Title: Total Chaos (demo)
Developer: Trigger Happy Interactive
Publisher: Apogee Entertainment
Release Date: February 24th
Platforms: Steam
Reviewed On: Steam

From up-and-coming indie studio Trigger Happy Interactive, comes a game that holds a deep story. True Chaos was the name of a survival-horror mod of Doom II that rose in popularity within the community as other mods for the Doom game, such as MyHouse.WAD, reached a spotlight among a general audience.

Around seven years ago, the creator of the Total Chaos mod released a standalone version that didn’t require a copy of Doom II to run. This was titled as Total Chaos: Director’s Cut. Now, after all these years, an official Steam release of the game has been announced, and I have been lucky enough to play the demo.

Analysis

Total Chaos is a remake of the Doom II mod that shares the same name. What Trigger Happy Interactive did to polish this game for the Steam release is nothing short of impressive. The original Total Chaos garnered popularity due to the impressive graphical feats it reached while running on an almost 30-year-old game. With the remake, it felt like Trigger Happy wanted to push that standard the mod held even further.

Total Chaos is an absolutely stunning game. From the dim and lifeless lighting to detailed renders of abandoned structures, you are quickly placed in an environment that quite never makes you feel comfortable.

Sound design also played a vital role in keeping me on the edge of my seat throughout my playthrough. The eerie rings and far away noises give a sense of alarm and uncertainty of what’s to come next, going as far as making even the safe rooms feel ominous. Total Chaos proves my idea that a horror game that succeeds in sound design, can succeed in keeping a player engaged.

The gameplay loop in Total Chaos is an interesting take on the survival horror genre. With elements of the games combat having traces of its movement shooter origins, the team behind the game was able to implement a crafting system as well as other survival mechanics without overwhelming the player.

Hunger, Bleed, Health, and finally, Madness, are the status effects of your character you need to keep track of. With consumables ready to pick up from enemies as loot or stashed away in a rotting crate, the game emphasizes leaving no rock unturned. However, with some set pieces feeling lackluster, I always felt like I was going into the next area a little underprepared.

Claustrophobic halls with cramped rooms don’t seem to be a problem either as areas are mapped intentionally to not only continue to thicken the tense environment but direct the player to a bit on-the-nose environmental story-telling.

Final Score

Building on the original mod’s legacy, the Total Chaos remake improves gameplay and ambiance while showing-off its graphical achievements. I personally was kept on edge by the game’s immersive design choices, which was only amplified by the eerie sound design.

With adding mechanics of survival games onto a movement shooter, aspects of crafting and item value not being explained better led to some confusion with the game. With that in mind, Total Chaos did an impressive job at keeping me stressed and alert. If that sounds like your cup of tea than I can confidently recommend Total Chaos to any fan of the survival horror genre.

Are you looking forward to the full release of Total Chaos? Let us know in the comments or on the Boss Rush Discord!

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Featured Image Credit: Apogee Entertainment