Every so often, you stumble across a game that immediately reminds you of another classic. For me, that was Chasm. The moment I learned this indie adventure drew heavy inspiration from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and the metroidvanias that followed in its footsteps, it instantly landed on my "must play" list. That's a dangerous comparison to make, though. While I'm not a head-over-heels fan of metroidvanias as some returning readers might know, Symphony of the Night is one of my favorite games in the genre. That's some big shoes to fill.
Then I discovered Chasm's biggest selling point. Every new adventure generates a different version of the game's world. The overall journey remains the same, but the rooms and layout change with each playthrough, promising an adventure that's a little different every time you descend into the depths. On paper, that's a fantastic idea. The thought of a metroidvania with nearly endless replay value was enough to convince me to pack my PlayStation Vita for our family vacation a few years back
/and finally see what all the excitement was about. Over the course of more than twenty hours, and eventually three complete playthroughs, I found a game that isn't perfect, but one that kept pulling me back underground for "just one more room."
A Knight's First Assignment
The story in Chasm isn't trying to reinvent fantasy or anything, but it's perfect for what's on offer. You begin as an aspiring Guildean Knight eager to prove yourself worthy of joining the kingdom's elite defenders. Your first assignment seems straightforward enough: travel to the mining town of Karthas and investigate reports of a mysterious beast that's halted mining operations. It sounds like a routine mission... right up until you arrive.
Instead of a town dealing with one troublesome monster, you discover a community that's been devastated. During the night, creatures poured out of the mines, kidnapped most of the townsfolk, and left the survivors desperate for help. Before long, your mission shifts from pest control to a full-scale rescue operation as you descend deeper beneath the surface in search of answers, and whatever darkness is responsible for the chaos.
It's a simple setup, but one that gives you all the motivation you need. Rescue the missing villagers. Defeat the monsters. Discover what's lurking below. The story rarely steals the spotlight from the gameplay, but it does enough to keep your adventure moving forward without ever overstaying its welcome.
Beauty Beneath the Surface
One of Chasm's greatest strengths is its presentation. The pixel art is gorgeous, bringing the underground world to life with detailed environments, expressive enemy designs, and smooth animation. While much of the adventure takes place beneath the surface, each new biome has enough personality to make exploring feel rewarding, whether you're navigating abandoned mines, eerie catacombs, or sprawling castle halls.
The enemy design deserves special recognition. Every creature has distinct attack patterns movements and death animations, making combat feel more deliberate than simply swinging your sword until everything falls over. Before long, I found myself just as excited to discover what new monsters waited around the next corner as I was to uncover new equipment.
The only drawback is one that's common to the genre itself. As you spend more time in each area, rooms can begin to blur together, especially when backtracking after unlocking new abilities. Thankfully, the strong art direction and satisfying animation keep Chasm looking sharp from beginning to end.
The Heart of the Adventure
At its core, Chasm delivers exactly what you'd expect from a metroidvania. As you explore its sprawling underground world, you'll uncover new abilities that open previously inaccessible paths, rescue the missing townsfolk of Karthas, and slowly grow stronger through better equipment and RPG-style progression. It's a familiar gameplay loop, but one that's satisfying from beginning to end.
The game's biggest hook is its procedurally assembled world. Every new adventure rearranges pre-built rooms into a different layout, giving each playthrough its own identity. It's a neat idea, and I appreciated seeing a different map each time I started over. That said, the randomization only goes so far. Bosses, abilities, and overall progression remain largely the same, and I occasionally ran into repeated room layouts that made the handcrafted illusion disappear. It's a fun feature, but not quite the game-changing mechanic I hoped it would be.
Combat, on the other hand, rarely disappointed. Whether I was experimenting with different weapon types, pushing to rescue another captured member of the town to unlock new shops and upgrades, or learning the attack patterns of another new enemy, Chasm always gave me a reason to keep pushing deeper. The platforming can become surprisingly demanding later in the adventure, but it never crossed the line from challenging to frustrating.
Perhaps the biggest compliment I can give Chasm is that one playthrough wasn't enough. I immediately started a second run on a higher difficulty and eventually completed a third while earning the Platinum Trophy. By then I'd seen everything the game had to offer, but the fact that I kept coming back says more than any feature list ever could.
One Last Descent
By the time the credits rolled, I walked away from Chasm feeling like the developers understood exactly what makes metroidvanias so enjoyable. Chasm may not reinvent the genre, but it doesn't have to. Tight combat, rewarding exploration, satisfying RPG progression, and beautiful pixel art come together to create an adventure that's consistently fun from beginning to end.
The procedurally generated map is an interesting experiment that doesn't quite live up to its lofty promise, but it adds just enough variety to make repeat playthroughs worthwhile. More importantly, Chasm nails the fundamentals. Every new ability encourages further exploration, every rescued villager makes the world feel a little more alive, and every level gained leaves you feeling noticeably stronger than when you first set foot in Karthas. That's a satisfying sense of progression, and it's what kept me coming back long after my first playthrough.
If you're expecting the next Symphony of the Night, you may come away a little disappointed. But if you're looking for a well-crafted metroidvania that confidently builds on the classics while adding a few ideas of its own, Chasm is absolutely worth your time. It may not change the genre, but it's a journey I'm glad I took, and one I'd happily recommend to anyone looking for their next adventure.
Continue the Expedition!
If you'd like to see Chasm in action and hear more of my thoughts, be sure to check out my full video review on YouTube. I dive deeper into the game's mechanics, showcase plenty of gameplay, and share even more from my journey through the depths.
Chasm - The Best Metroidvania You Haven't Played
Whether it's metroidvanias, action adventure games or just good games in general that you love, Chasm is an indie gem I discovered in the gaming wildlands that I think you need to see. It may not be perfect, but I'll bet it'll scratch an itch you didn't know you had. Let's check it out together in m...
"The Keep" from Chasm (2018, Bit Kid) Downloaded via KHInsider. All rights belong to Bit Kid.