Julian "Mr X-COM" Gollop's Chaos Reborn Is Out Now
I don't disbelieve it
Just a PSA, as we already mentioned this a few weeks before it happened: Chaos Reborn [official site], the successfully Kickstarted remake of/sequel to classic Spectrum wizard-bothering strategy/bluffing game Chaos, has left Early Access and gotten a full Steam release. Much as I can't help but include "OMG made by the guy who invented X-COM" excitements in any coverage, I really should stress that Chaos Reborn is a clever and tense game of magical battles in its own right.
Haven't had the chance to the gun up the release build yet, but I've dipped in and out during the Early Access period and been pleased to see that it made rapid and significant progress. Its ethereal (no pun intended) art style is now far more ornate, there's a rudimentary but robust singleplayer campaign mode in there, and all the avatar customisation/loot stuff is now all seemingly present and correct.
Multiplayer is where it's really at, though. This is a game about out-thinking your opponent, second-guessing their plans and their spells, and ideally fooling them into squandering their turns either on fighting fake creatures you've summoned, or on declaring creatures that are, in fact, real as fakes. As much as it's a game about turn-based wizard wars, Chaos Reborn also has a poker quality to it.
I suspect it's fair to say that it's too unusual a proposition to be a smash hit - and indeed, the original Chaos tends to attract 'cult classic' prefixes rather than 'hardware-flogging triple-platinum record-breaker' - hopefully it can pick up a devoted audience who can ensure it's easy to get into a civil but thoughtful battle of magical wits.
Chaos Reborn was released yesterday for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and is currently on sale for £12.74 with 15% off. Time permitting I'll wander back in soon to check out the most recent features and whatnot.