Chasing Static

it's not bad, but it's pretty boring after the intro

Chasing Static is a really good indie game that blends psychological thriller with sci-fi horror, and while some aspects aren't as compelling or fully realized (character relationships, realizations and emotional weight are cursory at best), this is still a pretty solid story-driven game. It's heavy on the walking sim side, but if you're into intriguing storytelling, do give this a try. The retro graphics also help with the atmosphere, making it feel like it really is in the 90s.

It was... ok. Atmospheric and at times suspenseful, but too much time was spent walking back and forth through large, bland, repetitive environments looking for items. The story wasn't terribly original (something escaped from a research facility, oh my!) and many aspects were never explained by the end. There are better horror walking simulators to play, such as Layers of Fear, Homesick, and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.

Das größte Manko dieses Spiels ist die aus heutiger Sicht unansehnliche Grafik, da es sich um ein optisch nur marginal "aufgehübschtes" Remake eines alten PS 1 Spiels handelt. Das ist schade, da das Spiel wesentlich von seiner Atmosphäre lebt und die angestaubte Optik doch stark die Immersion trübt. Ansonsten gibt es aber nichts zu beanstanden, im Gegenteil: Das Gameplay geht leicht von der Hand dank intuitiver Gamepad-Steuerung, es gibt keine Bugs, die deutsche Lokalisierung (Untertitel) ist ordentlich und das Speichermanagement sogar vorbildlich, denn man kann jederzeit speichern, es gibt mehrere Speicherplätze und zudem eine automatische Speicherfunktion (falls jmd. das für die manuelle Speicherung nötige Item nicht findet, was man aber kaum übersehen kann.) Die Soundkulisse ist eher rudimentär, aber stimmig. Es gibt eine Schnellreisefunktion, um nerviges Backtracking zu vermeiden. Über die Story und den Charakter des Spiels wurde schon in anderen Rezensionen berichtet, das Spiel läuft gemächlich ab ohne stressige Kämpfe, hektische Fluchtszenen oder Kopfnussrätsel., also nichts für Actionfans, meinen Präferenzen kommt das aber sehr entgegen, Aufregung gibt es irl schon genug;) Die Spieldauer ist zwar sehr kurz, aber dass Spiel wird nie langweilig, da man herausfinden will, was es mit den geheimnisvollen Vorgängen in der walisischen Provinz auf sich hat. Also insgesamt ein gutes Spiel, nur die altbackene und eben nicht mehr zeitgemäße Grafik stört das positive Gesamt-Bild etwas (quasi wortwörtlich^^).

I was engaged with the game at the beginning, but it quickly goes downhill. The long radio conversation almost put me to sleep. But hey, a new tool, finally something interesting, I thought... new tool that allows you to mindlessly run around trying to catch some signals. And the reward? Each time, an unskippable meaningless flashback-dialog by random NPCs. Maybe I didn't play enough for the narrative to shape itself into something concrete, but there is no hook for me to wait for it.

I liked. Good one PS1 slowburner sci-fi horror with Silent Hill and Penumbra vibes. Cualitive indie project. Deep Story, creepy scenes. Great visuals and sound. Recomended.

Well I'ts a bit sad, that you cant give a neutral judgement, because I find it unfair to dislike it when its only 3 people making the game. Because it is a nice enough story, it looks good if you like retro games, and the chasing static mechanic was nice, but also not very developed or used to its full potential. I think it's cool that it was in Wales, even tho that was only mentioned once - sad, because it's cool to have different countries in horror games, that are not Murica. But it wasn't a horror game either. More like a creepy atmospheric walking simulator with a okay-ish paranormal story. Sadly the ending was quite lackluster, because it does the same thing many indie games do: Explaining the story in the outro video instead of showing the background story etc. in the game itself :/ that's always very lame. But still, its ok for what it is.

Hm ok....nicht wirklich was für mich.....Aber wer es mag ok.

Eh I don't think i'll dive into this one too much but it was a decent game. One day Valve will give us a neutral rating for these types of games. While the atmosphere and music set this game up for success, the actual gameplay leaves more to be desired. It's an alright walking sim that I would probably only get during some time of sale. Don't think you're missing much if you skip it but can easily knock it out in a session. 100 Backlog Games of 2025: 49/100

7/10