Chasing Static

Developed By: Headware Games

Published By: Ratalaika Games S.L.

Price: £15.49 / $19.99

Exploration, Narrative-Driven

 

Chasing Static is one of those horror games that advertises itself as a short and sweet experience that tries to tell a story within that time frame. It boasts audio based gameplay and the nostalgic graphics of the original PlayStation that have been taking the horror genre by storm as of recently. As you know, we even had an interview with the creator himself, Nathan Hamley, talking about the game and its influences. That being said, is Chasing Static a stand out among the rest? 

Sins of the Father

Chasing Static’s story begins with the protagonist, Chris Selwood, driving home through the rainy forests of North Wales after having just buried his father. Finding himself lost, he stops at a café and asks for directions. Suddenly, things turn awry as he finds the café waitress pinned to the ceiling by some strange entity. Chris subsequently passes out, only to awake in a café that is different from the one he was just in. Curious as to what happened, he ventures out into the woods, unsure of what he may find. 

The story of Chasing Static, as well as just the game itself, reminds me a lot of Silent Hill and its stories. But I can’t go too far into that without approaching spoilers. I will say that Chasing Static is a short and sweet story that does what it needs to do before bringing us to the credits, without any loose ends to really tie up. There’s no meandering and there’s no filler as long as you know where you’re going. 

The themes of Chasing Static, some of which include ideas of isolation, remembrance, and past trauma, are handled quite well. What helped this were the performance of the voice actors, who sold the story and its tone wonderfully. Their skill is evident in how much these pixelated faces actually felt like humans, which they thankfully show within the first few minutes as you talk with the café waitress. 

Now, I will say it does rely a good amount on notes and “flashbacks” to deliver the story, as well as your father’s journal. However, I am going to let this one pass, considering there wouldn’t really be any other way to do this. At the very least, they incorporate the flashbacks into gameplay so at least you’re doing something to earn them. In fact, some of them are hidden.

Can You Hear Me Now?

The gameplay of Chasing Static is quite simple and comes in two parts: anomaly hunting and exploration. You are armed with an experimental device known as the Frequency Displacement Monitoring Device. With it, you can find and locate anomalies that will lead you to flashbacks that show you what happened here, and may even give you a clue. They even bring new objects into the present world, so some you will have to find, or else certain important items won’t appear for you to use. 

Exploration is what I find to be the more fun of the two, especially as you get into more interesting areas like the town of Hearth nearby. You need to explore to find items or discover more anomalies. There are some puzzles you need to do, but they are quite easy. Most of the time, it is just needing the right item. 

In addition, this game boasts a number of secrets to find that may warrant a second playthrough if you didn’t really pay attention on your first one. Smaller details can give way to interesting rewards. For example, listening closely to a specific anomaly story will provide a clue that will net you an amazing item. 

As an aside, this game does a good job of creeping you out without needing jumpscares. There are one or two things I might consider jumpscares, but they are rather light and not that scary. What I like more are the small things. Seeing someone out of the corner of your eye, opening a door to find someone waving at you before disappearing into thin air. Or, one which creeped me out, was coming across a grandma, only for her to disappear as I got close, with the achievement “Grandma Death” appearing in the corner of my screen. Thanks, Nathan. 

Trust Your Ears

Of course, a lot of this is due to the strength of the audio design, which it has to be, considering what Chasing Static’s primary mechanic is. The atmosphere gets you in the mood, but it doesn’t instantly drench you in it. Every environment welcomes you with high quality sounds that immerse you. From the pouring rain and creaking branches of the forest to the audible desolation of the abandoned city. The less-than-normal occurrences come with their own share of strange noises that will, at the very least, bring some pauses as you try to figure out what’s going on. 

One important factor of the audio design is, obviously, the FDMD you use. I actually really like using the FDMD, as the audio fades and it only gives you the audio within the area of what you’re pointing at. This in of itself does give a bit of an unsettling vibe, as well as the dim blue light that emits from it. When you are pointed at an anomaly, it doesn’t ping like a usual device would, but instead emits audio from the radio. And as you get closer, the interference gets louder, which is a great way of letting you know how close you are without using the common practice of “beep faster.” 

Nice Tunes

The game isn’t all just audio, there is music that is mostly meant to soothe you. However, since the game is audio based, you have to focus on the audio, so most areas are quiet. The only times you’ll get music are when you’re in more safe areas like the main hub area, the bunker. The tracks are slow, but calming, giving you time to breathe and absorb all that you’ve learned. 

And all this meshes well with the visuals. Chasing Static takes on a PS1 pixel graphics style with more modern qualities like improved lighting, animation, and details. Despite the lower fidelity, there’s still plenty of details to find in the well-made environments. They feel like they used to be lived in, while telling a story of why they aren’t. It’s subtle, never in your face, which is something I appreciate.

My biggest problem with the graphics is that sometimes the lighting doesn’t look right. There are multiple times in the game where you see a spinning light illuminating the area around it, and it doesn’t look dynamic. Instead, if it were to shine upon, say, a shrub, that shrub just turns the color of the light. However, that’s really it. Not a big deal, just something I noticed. 

Tuning The Radio

Other problems weren’t really that bad. Sometimes I got lost on what to do next, but it didn’t take long to find my way. I had some performance problems nearer to the end, but they weren’t dragging the game at all. Other things I came across, like subtitles showing descriptions of audio that isn’t there, or the animal AI being… weird, were all fixed in a patch. Wish they kept the sheep in the fence, though.

Chasing Static is a well-crafted game that knows what it wants to do. It wants to tell you a short story through gameplay and exploration, providing its themes in a smooth manner despite the length. Its graphics are a great art style choice where, alongside the audio design, provide a fantastic horror experience. In fact, you can tell where it got some of that horror from, as this game does a good job of wearing its influences on its sleeve, while still being something that is its own thing. You can feel the Silent Hill, but it’s not overwhelming. Its music, while not like Akira Yamaoka’s, still gives that feeling while maintaining an identity of its own. 

Overall, I’d say Chasing Static is a game well worth getting, especially if you’re a horror fan. Otherwise, its experience is still pretty good, but maybe wait for a sale. It’s safe to say, though, that I’ll be keeping an eye on whatever Nathan Hamley does next. It’s bound to be pretty good, if this is any indication.

Oh yeah, there’s a sonic shotgun.

 

Verdict

Recommended

 

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Reviewed by Freelance7. Game provided by Headware Games.