"Space Engine" by K-putt is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Chorus, released 2021, Developed by Deep Silver Fishlabs, available on PC, Playstation, and Xbox.
I hit the afterburner just as my starfighter zips past the final structural column inside the capital ship. I pick up speed as the explosions begin to chase me, which is satisfying and daring, but there is a wing of enemy fighters approaching from 10 O’clock and a nasty elite fighter darting away for another pass at 3 O’Clock.
Dogfighting is about making lightning fast decisions against priority calls. I need to kill that elite fighter, because my chances of surviving another one of its combat passes are low. The elite fighter begins to turn, but I planned for this moment. I use a magical power to immediately teleport behind the elite fighter.
I’m cheating like a cyclist at this point but I feel zero remorse. I flip my weaponry to my ion cannons to burn down its shields. I toggle back to my main lasers and wreck its hull. The elite fighter explodes in a satisfying puff and I once again hit the afterburner to pick up speed. One down, an entire fleet still to go.
Chorus gave me all of these nasty tools and it would be a real shame to ignore their gifts. But, most surprisingly, it isn’t god mode, but something else. Immense power is a delight, but constraints are what make that power fun to use.
Chorus seeks to revolutionize the well-worn, and dog-tired genre of combat flight sims by introducing Challenging Cheating.
The Chorus Baseline: Before we dive into my argument, you first need to know what Chorus actually does to provide context for the rest of my argument.
This is a classic dogfighting game, not unlike TIE Fighter or Ace Combat or Crimson Skies. All of these games suffer slightly from the somewhat tiresome pattern of identifying enemy fighters, circling warily as you line up shots, and picking away until they explode. The explosion is always satisfying, but the flying in circles is dizzying at worst and tedious at best.
Chorus, brilliantly, lets you break these classic rules with a handful of powers. You are more or less a space witch, somewhat like a Jedi, but combined with an Evanescence album.
The powers include:
Teleport behind an enemy fighter. You hit a button and are suddenly at six o’clock on the chosen enemy fighter.
Drift (like Tokyo Drift) to navigate tight corners and shoot enemies coming at you from angles typically not amenable to a firing solution in other combat games.
You can accelerate to ram enemy fighters, causing them to explode at no harm to your ship.
You can take control of enemy fighters and sling them into each other.
The powers cost an energy resource to use, which recharges, so while their use is constrained, the game very much wants you to utilize them.
The result is a game that lets you prioritize targets, push the throttle, optimize weapon choices, and teleport, drift, and dart across the battle zone to eviscerate the enemy fleet. When it sings, it really sings.
The balance to these incredible powers is that they require thoughtful application and are difficult to execute. It isn’t a cocktail that most games desire, though I posit that many games would benefit from leaning into the fact they are video games. Let us examine a few games across this spectrum.
Cheating, minus the challenge: This is the worst option and hasn’t been fun since I was a child. For a time, I would play Starcraft using the “poweroverwhelming” cheat, which makes your soldiers immune to enemy damage. It is fun at first as you steamroll the AI, then it continues to please as it gives you the breathing room to, for example, cover every inch of your base with bunkers or build the exact assault force without constraint. There were times when I was more or less sighting artillery batteries.
But, the victory is hollow. Choices were not made and an opponent was not bested.
More recently, I’ve experienced this when I turn the difficulty to “Story” in games to bypass a difficult section. While I appreciate the ability to progress, often the step down from "Normal” removes all teeth and any tension.
Overwhelming force without a feeling of success is a very finite flavor. One must use this recipe sparingly and for carefully chosen guests.
Challenge, minus the cheating: I think this is Call of Duty. You use realistic ballistic rifles and a few grenades to move through a corridor filled with enemies. If you spend too long moving between cover, or take too long to eliminate an enemy, you take too much damage and are sent back a few seconds to a checkpoint.
This is a good formula and sells a lot of units, but I’d argue this is the recipe on which to add some pizzazz.
I think Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception fell into this trap. It was filled with difficult arenas overflowing with armored goons, rocket launcher wielding mercenaries, and never enough ammo. The franchise almost lost me, but thankfully, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, allowed Nathan to bring his acrobatic prowess to combat. From droll and serious to literally flipping joyful.
Start with the challenge, but before you progress too far along in development, ask how you can also add a garnish, perhaps citrus zest, in the form of well conceived cheating.
Cheating + Challenge Alternatives: Chorus is not the only game that makes you a god that can fail.
TitanFall 1 & 2 took the ramrod-straight, no-nonsense challenge of Call of Duty and added a heavy dose of cheating. I think they are two of the best first person shooters in the last decade as a result.
You can cheat by running along walls, double jumping, and sliding. You are no longer bound to the humanoid movement of “one foot in front of the other.” It’s a paradigm shift for tactics and verticality. You can cheat by summoning a mech (the Titan), which can eliminate infantry while still being highly vulnerable to attack. You can cheat by using special futuristic abilities, such as cloaking devices or guns that automatically target opponents.
And yet, it’s a balanced, rich multiplayer experience and a thrilling single player campaign. If everyone can cheat, is anybody cheating?
Dishonored 2 and Deathloop - both from Arkane Studios - are rooted in difficult, challenging combat simulations in which you have magical powers to teleport and disappear and throw things with your hand.
Finally, Mark of the Ninja Remastered from Klei Entertainment lets you move through the environment as a shadow, appear out of holes to silence guards, and nimbly scale walls and ceilings like a spider. It is not an easy game, but it is joyful. Every single action makes you look and feel cool.
Really, that might be the secret to Chorus and the rest of these games. They go 20% beyond normal (flying and using lasers) and let you do extraordinary things (teleporting and slinging literal spells). But, there is elasticity in the rest of the experience as it pushes and conforms to stretch along with you. The enemy fighters pack a punch and your ship can only take limited damage. You need to use your extraordinary powers constantly, and thoughtfully, to gain advantage. The reality is that you are still outnumbered. It is you versus an entire armada.
Perhaps it is not so much that you are cheating, but that the developer evened the odds. But, instead of sheer numbers, you’re given a much, much cooler hammer to swing. It is a qualitative fix instead of a quantitative one.
You better keep moving, firing, prioritizing, and being the best. The game makes you special, but also expects you to act as if you’re special. It’s a potent contract.
"SkateBoard" by TomenoNaoki is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
The One Cool Thing
I used to love how easy it was to string together absurd tricks in Tony Hawk Pro Skater. The magic of the game was that it had a high ceiling for expertise, but the floor was pretty low.
Chorus turns your starfighter into a skateboard, makes you good at skateboarding, gives you lasers, and tells you to dominate the skate park. That path to domination is filled with satisfaction, because every trick is both accessibly wrought and well-earned. It feels like Tony Hawk had a baby with Star Wars and as far as the dogfighting is concerned, it rules.
The developer added cheats, but they made the Cheating Challenging. The combination of those powers with an environment where the use of them isn’t thoughtless makes for a great experience.
Recommendation Disclaimer: This is not a review blog, but I tend to gush about aspects of games that I really love. Chorus has magical elements, but the overall package has some deficiencies that make it hard to recommend. If you find it on Game Pass or sale and are curious, go for it. But, I found myself more frustrated than delighted by the overall game experience.
Preview for Next Time
Schedule Note: My work schedule and my toddler (he is so cute) have made my original “two posts per month” schedule impossible to maintain. This blog is still active, I still care very much, but I want to formally recognize that this blog will be published irregularly.
Next time, I’m writing about Firewatch, which is available on all platforms for $20. The game takes about 4 hours to finish and it is very engaging, so if you haven’t played this one yet, I highly recommend it.
In the game, you play as a seasonal firewatcher at a national park in the wilderness. You are primarily walking around and exploring this park while engaging in dialog with a fellow firewatcher.
I also have quite a few bonus posts that have been gathering in my mind. Look for some of those as well.
Currently Playing
I just finished a pair of incredible, challenging, Metroidvania games: Hollow Knight and Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights.
Hollow Knight has a greater focus on platforming and is the superior of the two titles, whereas Ender Lilies clearly has a Souls inspiration and focuses more on its deliberate combat. Both are chock full of 2D side scrolling exploration, great combat, and are perfect Switch titles.
I recommend them both, though if you’re going to get one, get Hollow Knight. It’s a perfect game.
Recommendation
You can tell how long this post has been in draft form due to the date on this recommendation. I’m leaving it just so this thing gets out the door!
May 20 is National Quiche Lorraine Day, which means we need to discuss Overcooked: All You can Eat. This version of the frantic cooking // kitchen management game includes everything from Overcooked, Overcooked 2, and all bonus and DLC content. It is also the high-end remaster and is available on every platform.
If you haven’t played Overcooked, it supports up to 4 players in split screen or online. Each of you controls a chef in a frantic plate-spinning game of moving ingredients, prepping food, plating, serving, cleaning, putting out fires, and more. It is sheer, chaotic nonsense and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate National Quiche Lorraine Day.
Thank you for reading! If you liked what you read, please subscribe and share, but also, let me know what you think. See you next time.
Edited by Joshua Buergel