Reviews - PCF13

im going to agent all over the place

Very strong aesthetic combined with really finicky gameplay. Good effort from all involved but needs a lot more polish

Genuinely extremely exciting even as just a one-chapter demo. I can't wait for more.

I really wanted to like Total Chaos, considering the glowing reviews from ModDB users and the extensive press coverage. Let's start with the positive things. The game is beautiful. Wadaholic did an incredible job setting the tone, and from a graphical standpoint, it's really impressive what they could do on the antiquated iD Tech 1 technology. Granted, they also worked with GZDOOM, but it's great nonetheless. However, that also leads into my first issue. The mod is poorly optimized. Everytime a new object was loaded into the game, it would stutter for a second. It feels like iD Tech 1 is screaming with agony while rendering this mod. My second complaint is that the game, being a survival horror/first-person shooter hybrid, you'd expect it to be scary. However, it isn't in the slightest. Now I understand that what scares you is subjective, but the setup is terrible. Oh, spooky zombie chases me through a corridor while I flip a bunch of switches. Not fun. Not to mention, the monster design is very uninspired and lazy. I'm not expecting AAA level stuff from an indie developer, but Total Chaos really disappointed me. I would not recommend it to DOOM fans or fans of horror in general.

Literally the best game of 2016

Just an "xD randem" mod. Yes, it sucks.

This mod is an incredible tribute to both DOOM and Deus Ex. Not only does it look great, the level design is pretty alright too!

Overall, it's alright. It's hard to criticize a fan-made modification that was not only made out of love for the franchise it's based on but was also released entirely for free. Visuals are Alchemilla's strong suit, and it looks gorgeous. It looks like if Konami decided to make a new, official Silent Hill game for the Source engine and clearly this is where most of the time and budget went. The sound design is great too and really makes the player feel uneasy. The mod's main premise revolves around you running around and solving puzzles, with no combat or enemies to speak of. That's the main problem with Alchemilla though, is the lack of any real scares. The mod makes me uneasy, but it never goes beyond that. Since there is little to no threat of death, I never felt properly scared. The mod tries its hardest, using audio cues and such, but that cannot replace a real sense of danger and becomes old fast. The puzzles themselves are fine, but they're implemented pretty clumsily. There is no map system, no memo system, and no inventory system. As a result, it's really easy to just forget what items you currently have and where they can be used, and the lack of a map makes navigation stupidly difficult at points, especially in the otherworld. This can make otherwise fine puzzles feel overlong and tedious, which is a shame since that's all of them.

Alchemilla's story is also told pretty clumsily. The protagonist, predictably, has a tragic past that isn't how he remembers it. It's set up throughout the story but due to being the only person in the mod, it's hard for it to be developed outside of a poorly written inner monologue. The protagonist's voice actor is also trying way too hard to be mentally ****** up and you can tell instantly that he has secrets to hide. It's just not a very involving narrative and I'm probably going to forget it pretty quickly.

Overall, if you're a Silent Hill fan, you should check this out warts and all. It's worth it for the presentation alone and it's only about 2 hours long. However, if you haven't played a Silent Hill game before, this will do nothing for you.