Saint of Chains

Very good horror game that doesn't always rely on jumpscares and keeps the tension high. I've played a lot of indie horror games in my life but this one definitely stands out.

I really wanted to like this game, as it right up my alley. But, there are too many things that rub me the wrong way. Though I will give some credit since the dev team is so small, I have a lot of appreciation for this team and what is to come in the future, as for Saint Of Chains, its not it First of all the combat. There is no block / dodge mechanic. You cant even kite enemies with melee range, the only option is to trade damage until you win, but, no worries there will be a health pick up after every enemy, removing any tension. A simple block + healing inventory item could have fixed this. The game design is strange too, locked doors with keys placed literally right next to them. And puzzles with the answer right in front of you. Bugs here and there but that is expected, except the safe room bug, that will soft lock you. (Devs may have fixed this already) Not to be harsh, but The story is very melodrama and reads like a 13 yo edgy diary for me, but i know some people could find enjoyment out of it. Being these devs first game i really tried looking past these design mistakes, but at times they were too bad to ignore. As the game went on though, level design / key + door formula did improve a little bit. But, i cannot support the glaring plagiarism. The first two bosses (especially the second) are obviously stolen from Cry Of Fear, not cool. I was thinking the games art direction was its saving grace, but, its really not so much. It is way too inspired from Silent Hill, Cry of Fear and Lost in Vivo and comes off as a watered down version of art design that already exists. I just don't like that this game copied its inspirations like Cry of fear (Which is 100% FREE BTW) and is asking for money. Its kind of unfair. I recommend just playing CoF or Lost in Vivo. I am looking forward to seeing how this Dev team will grow and what they will make next, as much as i wanted to like this game i really just couldnt, inspirations are great dont get me wrong, but when you are just copying something that already exists and adding nothing of value it seems pointless. 3.5 / 10

Many games claim to have the special something that made "silent hill" so great. Many games have left me rolling my eyes when it just didnt understand what made those games so special. I feel like for the first time this game nails the feeling of burden.. the feelings of loss. The weight of all your decisions that the likes of silent hill place on their characters and players of the franchise. Props to mystivedev for making a great game that I think people should be talking alot more about. Definetly show some support

Saint of Chains is a passionate construction of thrills and frights that I have been eager to play for MONTHS and it hasn't disappointed! The music/ambience is perfect, voicework is solid, environments are familiar to horror enthusiasts but varied, gameplay is very reminiscent of Cry of Fear, Condemned, and Silent Hill. I did run into a few small bugs, but as someone who religiously plays horror games I can't recommend Saint of Chains enough!

Genuinely an amazing indie horror game. Inspired heavily by Cry of Fear and Silent Hill. Set some crazy standards for story telling through notes and small cutscenes as a small indie game. The writing was amazing and the post game model viewer with text explaining the lore/representation of the monsters is also something I want to see more of in these types of games.

blocking update makes this game even more in the vein of condemned, very cool

Honestly one of the scariest games I've played this year, the sound design was great, the monsters where horrifying, and the dev's knew exactly where to place the jump scares as well as introduce new monsters to make you not get too relaxed and the story keeps you guessing the entire time with an insane ending, I highly recommend anyone who loves horror to play this game.

Saint of Chains wears it's inspiration almost too close to it's sleeve in that it's began merging with it: a paint palette where all the colours have crossed together resulting in a grey-ish brown sludge that struggles to exude any real surprise or uniqueness. I understand that sounds harsh cause don't get me wrong theres still a lot to like. It's plenty serviceable in game mechanics and minute to minute moments but it never really breaks away from a fairly standard repetitive loop for the genre. Environment aesthetics and sound design can be nice, some moments and levels have good atmosphere even if bog standard in setting but overall lack a slight manner of consistency that realistically when you get down to it theres nothing in this entire game that really stands it apart aside some pretty cool monster designs. It's plot is hard to really find interesting or captivating, it gets boring and repetitive quickly and it rips so many elements wholesale including entire bosses from other critically acclaimed horror games (some of which being free) that it makes you wonder why not just play those instead. I really wanted to like this one but unfortunately it just barely manages to actually capture the meat, just the bones, of what it's clearly trying to imitate whilst also huffing it's own farts in the process on the store page. I don't find advertising reliant on 'being retro and early 2000s' and 'we promise it has deep meaning and symbolism' to be all to captivating when it results in some very surface level stuff that you've probably seen a million times before.

Saints of Chains was a really memorable horror experience for me. I played the demo during Next Fest, so I already had an idea of what to expect, but the full game still exceeded my expectations. It feels like a love letter to old-school cult horror, especially if you’re into Silent Hill or Cry of Fear. It wears those inspirations proudly, and I loved that. I also had the developers tune in while I was streaming, sharing insight, teasing secrets, and cheering me on during boss fights. That made the experience feel even more special and honestly kind of surreal. The atmosphere is easily one of the game’s strongest parts. The apartment, sewers, office building, and other areas all had that grimy, unsettling feel I love in psychological horror. The cheesy dialogue also gave it that nostalgic old horror charm. I also really liked the Mind Map mode you unlock after finishing the game. It adds a lot of context to the characters, story, and monsters, and I honestly think more psychological horror games should have something like it. My only real complaint is the map. I wish it had labels or descriptions instead of just being a blank layout with lines. Other than that, this is a very solid horror game with a lot of heart. If you’re a fan of Silent Hill, Cry of Fear, or classic psychological horror, I highly recommend Saints of Chains. Full Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfhF_qd1vAE&t=17428s

Es fängt die dreckige PS2-Ästhetik perfekt ein und setzt auf echten, tiefen Psycho-Terror statt auf billige Jumpscares. Das Wichtigste auf einen Blick: Gnadenloses Gameplay: Extrem hoher psychologischer Druck. Munition ist unfassbar knapp und die Bosskämpfe schlagen ein wie ein LKW – jeder Sieg fühlt sich dafür unglaublich befriedigend an. Kryptische Rätsel & Atmosphäre: Die Traumlogik-Rätsel erfordern echtes Gehirnschmalz. Wichtig: Aktuell gibt es noch keine deutsche Übersetzung (nur Englisch)! Klassisches Speichersystem: Keine Autosaves, sondern feste Save Points. Wer vergisst zu speichern und stirbt, fängt von vorne an. Technisch top: Trotz Mini-Team läuft das Spiel absolut stabil – ich hatte in 7 Stunden keinen einzigen Bug oder Crash. Community-nahe Entwickler: Hier steckt echte Leidenschaft drin. Die Entwickler hören aktiv auf Feedback und verbessern das Spiel permanent. Kritikpunkte: Der Nahkampf kann sich manchmal etwas clunky anfühlen und das Spiel ist definitiv nichts für eine entspannte After-Work-Session. Fazit: Das Spiel hat etwas, das vielen modernen Titeln fehlt: Seele. Für diesen Preis bekommt ihr ein großartiges Hardcore-Survival-Erlebnis. Wer unsicher ist, testet einfach die kostenlose Demo auf Steam. Urteil: BUY!