Chains of Freedom – Demo Impressions

Chains of Freedom took me by surprise. I was expecting the usual mediocrity, being the cynic that I am, but it’s actually pretty damn good. The turn-based combat was enjoyable, and the story, while fairly linear in the demo, managed to grab me and pull me right in. At the end of the demo, I wanted to know more about this mutant infested Earth!

Asteroid of doom
An asteroid has managed to hit Earth, but if that sort of apocalyptic impact is not enough, the crystals that it carried started to infect humans and mutate them into horrible creatures. However, this story is not the typical wasteland story about survival, as out of the ashes, a new form of government formed, and managed to once again restore order. Here is where you come in. Your squad is on a mission to kill a dissident to the regime, when suddenly, the plane gets shot down over the contaminated barren wilds.

Luckily, most of your squad survived, but it has made the mission a few times harder now. Your squad must now traverse the unwelcome wasteland, where government agents aren’t seen as forces of good. In other words: prepare yourself, for you will have to contend with unhappy citizens and deadly mutants alike!

Cool stuff
The demo was fairly lengthy, and provided much in the form of the characters, world-building and the mission at hand. It did a good job at setting up the stakes, and in general, the premise has me pretty darn intrigued. There is truly something mysterious about these crystal shards, and the newly founded government you are working for. I really hope it will not be a case of switching sides midway through, though – the faction you are working for are the true bad guys – because that trope has been done to death. I have a feeling that it isn’t so, considering how the narration is presented in the beginning intro – but you never know.

Xcom combat
The combat is turn-based in the style of nuXcom, meaning shooting, and cover are abstracted, instead of being simulated. This worked fine in-game, and I found the skirmishing very entertaining. The different skills seem well-thought-out, with damage being high and deadly. At first, I got a little upset that I couldn’t use overwatch, seeing as I love luring enemies into deadly traps. But later on I found a crossbow and that weapon had the overwatch function. So, this skill seems restricted to high-damage sniper-like weapons. Just fine by me, I’m just glad it’s in, in one form or another! 

I also appreciated that hand-to-hand seems to be a viable approach, depending on what weapons you have equipped in your primary and secondary slot. I kept my squad leader equipped with a knife, even when I found more long range weapons, since I found his slicing and dicing brutal enough. And it saves ammo!

There is crafting involved also – to make ammunition, grenades and health-kits. Which makes me think scavenging the wasteland will be a gameplay mechanic you can’t afford to neglect. It fits the theme, so I’m all for it. One thing I found curious, from a narrative viewpoint also, is that you can find crystals that enhance your stats or gifts you new abilities when you equip them. It makes me wonder if they are going for some kind of Stalker approach when it comes to rare alien artifacts. Going by the in-game dialogue, there seems to be an indication of it being so. Most fascinating.

The mutant look
The visuals were great, going for a more gritty realistic feel, instead of for the typical more friendly, cartoon:y approach. However, they are comic strips between events for narration, but they also feel “mature”. It sets the tone, and it’s dark! And not to forget, the kills come with satisfying ragdoll effects too! All in all, Chains of Freedom surprised me in the most positive way. Fun gameplay, with an interesting sci-fi story filled with mutants, and what not – what more can a man wish for? This is certainly something to look forward to!

Thanks for reading.

/Thomas

Addendum: 2025-02-23
It has come to my attention, through a post on the Codex (thanks Nortar) that I made some mistakes. While the combat plays out similar to nuXcom, it’s actually a bit more involved. Since it uses action-points, instead of a simplified two-action system. I should have noticed, but I guess I was too blinded by what I saw when I played. However, the combat itself is still abstracted in the way the cover gives a percent change dodge instead of relying on vision.

The second thing: Overwatch is not tied to weapon, it’s part of Corban’s skill setup, like the others have the melee knockout and a grappling-hook. If I only had tried a different weapon on Corban! Thanks again Nortar!