Saint of Chains

This is a very "bare bones" version of a modern RE, but with more Silent Hill vibes. The retro feel is a nice touch, and helps to make this game feel intentionally basic, as games did back then. The game isn't too scary. Some basic jump scares here and there, and an overall creepy atmosphere. There isn't much for puzzles, as the linear nature usually means you'll find the key or item you need fairly easily. There is no checkpoint system, so save every chance you get. My biggest gripe with this game is the combat. With melee, there is no dodge or block mechanic. Meaning, it's usually just taking turns tagging each other 3 times and the enemy is dead, with you missing a minor chunk of health. Changing the RMB (or LT on a controller) to a block would do much for the combat. With firearms, ammo is adequate, but it still relies on hitting the standard enemy three times to eliminate. (First Boss talk) The first boss fight requires you to just be as fast as possible in your attacks (expending ammo first) so you're not the first eliminated, because again, there is no way to avoid an attack. Even using a giant pillar for protection doesn't work as the boss clips right through. Since there is a demo and the price matches the software, I do think I overall have to recommend this game. This is a creepy, entertaining experience overall. If the devs could either add tapping shift to dodge, or better yet, add the block mechanic, I would enjoy this game much more. But for now, I think I have to add this one to the backlog.

The dev came by to my stream to watch me fight. It was a good fight. I like the game btw.

I thought maybe I was finally broken - none of the horror games I played in Spooptober really got me scared. Then I played Saint of Chains this week, and good lord, so many screams. I may have cursed the dev, the world, and life a few times as my soul left my body. Story-wise, this game is... wild. Our MC is for sure dealing with the consequences of his own hubris, and it had some good twists that kept me guessing near the end. In terms of the gameplay itself, I died multiple times, especially in the boss battles, but it never got to the point that I was uber frustrated. Mostly just had to figure out the pattern, and do it a few times to get it down, though man, I'd have killed for a dodge button! And maybe like twice as much ammo (LOL) because for sure, you will need to balance stopping power with saving it for the big bosses. I absolutely loved the museum-like display at the end that explained the various metaphors for the enemies - as someone who struggles with those, it was super helpful! As for flaws, there were one or two places where the game lagged slightly while I was streaming, but it wasn't hideous. There is one bit of plot that isn't clearly explained, namely ||how Ethan got possessed in the first place... was it the Cult or just his grief?||. The idea of the evil Cult may be a common thing in horror games, but I do feel this one did a new spin on it, and really, it's a trope because it works and is believable. Highly recommend and look forward to seeing the dev's future games!

I usually don’t play horror games or puzzle games, but this one completely got me. The retro visuals instantly pulled me in — that grainy PS1-style look mixed with all the weird demonology stuff and creepy atmosphere just had so much personality. It feels like one of those old games you randomly discover at 2AM and end up thinking about for days. The puzzles were actually really satisfying without feeling annoying, and the story surprised me way more than I expected. It starts off cheesy in the most generic way, then slowly gets more unsettling and mysterious the deeper you go. The whole vibe is just nailed perfectly. Even as someone outside the genre, I couldn’t stop playing because I wanted to see what insane thing the game would throw at me next. Definitely one of those indie games that sticks with you.

Saint of Chains is a solid retro Horror FPS, the grimy aesthetic and overall atmosphere is intense. It definitely delivers the spooky vibes, made me jump one or twice. It does however pretty much throw every cliché in the book at you out the gate. Also takes itself a little too seriously, tries too hard for that surreal, dream-like Silent Hill thing. Visually it's a very ugly game, but in a good way, this more often than not works in its favor, albeit sometimes is just straight up an eyesore, it's crusty and there's something off about the lighting and shadows they look unfinished. Mostly though it works well for a horror game. The melee combat is overly basic, enemies all just run at you and there's no way to block or stagger anything so you kinda eat everything to the face, feels awkward. Luckily there's a lot of healing items... maybe too many but the ammo balance is spot on. The shooting elements feel meaty enough I like the shotgun. The monsters in this game are hideous they nailed the creature design, and it's really cool after you finish the game you unlock a museum where you can check out the models and backstory of each one, great detail. It's fun exploring all the twisted environments yet the game is just far too linear, needs more incentive. The story also is uninteresting and ends abruptly, was nice to see some cut scenes though don't get that much with smaller indies, so I appreciate the effort. Puzzles and boss fights arn't bad I enjoyed them for the most part. I also liked the safe room music and easter eggs. The game runs well and supports Ultrawide, no bugs or crashing ect. This is a good one if you liked Cry of Fear or Lost in Vivo, Remorse: the List ect. It lacks creativity in the story department and honestly the execution is somewhat sloppy, but it's pretty scary and has amazing creature design. I had fun with it. 7.8/10

10/10 ambience, tons of scares, and runs very smoothly (didn't even find any bugs and i normally come across one or two). highly suggest checking it out if you're a fan of survival horror at all.

Story? Good. Atmosphere? Good. 2000's horror game inspired by Cry of Fear/Silent Hill? Well Done. However... The gameplay was a bit frustrating and I disliked the boss mechanics. They were too frustrating for me personally. So much so I almost quit the game entirely. The ending was also very lackluster. I'm glad to be finished with it.

♥♥♥♥ este juego en mi lista de deseados porque se veía muy bueno, pagué 5 dólares en descuento cuando salió y cuando lo jugué resulto no sólo ser feo sino encima aburrido y no le encuentro un atractivo principal aparte de la estética, la cual está mal lograda. lo jugué con mis amigos y no había uno sólo que lo estuviera disfrutando. una verga tu juego

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!

I really enjoyed my time with this game. I legit had a few parts that scared me lol and whenever that happens im very happy. Dark atmosphere, a story that seems kinda generic at first (if you played as much survival horror as me) becomes something quite different as time goes on Combat is run of the mill horror game stuff, although i would love a dodge or block to give a variation to the combat Enemy Design is awesome, but im a big fan of this style of horror game so really depends on the player Only complaint was i had a few bugs where i need to reload my save like once or twice but nothing too crazy, that happens in ALL games at this point so as long as it aint game breaking thats fine with me All in All, great little horror game that really scratches that silent hill / lost in vivo itch that we all get from time to time. Would Reccomend if you havent tried it yet 4/5