Saint of Chains

TheAwakening
2 days ago
3 min read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZlBqQp0pZQ

Overview

Saint of Chains is a survival horror, first-person shooter, following in the footsteps of Cry of Fear, where you must manage your weapons and reserves, fight against monsters, and solve puzzles in the darkness. You play as Ethan Hawkes, a journalist searching for his wife and daughter, when he stumbles upon a cult that is following his headlines in the hopes of awakening an ancient evil. Not a great story, but the game does scratch a small itch with its combat and the danger that something might be lurking in the corner.

Gameplay

Starting without nothing but a flashlight, you stumble across the dark hallways of the cult’s headquarters. The game prompts you to search for the exit. Some of the doors will be locked, and a key will be required as usual. Other passageways will require a puzzle to be solved, or in this case, find your first melee weapon (an iron pipe) to smash the wooden barricade. If you find the key, you must use it in your inventory while nearby the door.

Combat is fairly simple and straightforward. You stumble upon a monster who will attack you until one is dead. All the enemies in this game are not capable of the kitting tactic (hit and move backwards), as they move faster than you. Is either a melee weapon that deals a lot of damage or a gun with ammo. Melee weapons vary in strength, and you can have several weapons in your inventory, but it’s best to keep the old fire axe. We need stamina to run and attack with melee; don’t spend it all running through the level.

There are locations with medicine cabinets that will restore our health after some encounters. Management is still important, as you will find out your ammo reserves are limited, and your inventory has only six spaces to carry items and weapons. Moving from the first level, you will be in a series of apartments, with a couple of puzzles to solve. A computer might require a password, which can be found elsewhere. A safe will require three numbers to be found separately within the room. Some notes written by others can be saved into your journal, often the hints written inside.

As you advance further in the levels, a pistol will be found. Despite being a firearm, its damage falls the greater the distance is, and there is not bonus damage for scoring headshots. Guns have a limited ammo reserve. Ammo isn’t plentiful, but if you explore enough and are conservative, it can last longer and reach the cap. Healing is more limited than ammo. Once you reach a location with several areas to explore, a map can be found. It won't, however, mark down points of interest, only doors that are locked.

Boss fights are very straightforward and easy to deal with if you are careful with your rounds. They have patterns and openings that you must exploit in order to defeat them. Without spoiling much, it’s a combination of shooting and attacking with melee. The window is small; however, any mistakes will be fatal. Progress will only be saved in checkpoints manually. Don’t worry about getting softlocked; you can load previous saves (or just micromanage your health and ammo).

Audio & Graphics

As the game runs in low retro graphics in a modern engine, it runs very well, and it gives a unique look. HUD is minimalistic; only a health and stamina bar are visible, as aswell as the ammo count for the current firearm. The way the character’s arms sway with the gun does not match the model in cutscenes, however, which is a bit odd. Music and ambience are okay, but since it is a survival horror, you won't hear a lot, and when you do, it fits with the scene/current boss fight.