Chasm asks a simple question: what if a Metroidvania-style dungeon crawler got bigger, louder, and more chaotic? The answer is a game that feels both confident and scattered, a mix of smooth platforming and frantic combat that rarely knows quite what it wants to be. It launched in 2018 for PS4, Linux, PC, and Mac, and it remains a solid, if uneven, example of the genre.
Trailer, via Bit Kid.
The Setup
You play a knight tasked with tracking down a thief who stole the kingdom’s crown. That premise barely matters once the fighting starts. Chasm drops you into a sprawling world built from linked rooms and corridors, each packed with enemies, traps, and locked doors. The goal is simple: move forward, fight, collect keys, and open the next area.
The game leans heavily on the formula made famous by Metroid and Castlevania, where every new room requires a tool you haven’t yet earned. You’ll return to old areas again and again, unlocking paths that were previously blocked by a locked door or a wall you couldn’t pass. That loop is the heart of the design, and it mostly works.
Combat and Movement
Combat is where Chasm shines brightest. You have a sword, a shield, and a set of ranged attacks that grow in power as you progress. Enemies swarm from every side, and the game rewards quick reflexes. Dodging is essential, and the controls feel tight enough that you can weave through a crowd of foes without losing your footing.
Boss fights stand out. Each one changes the rules of the arena, forcing you to use the environment to gain an advantage. One boss drops a ceiling that crushes you if you don’t get out of the way. Another surrounds you with spikes that force you to dodge in narrow corridors. These moments are the game’s best, and they justify the slower stretches between them.
The movement system deserves credit too. You can dash, jump, and double-jump, and the game encourages you to chain these actions together. Climbing walls, sliding down slopes, and moving across tight ledges all feel natural. It’s a pleasure to move through the world, even when you’re being attacked from above.
Exploration and Design
The world itself is the game’s biggest strength. It’s large, varied, and full of secrets. Some rooms hide health pickups behind hidden switches. Others require you to backtrack through a maze of similar corridors to find the right path. The game never wastes your time with filler content, and the layout always seems purposeful.
But there’s a problem hiding beneath the surface. Chasm tries to pack too much into its levels. Some areas are so dense with enemies and hazards that it becomes hard to tell where you’re supposed to go next. The game relies on color coding and visual cues to guide you, but those signals aren’t always clear. It’s easy to lose your sense of direction in a corridor that looks identical to the one you just left.
The map helps, but it’s not perfect. It shows you where you’ve been, but it doesn’t always mark the exact location of the key you need or the boss you’re hunting. That leaves you wandering, sometimes for longer than the level demands. It’s a small frustration, but it adds up over dozens of hours.
The Difficulty Curve
Difficulty is where Chasm stumbles. Early in the game, the challenge is manageable. Bosses are fair, and the enemy variety keeps things interesting. But as you move deeper into the world, the game starts to pile threats on top of each other. You might be dodging a projectile while also avoiding a charging enemy while trying to hit a distant target with your ranged attack. The game expects you to juggle all of it at once.
Some players will love that chaos. Others will find it exhausting. The game doesn’t ease you into its harder sections. It throws you into them, and the sudden increase in pressure can feel punishing. It’s not impossible, but it requires patience and repeated attempts.
Sound and Presentation
The presentation is solid, if unremarkable. The art style is chunky and angular, with a color palette that shifts from green forests to red lava pits. Character animations are fluid, and the world feels alive even when it’s packed with enemies. The music matches the tone, alternating between tense action tracks and calmer exploration themes. It’s competent, but it doesn’t demand attention.
The sound design is better. Enemy hits land with weight, and your attacks carry a satisfying thud. The game pays attention to the small details that make combat feel responsive, and that attention shows.
What Works Best
Here’s what Chasm gets right:
- Combat is fast, fluid, and rewarding.
- The boss fights are creative and memorable.
- The world is large, varied, and full of secrets.
- Movement feels natural and precise.
These strengths carry the game through its rough patches. They’re why you keep playing, even when the difficulty spikes start to frustrate you.
What Needs Work
Here’s what Chasm struggles with:
- The map isn’t always clear about where you need to go next.
- The difficulty curve is steep and sudden.
- Some areas are so dense that navigation becomes difficult.
These weaknesses are frustrating, but they’re fixable. Better map markers, a gentler difficulty ramp, and clearer level design could turn a good game into a great one. As it stands, Chasm is a solid, occasionally brilliant, and occasionally frustrating experience.
The Verdict
Chasm is a game you’ll love in short bursts and tolerate in long sessions. Its combat is sharp, its world is imaginative, and its boss fights are some of the best in the genre. But the pacing issues and the occasional difficulty spike hold it back from greatness.
If you’re a fan of Metroidvania games, Chasm is worth your time. If you want a game that’s easy to pick up and play for a few minutes, it delivers. If you want a game that’s consistently excellent from start to finish, you’ll find moments of brilliance surrounded by rough edges.
Chasm is a game with a clear identity and a clear weakness. It’s a game you’ll finish feeling satisfied, even if you weren’t always having fun getting there.
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