Clash: Artifacts of Chaos born of a mix between the adventure genre and the soulslike genre. With interesting ideas and an original universe with very nice graphics, you’ll see if this indie from The CAE team there Nacon succeed in executing these ideas well.
But first, I’ll give a brief summary of the story: we control Pseudomartial arts master who lives recluse in Zenozoic. Suddenly, he finds the “boy”, a creature with strange powers resembling some kind of bird. From there, our protagonist decides to protect him, as they seek him out for those same powers.
That said and without further ado, I begin to dissect this title point by point.
Beautiful graphics and art style, but inconsistent performance
As for the artistic style, the studio opts for a modern cel shading style. Although the distant landscapes are not as detailed, the world is incredibly beautiful.
We visit caves, farms, mountains, coasts… nature prevails as you can see, but there are also castles and other interiors. This, yes, the level design is very labyrinthine and there’s no map, or anything to tell us where to go.
The monsters that plague these lands range from giant boars, pterodactyls, or carnivorous plants to fearsome ogres or an anteater-headed gorilla.
Now well, Too bad that these well-worked sections are weighed down by a rather poor optimization (at least in the S series). The game does not exceed 30 fps, but it is also not able to reach them if the slightest action occurs.
Fun and soulslike combat system for 1v1
The combat system is not very deep, but it has some curious mechanics. We have several different positions available to us, with boxing being the “norm”. It’s important to try them all out as you unlock them to find out which one you’re most comfortable with.
As in any similar soul, there is the basic attack and the fort. The basis will depend on our position. The fort uses the skills we have equipped, such as kicks, air punches, etc. learned through totems scattered around the map, where we will have to compete and win.
However, I single out 1v1 combat because when you fight more than one at a time, it gets artificially complicated. The fixation is somewhat strange and uncomfortable, and the camera plays crazy tricks on us.
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos has combos and a 1st person mode
It is essential to learn to strike after dodging at the same time. If we want to dominate in every fight, a simple dodge is not enough. It is recommended to automatically combine it with a light attack.
It’s not that there is a wide variety of combos, but thanks to this mechanic we have a little more dynamism which feels good. And to survive, you have to know how to do it correctly, it’s not very easy at first.
And speaking of variety, we even have a 1st person mode. It activates after filling its corresponding bar by having hit our victims enough. In this mode we have a time to do as much damage as possible, ending with a special, colorful auction for each creature.
Some touches in the purest style of the RPG genre
In Clash: Artifacts of Chaos there are certain colorings always present in any RPG title. As the level up and use different weapons and armor with their own stats, which can be purchased from merchants offering resources and items. However, while the darkness lasts, we can only get them if we find them and loot them.
Upgrading gives us 3 skill points that we can spend to increase damage or resistance, among other things. Obviously, everyone is free to spend them where they want according to their way of facing the dangers.
On the other hand, melee weapons are very varied and each of them is used for various situations. However, Personally, I found them of little use due to their slowness and lack of combos.
Opposite, clothes and armor are quite useful. They not only increase the character’s defense, but also grant different boons and resistances to the elements.
Day, night and death play a fundamental role in Clash: Artifacts of Chaos
Pseudo It changes shape depending on the time of day. During the night, he transforms into a rocky being, allowing him to traverse areas that his normal form is not capable of.
He also changes when he dies, having to fetch his corpse to return to normal. Or we can do it our way as long as we are going to sleep in a tent. If we die transformed, the game is over.
Tents serve as bonfires typical of the saga souls, you might say. This is where progress is saved, we level up and brew our healing potion. If a concoction of ingredients obtained by looting is poured over it, its effects are heightened.
During the night, the number of enemies also increases or decreases depending on the area and new ones appear on the road. These new monsters can sometimes open up areas previously inaccessible to their normal form.
The Ritual: a board game that offers something different
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos has a curious and original dice gamecalled: “Ritual“. To play a game, we have to challenge certain enemies from time to time. They can refuse the challenge, and in that case they would collide directly with our fists.
What is this mini-game about? Very simple: from get the highest number in the tally of the 3 dice rolled. What makes it less straightforward is the use of gadgets and the belt.
In the belt we can keep seals to use them strategically and increase or reduce the value of our dice and those of the opponent. Artifacts are advantages activated at the start of the game for our benefit or to annoy the opponent.
Overall, is Clash: Artifacts of Chaos a good game?
With everything you’ve read, Is this or is it not a good proposal? Clash: Artifacts of Chaos? Certainly, is in a midpoint. While it has some cool ideas and mechanics, some aren’t executed well enough and some are wasted due to other issues. Besides, the high introductory price does it a disservice…
Most of the time I was totally confused trying to figure out where to go. The fps drops make it a bit boring to watch (hopefully this will be fixed through a future update). And 1v1 battles are fun, although they’re usually against multiple enemies.
The most remarkable thing is the art style, graphics and combat system. The music is also at a competent level, but for much of the ride we’ll be in silence listening only to the basic sound effects of our punches and footsteps. Almost everything else needs to be improved in a hypothetical second part.
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is available for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4 and PC. You can read more analysis and news from the world of video games here at Xbox area.
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos
39.99
Pro.
- good combat system
- very nice graphics
- interesting mechanics
- Definitely original character and worldview
Contra.
- Fairly labyrinthine level design, with no sort of map or guide showing where to go or what to do
- Fighting more than one enemy at a time is frustrating.
- Weapons end up being of little use in my experience
- Very poor optimization on the S-series
- Fairly high introductory price
I’ve been playing video games for as long as I can remember, so you could say I like talking about it.
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