Metroidvania-style platformer games can be a lot of fun the first time around. You go off exploring with basic movements and equipment, trying to find secrets and treasure as you go, running into the occasional boss along the way. Once it’s all over, you know where everything is, so it becomes a little less fun the next time, right?
Chasm aims to address this with its own take on the genre. Instead of predictable, static maps, Chasm “stitches” together procedurally generated rooms so that no two playthroughs are alike. It’s an interesting idea to say the least, and during my time with it at PAX East, I felt right at home, since I enjoyed the trilogy of Castlevania games on the DS which shares pretty similar gameplay. Looking at the painstakingly detailed foregrounds and multi layered backgrounds, I could see that the “soft” pixel styled art direction was a labor of love. Chasm is less gothic in tone than its post-Symphony of the Night predecessors, but it has a keen sense of adventure and facing unknown dangers ahead. I really believe if you’re a fan of this kind of game, you should take a look at Chasm, as it seeks to breathe new life into the platformer-exploration genre.
Chasm is slated for release on Steam and PS4 – if you’d like an idea of how the game plays, take a look at the PAX East B-Roll footage and screenshots below.
PAX East B-Roll Demo
https://youtu.be/t1J_i8hDwOM
Screenshots
