Nara used to be a believer. One of the cultists. One of the Great Prophet’s most ardent followers and most lethal tools in bending the galaxy to his will. She isn’t anymore. Now she’s a fugitive that’s looking to inspire and lead a rebellion to dismantle the Circle’s vice-like grip of control.
Honestly, that’s pretty much all the narrative impetus that fans of space shooters will really need to dive into some high octane zero-g action, but there’s more to Chorus than that, with an intriguing tone to the galaxy that Fishlabs has created to set this game in and an ancient danger that seems to be encroaching onto this battle for control and freedom.
Speaking of control, Chorus is a fast and fluid game, thanks to the capabilities of Nara and her sentient ship Forsaken – or ‘Forsa’ as Nara calls it. This is one of the Circle’s most powerful warships, equipped with a trio of weapons – a gatling gun, lasers and rockets – that add a kind of rock, paper, scissors element to the moment to moment combat. That’s not what makes playing Chorus stand out, though, because that would be the way that Forsaken empowers you to freely move through space.
Don’t worry too much about the conservation of energy and momentum when flying around in space here. Forsa feels like it can stop on a dime before jetting off with a powerful boost of speed. The controls here have speed mapped to the y-axis of the left analogue stick, barrel rolling to the x-axis, while pointing and turning is on the right stick, immediately making it feel similar to playing a ground-pounding first-person shooter as chase after fast-moving enemy ships and try to land your shots.
Except it’s not a gravity-laden shooter and you can concern yourself with momentum if you want to. The ‘drift’ button detaches your thrust from the direction you’re pointing, letting Forsa carry on in a given direction while pivoting to follow a target or look around a tight upcoming corner, before switching back out of drift and bursting forward with another jolt of speed.
It takes a little while to get used to, but when it clicks, it’s a really powerful set of movement skills to use in combat, and one that also enables Fishlabs to create intricate contained gauntlets that you manoeuvre through at high speed.
Not nearly as powerful as Nara herself, though. She provides the more mystical abilities, drawing on the transdimensional powers, one of the first that she has in the game being Rite of the Hunt. This is a contextual ability that effectively teleports Nara and Forsaken to right behind an enemy ship you’re near, letting you blast them into smithereens from behind, or to jump into the inner part of a Circle cruiser to blow it up from the inside. Later abilities include telekinesis to throw space debris at enemies, or simply turn you into a deadly weapon.
Don’t expect to have an easy ride of it in a fight, though. You’ll be going up against dozens of other ships, constantly having to juggle your weapons and abilities to match the opponent, and dealing with objectives and obstacles along the way.
Fishlabs have made some interesting decisions in building the galaxy that you’re fighting over. Each region is intended to be visually interesting to explore, the level we got to play featuring a thick asteroid belt with a floating space city in one area, a space station to visit, a military base and more. While you can fly in any direction you like, there is a horizon to each area’s construction, and to the visual cues that the star-filled background provides, helping to centre you as you spin round and round in combat. You can reset to that orientation with a click of the right stick or simply by waiting a few seconds.
Each pocket of space features a jump gate that you use to open up neighbouring systems, and it’s the control of this gate that becomes the pivotal story point and objective in this early level. The missions weave from helping refugees escape and rendezvous with the resistance forces, to dismantling the build-up of a Circle base, and then enacting a plan that captures the jump gate for your movement.
While there might be some cutscenes that feature Nara outside of her ship, all of the gameplay and most of the interactions with others take place in space. You’ll meet up with fellow rebels in their ships and have a little chat before setting off on the next mission. Some decision points will present themselves to you along the way, such as whether or not to trust a pirate ship that promises to help you when both of your backs are up against the wall. Will that come back to bite you later in the mission?
What I really like about Chorus, though, is the atypical tone that the game has throughout. The way that Nara and Forsaken speak to one another, how Nara whispers to herself about turning her Circle training back onto the cultists she now fights against, and even the dark visions of the Faceless and the transdimensional threat they pose to the galaxy. It’s through visiting the Faceless temples that have grown of their own accord that Nara is able to gain new powers, these giving you tight and twisty gauntlets to overcome with Forsaken’s movement. There’s a twisted symbiosis between Nara and the Faceless that I’m keen to find out more about in the full game.
For fans of space shooters, there’s a lot to look forward to in Chorus. This isn’t a hard sci-fi simulation of space travel and combat, but a fast-paced arcade action romp that’s just as engaging with its unusual setting and visual design.
