A new survival horror game sneaks its way past Halloween, with Brass Token’s debut title The Chant bringing a strange blend of predatory spirituality and psych-horror monstrosities. Outside its peculiar wellness retreat setting, The Chant is mostly a by-the-numbers survival horror entry, with clunky genre tropes intact. Whether that’s enough to whet the appetites of horror fans in early November, it’s an impressive achievement for an indie studio.
Screen Rant previewed The Chant last month and left intrigued by its setting and vision while concerned with some sluggish combat. The latter has seen little improvement, and while sufficiently empowered protagonists and survival horror games usually do not mix, main character Jess is repeatedly pushed into action scenarios that can feel as weightless and floaty as fighting off an attacker in a dream.
Of course, she isn’t an action hero, nor are the other attendants at the autumnal island which serves as the location of The Chant’s Prismatic Science camping and betterment retreat. She leaves a few snide remarks about the cult-like atmosphere and mystic blather, except – much like the other five characters, not counting spiritual leader and bearded guru Tyler Anton – she also brings plentiful baggage of her own to resolve on this trip. After initial introductions, Jess hesitantly swaps her sneakers and activewear for bare feet and linen to join the humming circle of adherents.
Everything quickly goes pear-shaped and scatters the six, shortly after Jess’ only friend at the retreat viciously attacks her. She’s soon scouring the island to complete various tasks and remedy the compromised ritual, observing how entire sections of the map are taken up by “The Gloom.” These interdimensional territories are attuned to specifically-colored crystal prisms, owned by and associated with each group member. The Chant’s prisms efficiently act as progress markers, keys, supernatural powers, and plot devices throughout the game.
While true that it’s better to show than tell, a remarkable amount of The Chant’s story and context isn’t ever fully explained. There’s plenty of lore to find tucked away on the island’s ramshackle cabins, but certain elements, such as Jess’ own wandering supernatural tormentor, a body made out of flies, are often only vaguely alluded to. It’s hard to get attached to the characters as they predictably lose their minds, and the game’s six short chapters rarely let the complex traumas or cosmic horror concepts introduced by the narrative truly breathe.
The Gloom’s creature inhabitants are suitably distressing: a blend of wildlife, unbridled botanical growth, and demonic zombies, the latter rambling intimate character-specific insults and threats nonstop throughout The Chant. Stepping into their realms always pulls aggro, with Jess able to dodge, shove, and attack them back with some weird and somewhat goofy weaponry; her standing dodge feels curiously similar to upcoming release The Callisto Protocol, and similarly enables counter-attacks. Here, though the hero is forced to use deteriorating “weapons” like bundles of sage, and direct combat is rarely ever satisfying.
Survival is tied to three resource meters, like Mind, which drains when traveling through The Gloom and can prompt uncontrollable panic attacks. Body acts as health against physical attacks and Soul powers Jess’ spiritual prismatic abilities, like an invisibility cloak or a ring of corrupted spikes that pop out around her (a personal favorite). Surviving The Chant means always paying attention to these dwindling bars, and while upgrades may increase them, they never quite make the player feel ultimately safe or strong.
If the combat is generally on the weaker side, The Chant’s boss fights can be downright noxious. Instakills are common, and puzzle-fight portions often mean dying to a simple instance to teach Jess to avoid it on the next attempt. Again, this is standard issue stuff for survival horror, but it’s not presented in an engaging or innovative way, though the final boss is a visually inspired and disturbing sight.
It’s important to consider The Chant’s indie roots, and what this small studio was able to achieve is unquestionably impressive. The homebrewed motion capture in the game is a far cry from a Naughty Dog production, but still lends it a great quality, along with the detailed visual design and presentation. In some ways, it’s almost the video game equivalent of 2016’s horror film The Void, which accomplished similar feats on a limited budget.
Three different endings are available to those itching to give The Chant another spin, and our own playthrough took only about six or seven hours from start to credits. Even though there are plentiful elements where the gameplay sags, The Chant is a spirited survival horror custom-made for adherents to the genre’s quirks, and they’ll be delighted at the finale.
The Chant releases on November 3 for $39.99 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. A digital PS5 code was provided to Screen Rant for the purpose of this review.
