The Chant is one of those games that sits on the border of whether to recommend or not and since Steam has a binary review system, I will give the game a positive review with the caveat that I would ONLY recommend this game on a deep sale and highly suggest playing the DLC (thankfully free) after the main game. The Chant's premise has promise as psychedelic/cosmic horror is a genre that is slightly underused in my opinion. Unfortunately, poorly thought out systems and lackluster storyline hold the game back from realizing this premise. It's difficult to separate what the game does well from the bad, because so often they are intertwined. Let me explain.

The Chant has a story and characters that could be diverse and interesting and at moments it is, but it doesn't spend enough time fleshing out these characters to make you care about them. There are 3 endings based on your highest stat and they are all abrupt and unsatisfying. This is only remedied by the free DLC that expands on what I suppose is the canon ending. Additionally, the voice acting can range anywhere from serviceable to stiff and emotionless. A surprising fact given the talent they brought in for roles making me question if this was an issue with direction.

Graphics and animation are also a mixed bag as there are moment where the game looks fairly pretty but others where it looks quite hideous for 2022 title. Animations share the same problem, though they are generally pretty good in thanks to the use of mo-cap. The facial animations are strange at times, however, with characters often staring at each other, mouth agape, as the other speaks.

The music and sound design are probably the only part of the game I can give complete appraisal for. Monsters sound quite menacing and the attacks and abilities have a weighty/satisfying sound to them, The music being a blend of psychedelic rock and dark synths perfectly fits the atmosphere they game is trying to set.

The Chant leans more heavily on action rather than horror with any scares being mostly cheap jump scares rather than genuine dread or terror. There are moments where a stalker enemy pursues the player while they are meant to resolve a roadblock preventing progress but it is so easily dispatched that it serves as even less of a threat than the normal enemies. Enemies consist of cultists and gloom entities found exclusively in either the real world or the gloom dimension respectively. They are surprisingly varied in their attacks though some of the enemy types are vastly underutilized.

Combat itself is probably the strongest part of the game, though it still has issues. You have 3 types of melee weapons, 3 types of thrown weapons, and 6 different spiritual abilities at your disposal that you earn over the course of the game. Weapons have durability and must be crafted as there are not enough found in the world itself to get you through the game. You additionally have 3 stats: Mind, Body, and Spirit that must be managed and are "leveled" by defeating certain enemies and through dialogue options. These function as your sanity, health, and ability power respectively. Prismatic crystals can be found throughout the game and are used to purchase perks assuming you have met the stat requirement to do so. The stat requirements are far too high for many of the more interesting perks, meaning you won't be unlocking them until the last 20% of the game and unless you save your points until that point, won't be upgrading them to their final tier.

Are you noticing an issue here? For a game that can be completed in around 5 to 6 hours if you take your time and speed ran in 2 hours, there are too many systems. The dialogue options and crafting system don't lead to any meaningful choices or difference in outcome. The perk system should have been design with the short game length in mind. Abilities are varied, but there's not a real clear use for a number of them and with the heavy focus on combat, there isn't much reason to use anything other than the overpowered swarm ability.

Boss fights are actually not bad for a horror game with different mechanics in each. Enemies are represented by a colored health bar based on which of the 3 stats they align with and using the correct weapons in dealing with them is key to not wasting weapon durability. Melee combat doesn't get that much more interesting beyond that, however, as you otherwise just spam light or heavy attacks while dodging out of enemy attacks. It's good enough that I didn't find myself bored of it by the end of the game, but I won't give it any further praise than that.

The Chant has quite a few problems, though despite that, I didn't hate my time with it and don't regret playing it. While this is not a review for the DLC, I will mention that it was the high point of my time with the game and really should have been a final chapter in the main story that satisfyingly ties up the plot while fleshing out the gloom. If these problems I've laid out don't sound like enough to offset what the game does decently, then give it a try next time it is on sale.

First part (the main story was somehow good). The second one which is the DLC is waste of time and boring.