Chaos Reborn

Last updated
Chaos Reborn
Chaos Reborn - Logo.png
Developer(s) Snapshot Games
Publisher(s) Snapshot Games
Director(s) Julian Gollop
Producer(s) Dimitar Dimitrov
Designer(s) Julian Gollop
Programmer(s) Stoiko Todorov
Artist(s) Svetoslav Petrov
Writer(s) Allen Stroud
Julian Gollop
Composer(s) George Strezov
Engine Unity
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows,
Linux, OS X
ReleaseOctober 26, 2015
Genre(s) Tactical role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Chaos Reborn is a turn-based tactical role-playing game developed by Snapshot Games and was part funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in April 2014. [1] Following an early access release in December 2014, the full game was released in October 2015. [2]

Contents

The game is a remake of Gollop's 1985 game Chaos: The Battle of Wizards . [3] [4] The remake includes a number of improvements over the original version including a role-playing meta game and the ability to buy equipment such as armour, staves, and talismans which give players a number of enhancements, such as extra spells and abilities. [5]

Gameplay

A Chaos Reborn multiplayer battle Chaos Reborn - Screenshot - Law Close-up.jpg
A Chaos Reborn multiplayer battle

The game features online and offline single player and multiplayer modes in the form of both player versus player and player versus environment experiences. [6]

Players take turns to manipulate units on a battle map with the objective of eliminating their rivals' most important unit, the wizard. If a player loses their wizard, they lose the match and all of their units are removed from the battle map. By casting spells the wizard can create new units, equip themselves with weapons, or directly attack another unit.

The single-player campaign and Realm Quest mode are a narrative game world map overlay linking together a series of battles culminating in a boss battle with the player(s) pitted against a wizard king unit and a wizard unit. The mode introduces both strategy game and role-playing game elements such as capturing infrastructure, sending units to a target, hiring mercenary units to accompany the wizard unit, and resolving story driven elements. [6] [7] [8]

Each match can involve the player controlling a number of creature units based upon mythical and real-life animals and supernatural beings. The player may start with these creature units by using mercenaries or villagers, or add creature units per turn by casting a spell to summon them. [9] Many of these creature units also have abilities to distinguish them from others in a more tangible way than merely by differing values such as attack rating. [10]

Duel Mode and Forge Crystals expansion

On 25 July 2016, Snapshot Games released version 1.10 adding the new features Duel Mode and Forge Crystals. [11] The Duel Mode of play created a single one-button click method of starting a battle against either a human or AI opponent, depending upon which was available. Winning unbroken Duels resulted in the player receiving escalating rewards in the form of Gold and Forge Crystals plus, once per day, a Talisman. The Forge Crystals could then be spent in the now unlocked to all players Equipment Forge allowing many for the first time to personalise their game character's appearance and create custom Bodygear and Staffs.

Chaos Reborn: Adventures

Mobile game developer Big Blue Bubble released a mobile port of Chaos Reborn entitled Chaos Reborn: Adventures in September 2018. [12] The game was praised by critics, receiving a gold rating by Pocket Gamer and a 5 star rating by Pocket Tactics. [13] [14]

Reception

The game was well received, and was given a score of 85/100 on review aggregation website Metacritic. [15] PC Gamer awarded it a score of 87% and called it the return of one of the gaming's oldest tactical classics. [17] It was subsequently nominated for a Golden Joystick Award in the 2015 Best Indie Game category, [18] losing out to Kerbal Space Program . [19]

Related Research Articles

<i>XCOM</i> Video game series

XCOM is a science fiction video game franchise featuring an elite international organization tasked with countering alien invasions of Earth. The series began with the strategy video game X-COM: UFO Defense created by Julian Gollop's Mythos Games and MicroProse in 1994. The original lineup by MicroProse included six published and at least two canceled games, as well as two novels. The X-COM series, in particular its original entry, achieved a sizable cult following and has influenced many other video games; including the creation of a number of clones, spiritual successors, and unofficial remakes.

<i>Master of Magic</i> 1994 video game

Master of Magic is a single-player, fantasy turn-based 4X strategy game in which the player plays as a wizard attempting to dominate two linked worlds. From a small settlement, the player manages resources, builds cities and armies, and researches spells, growing an empire and fighting the other wizards.

Several video games based on the Magic: The Gathering franchise exist for multiple systems. Some have attempted to translate the card game to electronic play nearly exactly; others have taken more liberties and drawn more from the setting than the actual rules of the card game. Benefits of successful video game versions of the card game include convenience, practice, and challenge. However, artificial intelligence for a game such as Magic is an extremely hard problem, and such software usually must be continuously updated to stay current with recently released card sets. Video game versions often expand on artwork, and may include unique cards that rely on randomness, effects which would be difficult or annoying to duplicate in real life.

Tactical role-playing games, also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as simulation RPGs, are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical strategy video games. The formats of tactical RPGs are much like traditional tabletop role-playing games and strategy games in appearance, pacing, and rule structure. Likewise, early tabletop role-playing games are descended from skirmish wargames such as Chainmail, which were primarily concerned with combat.

<i>Chaos: The Battle of Wizards</i> 1985 video game

Chaos: The Battle of Wizards is a turn-based tactics video game released for the ZX Spectrum in 1985. It was written by Julian Gollop and originally published by Games Workshop. Based on Gollop's 1982 design for a board game / card game hybrid, Chaos received a positive reception and went on to influence various games, including Darwinia and King's Bounty, and spawned a sequel, Lords of Chaos, in 1990.

<i>Lords of Chaos</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Lords of Chaos is a turn-based tactics tactical role-playing game published by Blade Software in 1990. It is the sequel to Chaos and an ancestor of the popular X-COM series of games, also written by Julian Gollop. In Lords of Chaos each player controls a wizard who can cast various magic spells. The spells have various effects, for example summoning other creatures, or damaging opposing creatures and wizards. The game can be played against a computer-controlled opponent or by up to four human players.

Julian Gollop is a British video game designer and producer specialising in strategy games, who has founded and led Mythos Games, Codo Technologies and Snapshot Games. He is known best as the "man who gave birth to the X-COM franchise."

<i>Rebelstar</i> 1984 video game

The Rebelstar games are a series of turn-based tactics video games designed by Julian Gollop. Rebelstar Raiders was published in 1984 by Red Shift for the ZX Spectrum. It was reworked in machine code as Rebelstar, published by Firebird in 1986. A sequel, Rebelstar II, was published in 1988 by Silverbird. Rebelstar, but not its sequel, was also adapted for the Amstrad CPC home computer.

<i>Etherlords</i> 2001 video game

Etherlords is a series of fantasy turn-based strategy and card-dueling video games for the PC, by Russian developer Nival Interactive. The first game was published November 15, 2001 by Ravensburger Interactive Media under their mature game label Fishtank Interactive. Prior to worldwide release it was released in Russia as Demiurges. It was followed two years later by a sequel, Etherlords II, which was published in Europe by DreamCatcher Interactive and in North America by Strategy First. A third game for the iOS and Android was released in 2014 titled Etherlords. It's a free-to-play game with automated battles.

<i>Sacrifice</i> (video game) 2000 real-time strategy video game

Sacrifice is a real-time strategy video game published by Interplay Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows platform. Developed by Shiny Entertainment, the game features elements of action and other genres. Players control wizards who fight each other with spells and summoned creatures. The game was ported to Mac OS 9.2 in 2001.

<i>Rebelstar: Tactical Command</i> 2005 video game

Rebelstar: Tactical Command is a turn-based tactics video game developed by Codo Technologies and published by Namco and Atari Europe for the Game Boy Advance in 2005. It's the fourth game in the Rebelstar series. The game was created by Julian Gollop, who previously designed X-COM: UFO Defense, Laser Squad and the original Rebelstar games.

<i>Warhammer: Mark of Chaos</i> 2006 video game

Warhammer: Mark of Chaos is a real-time tactics game set in the Warhammer universe. It was developed by Black Hole Entertainment and co-published by Namco Bandai Games in the US and Deep Silver in PAL territories. The game was released for Microsoft Windows in the US on November 14, 2006, with subsequent release in PAL territories on November 23, 2006.

<i>Magic: The Gathering</i> (1997 video game) 1997 virtual card game

Magic: The Gathering is a video game published by MicroProse in March 1997 based on the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. It is often referred to as Shandalar after the plane of Shandalar, where the game takes place. The player must travel the land and fight random enemies to gain cards, and defeat five wizards representing the five colors. The player must prevent one color from gaining too much power, and defeat the planeswalker Arzakon, who has a deck of all five colors. Adventure and role-playing elements are present, including inventory, gold, towns, dungeons, random battles, and character progression in the form of new abilities and a higher life point total. An oversized version of Aswan Jaguar was included in the game box.

<i>Magic and Mayhem</i> 1998 video game

Magic & Mayhem is a fantasy/mythology-themed real-time strategy game designed by Julian Gollop and developed by Mythos Games. It was published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment in late 1998, and by Bethesda soon after in 1999. Although the game received generally positive criticisms, it met a quiet public reception.

<i>Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012</i> 2011 virtual card game

Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 is a video game based on the popular collectible card game of the same name, published by Wizards of the Coast. It was released on June 15, 2011. The game is a follow-up to the highly popular Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers, which was released in 2009. An expansion for the game, called Ascend into Darkness, was released on September 14, 2011. The sequel, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013, was released in 2012.

<i>Magic Duels</i> 2015 video game

Magic Duels is a video game based on the popular collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. Magic Duels is a successor to Stainless Games' Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers and its annual sequels, released from 2009 through 2014. The free-to-play title was released on July 29, 2015, shortly following the physical release of the Magic Origins core set.

<i>Faeria</i> 2017 digital collectible card and turn-based strategy game

Faeria is a digital collectible card and turn-based strategy game that takes place on a dynamic playing board set in a fantasy universe. The game was developed and published by the independent Belgian game studio Abrakam, and released for desktop platforms in 2017, for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in August 2020 and for PlayStation 4 in November 2020. The game was well received by critics, holding a score of 80/100 on reviews aggregation website Metacritic.

<i>Phoenix Point</i> 2019 video game

Phoenix Point is a strategy video game featuring a turn-based tactics system that is developed by Bulgaria-based independent developer Snapshot Games. It was released on December 3, 2019, for macOS and Microsoft Windows, for Stadia on January 26, 2021, and Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on October 1, 2021. Phoenix Point is intended to be a spiritual successor to the X-COM series that had been originally created by Snapshot Games head Julian Gollop during the 1990s.

Snapshot Games is a Bulgarian video game developer headquartered in Sofia. Snapshot Games was founded in 2013 by Julian Gollop and David Kaye. Gollop is recognized for creating the X-COM video game franchise in the 1990s with X-COM: UFO Defense and X-COM: Apocalypse. Gollop also is the CEO of Snapshot Games. In addition to Gollop, the company includes about eight developers who are industry veterans with years of previous experience working for Ubisoft Sofia, Crytek Black Sea, and other Bulgaria studios.

<i>Maguss</i> 2018 video game

Maguss was a free-to-play location-based mobile MMORPG with a fantasy theme for iOS and Android. The game offered players a wizarding experience, allowing them to cast spells by drawing glyphs, collect ingredients, brew various potions, battle magical creatures, and duel other players for glory and treasure. The game's shutdown was announced in April 2020.

References

  1. Julian Gollop (2014-03-17). "Chaos Reborn - From the Creator of the Original X-COM". Kickstarter . Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  2. Alec Meer (2015-10-09). "X-COM Creator's Chaos Reborn Is Born This Month". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  3. "Chaos Reborn gets photo-finish funding and multi-language translations". PC Gamer . 2014-04-17. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  4. Matulef, Jeffrey (2014-04-16). "XCOM creator Julian Gollop's Chaos Reborn succeeds its Kickstarter goal •". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  5. "Chaos Reborn on Steam". Store.steampowered.com. 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
  6. 1 2 "Chaos Reborn gets single-player campaign mode". PC Gamer. Future Plc. 28 December 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  7. Meer, Alec (8 July 2015). "Chaos Reborn: Singleplayer Campaign Impressions". Rock Paper Shotgun .
  8. "The growth of Chaos Reborn: X-Com's Julian Gollop on Early Access and defecting to the aliens". PCGamesN. Network N Ltd. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  9. Steighner, Mark (31 December 2015). "Review: Chaos Reborn". HardcoreGamer. Hardcore Gamer LLC. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  10. Gollop, Julian. "Chaos Reborn 1.6 - New Spells, New Tactics". Kickstarter. Snapshot Games. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  11. "New Competition for live games - DUEL!". Chaos Reborn. Snapshot Games. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  12. "Media and Press Releases – Big Blue Bubble". www.bigbluebubble.com. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  13. "Chaos Reborn: Adventures review - "The best turn-based strategy game for mobile?"". www.pocketgamer.com. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  14. "Review: Chaos Reborn: Adventures". Pocket Tactics. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  15. 1 2 "Chaos Reborn for PC Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  16. Cobbett, Richard (13 November 2015). "CHAOS REBORN REVIEW". PC Gamer . Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  17. Richard Cobbett (2015-11-13). "Chaos Reborn Review". PC Gamer . Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  18. "The Golden Joystick Awards 2015 – Voting Now Open". Geek Syndicate. Geek Syndicate. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  19. "Golden Joysticks 2015: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt wins five gaming awards". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2016.