Chains of Freedom PC Review
Summary: A relatively generic entry into the turn-based, tactical RPG genre, that doesn't do anything especially interesting, but doesn't do anything particularly wrong, either.
3.6
Unremarkable fun
I’ve been a fan of tactical, turn-based games ever since I first got my hands on Final Fantasy Tactics for the PS1 decades ago.
My love for the genre grew even further in 2012 with the reboot of the XCOM franchise by Firaxis Games, and since then I’ve tried to keep my eye on it, checking out interesting new games that fit the archetype whenever I can.
Chains of Freedom by Nordcurrent is one such game.
Set in an un-named, Eastern European dystopia ravaged by an unknown disease, Chains of Freedom follows an elite military squad as they try to uncover the origins of a conspiracy that threatens to engulf the nation. The story takes a sci-fi approach, with rogue scientists, mind control, and a dark and often oppressive atmosphere engulfing things. The story isn’t exceptional, but it does what it needs to do to get the characters where they need to be for each of the game’s many combat encounters.
Players guide their squad through the world, scavenging equipment and ammunition while trying to uncover what’s going on at any given moment.
These quiet, exploration-focused sections are occasionally interrupted with XCOM-style, tactical, turn-based combat encounters. Fans of the genre will be instantly familiar with the setup for these battles. Enemies and the players take turns moving their units around the area, taking cover behind whatever happens to be lying around, and taking shots at one another until one side has no one remaining.
Every action, be it moving, shooting, reloading, throwing a grenade, or using some kind of special ability uses AP when performed. When you’re out of AP for a character, they can no longer act, and when your entire team is done, the turn ends and it’s the go of the enemies. The strategic element comes from positioning your units in such a way that they have cover from enemy fire, drastically reducing the amount of damage that they take, and making sure that as many potential avenues for attack are covered.
Enemies can enter the battlefield from multiple different locations and often do so, meaning that it’s incredibly important to control the space well, so as not to be overwhelmed.
The challenge in the early game comes from the lack of resources available. Ammo especially is in short supply, which in turn means positioning in combat is far more important, as a missed shot or a wound that doesn’t inflict the maximum damage can swing the battle in the enemy’s favour.
With that said, I never found it to be a particularly difficult game, and while ammo isn’t exactly plentiful if you take time to search the area and don’t wildly fire at your foes from across the map, then it shouldn’t even be too much of an issue, at least on sensible difficulty levels. When the difficulty is cranked up, it becomes rather punishing, rather quickly.
Each of the areas in Chains of Freedom does a great job of showcasing the post-apocalyptic nation in which the game takes place.
Areas typically aren’t huge, but they’re crammed with detail and clutter, and it does a fantastic job of setting the scene. It isn’t what I’d consider to be high-fidelity by any means, but it’s a good-looking game, nonetheless. Lighting is done especially well in some areas, bathing scenes in a cool, neon glow from high-power torches and sci-fi equipment, or delicately illuminating everything from a nearby fire.
One area where I found the game to be a little lacking, is the voice acting. It’s fine, for the most part, it comes across as a bit stiff at times, though, with something a little off about the delivery. That said, it’s mostly fine and I got used to it quickly enough. Sound effects are mostly solid, guns are impactful, environmental sound sets the scene well and the music does what it needs to do.
In terms of performance, Chains of Freedom ran well in my experience. I didn’t have more than the occasional dip below 60fps, and even the few that I did have, I didn’t seem to be able to replicate consistently. This translates well to Steam Deck, with a solid performance on Valve’s handheld, albeit on lower settings. It also has full controller support, meaning it translated to the portable medium effortlessly.
Final Thoughts?
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Chains of Freedom. Some players may find the constant struggle for resources in the early game a detriment to the overall experience, but once I got wind of what it was trying to accomplish in this respect and adjusted, things started to pick up.
It isn’t the deepest, most complex, or narratively interesting game I’ve ever played, but as far as tactical, turn-based RPGs go, it isn’t bad.
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