City of Chains

City of Chains is a dark sci-fi RPG set in a dystopian cyberpunk city. Players take control of a small group of escaped fugitives, navigating a world where choices matter and actions have consequences. The game offers multiple endings based on the player’s decisions, whether to fight, avoid combat, help others, or pursue personal goals. With a rich narrative and strategic gameplay, City of Chains immerses players in a thrilling detective mystery within a grim, futuristic setting.

City of Chains: A Gritty Cyberpunk Odyssey Trapped by Ambition

Introduction

In the crowded pantheon of indie RPGs, City of Chains (2015) stands as a flawed yet fascinating artifact of cyberpunk storytelling. Developed by Astronomic Games, this RPG Maker VX Ace project delivers a dystopian narrative brimming with moral ambiguity and systemic oppression, framed by gameplay systems that oscillate between innovative and underbaked. While its budgetary constraints and engine limitations are evident, City of Chains remains a compelling case study in how choice-driven narratives can elevate modular mechanics. This review argues that the game’s thematic resonance and player agency salvage its technical shortcomings, cementing its status as a cult classic for fans of grassroots cyberpunk RPGs.

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Development History & Context

A Solo Vision in a Hostile Landscape

City of Chains emerged during a turbulent era for indie RPGs. Developed primarily by Matthew Ashworth (Matseb2611) under the Astronomic Games banner and published by New Reality Games, the project leaned heavily on RPG Maker VX Ace’s templated systems—a double-edged sword that offered accessibility but limited creative freedom. Released in December 2015, the game entered a market dominated by crowdfunded darlings like Undertale and Shadowrun Returns, forcing it to carve a niche through sheer thematic grit.

Ashworth’s vision prioritized narrative depth over graphical polish, leveraging premade assets from contributors like PVGames and Hyde to construct a bleak, industrialized world. The decision to forgo traditional leveling systems—replacing them with progress-based skill points—reflected a desire to subvert RPG conventions, though the engine’s combat limitations often undermined this ambition.

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Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Chains of Choice in a Dying City

The story follows Holt Allaway, a robotics engineer wrongfully imprisoned by a fascistic regime harvesting organs from dissidents. After a jailbreak orchestrated by the enigmatic Cai, Holt allies with scientist Chloe and assassin Lorelei to navigate the titular City of Chains—a collapsing metropolis stratified by corporate greed and police brutality.

The narrative’s strength lies in its refusal to sanitize its world. Characters face visceral moral dilemmas: sparing enemies impacts later alliances, while side quests force players to weigh survival against empathy. One pivotal choice involves deciding whether to help a desperate mother find her daughter or exploit her for resources—a microcosm of the game’s central theme: the cost of humanity in dehumanizing systems.

Dialogue stumbles at times, often veering into melodrama (“You think chains can hold a storm?”), but the overarching plot interrogates cyberpunk staples like systemic corruption and AI autonomy with surprising nuance. The multiple endings—Ascendance, Liberation, Escape—reflect ideological divergences rather than simplistic “good vs. evil” binaries, rewarding replayability.

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Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Bold Ideas, Uneven Execution

City of Chains replaces traditional RPG leveling with skill points awarded for quest completion, allowing players to tailor their party’s abilities without grind. Chloe excels in hacking and medicine crafting, while Lorelei’s stealth skills enable non-lethal takedowns. However, the combat system—a turn-based relic of RPG Maker’s constraints—feels sluggish, with bloated enemy health pools exacerbating the monotony (a frequent critique in Steam reviews).

The game shines in its non-linear problem-solving. Players can bypass encounters via hacking, lockpicking, or brute force, though these systems lack depth. Grenade crafting and morale management add strategic layers, but their impact feels marginal outside boss fights. The three difficulty modes—Casual, Hardy, Dystopia—cater to different playstyles, though Dystopia’s punitive design borders on unfair.

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World-Building, Art & Sound

Aesthetic Ambition vs. Engine Limitations

The game’s cyberpunk dystopia is evoked through claustrophobic slums, neon-lit industrial zones, and morally bankrupt institutions. While the RPG Maker foundation limits visual diversity, moody lighting and oppressive architectural design (courtesy of Sherman 3D and Hyde’s assets) create a cohesive sense of decay.

Sound design is a standout: Joel Steudler’s synth-heavy score mirrors Blade Runner’s melancholic futurism, while ambient noise—dripping pipes, distant sirens—immerses players in the city’s rot. Unfortunately, the lack of voice acting and repetitive enemy SFX undermine the atmosphere.

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Reception & Legacy

A Divisive Cult Classic

Upon release, City of Chains earned “Mostly Positive” Steam reviews (77% of 158). Critics praised its narrative ambition and choice-driven design but lambasted its combat and short runtime (~5–10 hours). Over time, it gained a niche following among cyberpunk enthusiasts, though it never achieved the breakout success of contemporaries like VA-11 Hall-A.

Its legacy lies in proving indie narratives could compete with AAA budgets. The skill point system and morality mechanics influenced later titles like Disco Elysium, while its focus on systemic oppression remains eerily relevant in an age of rising authoritarianism.

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Conclusion

A Chain Worth Breaking

City of Chains is a game of contradictions: a gripping story hamstrung by dated mechanics, a vivid world limited by engine constraints, and bold ideas often half-realized. Yet, its unflinching portrayal of resistance in a broken system resonates deeply, offering a raw, iterative blueprint for narrative-driven indie RPGs. For cyberpunk devotees and choice-centric RPG fans, it’s a flawed gem worth excavating—a testament to what passion can achieve, even under chains.

Final Verdict: 7/10 – A compelling but uneven dystopian journey, best suited for players who prioritize thematic depth over polish.