of items and secrets to uncover, makes Chasm the game that will keep you busy for a long time. In fact, we just might be playing it longer than it took for this gem to be released.

While it can sometimes be hard to pick and chose which of many Metroidvanias to try out as the market is very crowded, genre fans definitely shouldn't pass on Chasm. The game took the developers six years to make, and this is seems to have paid off when looking at in the quality of the visuals, controls, and how well the Chasm's take on procedural generation and the placement of its rooms works out.

A challenging, polished Metroidvania.

After more than 5 years, Kickstarter success story Chasm has finally graced consoles with its presence. Was it worth the wait?

Chasm was worth the wait regardless of its shortcomings. It’s gorgeous, it sounds wondrous, and even though I’m not quite at the point where I can call it a “classic,” it honors the genre. I hope the follow-up doesn’t take nearly as long.

A decade ago, Metroid fans were starving for exploration-based action/platformers. These days, that drought is over. Many developers are taking cues from Nintendo’s sci-fi classic, and Bit Kid is one of them. This studio’s take on the formula features a young knight on a journey to rescue a wayward mining town from the imposing creatures that occupy its caverns. Chasm features all of the Metroid hallmarks: creative upgrades, fearsome enemies, and gorgeous backdrops. Unfortunately, its twisting labyrinths feel randomly slapped together – which they are.

Chasm is a good Metroidvania game. But it feels like it could have been better at certain points. A game that took five years to develop feels like it should offer more than Chasm currently does. Is that an unfair assessment? Possibly, but then maybe you should ask someone who kickstarted it if they’re happy with what they received after all these years.

With underwhelming procedural generation, Chasm fails to stand out from other Metroidvania games due to its simple mechanics and somewhat bland setting. It's still pretty and challenging enough to be occasionally fun.