It’s not every day that you make friends with an alien that decides to place itself within your head and also provide an offensive and defensive tool to save the world. But surprise, that’s just what happens in ChainStaff, the latest – and perhaps greatest – effort from the team at Mommy’s Best Games.
With your planet under attack by the Star Spores, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Large and small creatures alike are invading your fantasy world, and it’s up to you and your new best friends to save the day.
The game is just creative all over the place. It looks and sounds like a rock album brought to life, with imagination filling every bit of the screen. And the gameplay is pretty great for the most part, as you can use the staff both as a weapon and a defensive tool. It does take some practice, and, I’ll be honest, there are some boss battles that will push you to your limit.
Once you accept those minor shortcomings, however, ChainStaff thrives with its run-and-gun goodness. Not to mention it has the coolest upgrade system on the planet with a bit of morality thrown in. Now that truly rocks.
Enter the ChainStaff
I dunno what wanted to make an alien nestle its way into your skull. But it’s there, and you’ve got a job to do when it comes to rescuing your planet from those nasty Star Spores. So begins your adventure in ChainStaff, one of the most engaging indie games I’ve come across this year. It’s just a great deal of fun, and filled with smart, inventive choices.
The game is generally a run-and-gun, as you fight your way through hordes of enemies before eventually coming across a challenging boss encounter. But the staff itself adds a nice new wrinkle to the formula. Not only can you use it as a deadly impaling weapon on larger foes, but you can also use it defensively. Launching it into the ground enables you to stop surfaces from closing or an enemy from squashing you. What’s more, you can utilize it to swing to higher areas, kind of like a whip.
It can be a bit challenging, especially with some boss enemies. They get in so many cheap hits that you often find yourself struggling to stay the course. A patch update would help balance this out, so the game wouldn’t be so infuriating.
Outside of that, however, the action is truly satisfying. I had a ball setting up defensive perimeters and nailing some creatures right in the head with the staff.
Not to mention the cool upgrade system. You’ll come across fallen soldiers over the course of the game. Now, you couldsave them out of the goodness of your heart. Orrrr you could eat their brains and heart and level up your abilities, even as your captain chews you out for doing so. The choice is yours, but the payoff is divine.
The game lasts a pretty good while for its $15 asking price, and, despite some difficulty hiccups, it’s worth its weight in gold. ChainStaff has a lot of great gameplay to offer, and run-and-gun fans will likely eat it up faster than soldier organs. (Don’t judge us, we hear they taste like chicken!)
ChainStaff Is Like a Rock Album Brought To Life
I do like how Mommy’s Best Games has stepped up with its visuals and sound this time around. Not that their previous games were bad by any means, but ChainStaff is a tremendous leap forward.
The visuals look like a rock cover album brought to life, with some Heavy Metal-style inspiration. The backgrounds are absolutely fascinating, and some of these boss designs are wild beyond belief. In the first stage alone, you’re taking on a mammoth beast and tasked with ripping it apart through its mouth. This ties in with the animation, which is a slight bit stiff but still looks great. Overall, it’s just a real looker, and a must for fantasy fans.
That, coupled in with the fantastic rock soundtrack (let me download it already!) and terrific sound effects, make the presentation something else. I hope Mommy’s Best Games stays the course for future games.
They Will Never Break the ChainStaff
ChainStaff is so close to being the stuff of legend. Had it included some better difficulty balancing and a few more creative weapons, it would easily carve its way into run-and-gun legacy. As it stands, however, it’s still very impressive. The presentation will wow you at every turn, and the gameplay is engaging and creative. And, again, upgrading never felt so good. And yet so bad on the morality? Oh, well, they would’ve wanted to go that way, riiiiiight?
Anyway, kudos to Mommy’s Best Games for making a quantum leap forward with ChainStaff. Hopefully we’ll see some follow-ups that truly explore this universe and open up its rockin’ potential. Throw up the horns.
GAMERHUB RATING: 4 (out of 5) JOYSTICKS
Thanks to Mommy’s Best Games for providing us with a review code! ChainStaff is available now for Steam/PC/Steam Deck, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch!
Need more epic action? Check out our review of Castlevania Dominus Collection!
