After stability, collapse 

In Miasma Chronicles, Elvis and his robot "brother" Diggs survive in a completely desolate world after a catastrophic event that occurred over one hundred years ago in the United States. Living in the mining village called Sedentary, they take on a mission that could completely change the course of human history. Will you be prepared to meet some hard answers?

Developed by The Bearded Ladies and published by 505 Games, Miasma Chronicles is a turn-based strategy action RPG. The game has a release date of May 23, 2023, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and for PC through Steam and Epic. 



An Unstoppable Force: Miasma

Miasma Chronicles features a familiar storyline, in which a catastrophe eventually decimates humanity and only a few humans survive in the small, precarious resistance cities. In the game, the reason for the catastrophe is a mysterious and shapeless element called Miasma, a kind of energy that blends technology and magic but has the power to destroy everything around it. 

We meet our heroes on a failed mission to rescue Elvis' mother, who is trapped (or self-exiled) in a parallel reality, the result of the unknown power of the miasma. To try to reach her, Elvis relies on a bionic arm that exerts a certain influence over the miasma. However, after numerous failed attempts, the arm is defective and he must repair it if he wants to continue his attempts.

Thus, we return to the city of Sedentary to find what we need, and there we find interesting characters and clear references to other universes. Starting with the mayor, who is basically a head in a jar, just like several personalities in Futurama. The difference is that the mayor has little mechanical arms that allow him, among other things, to smoke through a little hole in the glass. 



We also meet the owner of a store who is initially very pissed off because of a significant loss that our heroes gave her, but even so, she is willing to negotiate, all we have to do is bring the right thing. 

And this thing is what kicks off the narrative of Miasma Chronicles. As we search for this thing, which is nothing more than an important tool for her, we are faced with an invasion of humanoid frogs that vandalize and kill everything in their path. For our heroes, there is nothing left but to fight when necessary. 

And it will always be necessary.

The narrative is told intriguingly and engagingly, with interesting characters that expand in both variety and concept. The way the story is presented reminds me a bit of Horizon's narrative style but in a simpler way. Simple here does not mean bad, on the contrary, the chronicles always take us to the story straight to the point. 



The main characters, besides being charismatic, remind me of classic archetypes such as Edward and Al Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist and even a bit of Hogarth and the giant robot from Iron Giant, as far as the involvement between the characters is concerned. 

The world tells its story through visuals and narrative design features, which present themselves in the settings, supplementary text, and minor characters to make up the narrative circuit. 

Also, as we progress, we feel that the plot grows with each new encounter, which makes us feel that we are on a truly epic journey with outcomes that do justice to the events that brought about everything in that world. 

Without a doubt, Miasma Chronicles knew how to tell its story.



Frogs, why it has to be frogs?

The gameplay of Miasma Chronicles introduces us to a new way of playing strategy games. Interspersing turn-based combat with scenario exploration and stealth mechanics, the game gives us a very pleasant and suspenseful experience, with simple combat but well-planned to be tactical in the right measure. 

With resources at hand, such as bombs, healing items, and other combat skills, the gameplay presents itself always renewed. We can also count on the miasmatic powers, which completely transform the pace of battle from powerful blows coming from Elvis' glove. 

We also have a talent table that unlocks active and passive abilities, as well as an area reserved for customizing weapons and equipment for our characters. 

I noticed that the arsenal is not that vast, which makes us spend a lot of time in possession of the same weapons. However, its efficiency is sufficient to not let the gameplay boring. The game has rifles, shotguns, long-range weapons, and others that make up our equipment, but we will see a few variations throughout the game.



Perhaps the only thing that contributes to making the gameplay repetitive is the type of enemy we face. For quite some time, we will face humanoid frogs that rely on tribal combat powers, be they healers, archers, or battle chiefs. You might ask yourself, "Where did all these frogs come from?", but before that question is answered, you will face bandits and other enemies to put that question out of your mind a bit.

When we are not fighting these pumped-up amphibians, we can explore maps with an interesting variety of resources. There is a lot of lore, miasma, and plastic, the game's currency, scattered through simple places, such as cars and houses, to buildings with a verticality rarely seen in games of this genre. 

The game instigated me to explore and kept me hooked for longer than I imagined, making me think about it even at times when I wasn't playing. Miasma Chronicles did a good job in every way.

I would even like to point out that I didn't witness any glitches or bugs during my gameplay. Technically speaking, the only thing that bothered me a bit was the movement speed of the characters, which could be a bit faster. The game even offers an option to run, but perhaps the running speed would be enough to keep up the pace while moving through the scenarios. 



A Beautiful Catastrophe

Miasma Chronicles managed to build an interesting world, from its storyline to its visual elements. The game delivers an immersive and well-executed graphic experience, with characters, scenarios, and settings that transport you to the context created for the game. I liked the creativity involved in creating the characters and the references applied in the world, which sometimes remind me of Blade Runner, and other times remind me of the Metro series. 

The combat has scenes with differentiated perspectives, emphasizing blows and kill-cams just like in Sniper Elite. In addition, the narrative is augmented by cinematics and in-game scenes which transform the narrative into something much larger, reminiscent of the Blizzard way of telling stories.



The soundtrack is also very well executed, with catchy music, well-placed effects, and dubbing that convinces and captivates the player. It manages to anchor the experience and make the game even more immersive, which makes Miasma Chronicles a well-rounded game and a very positive experience.

For this review, Miasma Chronicles was played on the PC, via Steam.

Many thanks to 505 Games for providing us with the game key that made this content possible.