Miasma Chronicles is a very odd game from a developer with a very funny name. The story is set in a very strange post-apocalypse that has some shades of the plot of Full-Metal Alchemist and a little bit of Battletoads. It feels like something that would have come out of the late 90s with its crass humor and unflinching dissidence towards the power elite.
The dazzling impression of the incredible graphics makes it resemble a AAA production. Miasma Chronicles is utterly sleek with its presentation and visual design. Characters are highly detailed and there is a palpable grit to the environment. Everything feels lived in and has a dirty verisimilitude to the ambiance.
What about the gameplay? Initial impressions suggest that this is going to be a turn-based strategy game that cribs from XCOM, like how Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope or Marvel’s Midnight Suns took the format and had distinct twists on the genre. Can The Bearded Ladies show Marvel and Mario what a good turn-based strategy game is supposed to be? Find out in this Miasma Chronicles review!
Miasma Chronicles
Developer: The Bearded Ladies Consulting
Publisher: 505 Games
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Release Date: May 23, 2023
Players: 1
Price: $49.99 USD
The Bearded Ladies know their strategy games. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden proved how adept these Swedish developers are at crafting a finely tuned XCOM-like that has a distinctive sense of humor. The darkly humourous tone is set very early on and manages to be captivating with its beautifully realized setting and likable characters.
The world has been ravaged by a terrible poisonous mist called the “miasma” and after 140 years of people enduring this muck, everyone is on the verge of extinction. An elite class called “The First Family”, runs a racketeering operation on the scavengers who live in the miasma-infested zones. Anyone who wants a chance for survival has to deal with The First Family and they only deal in gold.
Sedentary is where the story begins; a small town that is choked by the surrounding miasma and from a head in a jar who is the mayor. The hero of this story is a fresh-faced teenager named Elvis who kind of sounds like Christian Slater. Along with his robot brother, Diggs, will set out on a quest to find out what happened to their mother and the secrets she left behind for them.
At the center of this mystery is the glove that Elvis’ mom left him that gives him “Editor” powers, which is Miasma Chronicles’ equivalent of magic. The boys eventually team up with Jade, a secretive goth girl who is good with a sniper rifle. They go on adventures together to uncover the truth behind Elvis’ mom, the miasma, and The First Family- also hulking mutant frogs.
The characters and story pacing move quickly. There is not much time wasted and any side quests or side characters are given just enough time to make an impression. Miasma Chronicles wants to push players forwards toward stealth tactics and adventure in a post-apocalyptic countryside.
As mentioned prior, this is a tactical turn-based game with some RPG elements. Elvis and the party can level up and level points are spent on abilities. Thankfully, respecs are free and gamers will need to respec since battles in Miasma Chronicles can be very hard, and limiting yourself will guarantee a low chance of success.
Like most XCOM-likes, units have movement range, stats tied to their gear, and their placement in the field matters. Miasma Chronicles would seem like it’s conventional but it has some twists that make it compelling. There is no permadeath since the story is a major element of the experience and to balance out the lack of consequences, battles are stacked against the players’ favor, even in the easier modes.
There is a good reason why the mutants and frogs are so nasty in scrapes; it is because Miasma Chronicles pushes players to play stealthily. Elvis’ team is never big enough to realistically take on the threats encountered, even with the Editor powers and a deadly arsenal. Using cover and avoiding enemy sightlines is key in surviving the wastelands.
Stealth mechanics in Miasma Chronicles operate similarly to the turn-based gameplay but are done in a separate “ambush” mode. This phase is precarious because getting caught initiates the standard battle mode. While remaining undetected, players can potentially sweep an entire map of foes without the battle sequence ever happening.
The drawback to ambushing foes is that it lacks depth and variety. It can be challenging to do a perfect sweep of all foes, but in practice, there is not a lot to it since stealth kills give almost infinite turns. There is satisfaction in surgically and quietly dispatching a whole platoon of frogs or psychotic brigands.
There will be complications that will make clean sweeps tricky and battles become inevitable. This is usually after making a choice that will alert the remaining foes and Miasma Chronicles unfolds like most tactical games. While The Bearded Ladies do know their strategy, the choice to not reset ability cooldowns between encounters is questionable.
Battles are already stacked against Elvis and company and being able to use the teams’ abilities at the start of a new fight should be a basic courtesy. This also applies during ambushing, since ambush mode is a separate state from combat mode. This means used abilities don’t cool down during an ambush.
Miasma Chronicles is not just an endless stream of battles and tactical assassinations; it also incorporates adventure game elements. When not engaging foes, Elvis and the gang can freely explore the environment like an old-timey RPG with an overhead POV.
The excellent and gritty visuals help sell the world while exploring. Unfortunately, it is not all it could be. Only some NPCs can be interacted with, while most will only have distant chatter. There is not a lot to do while in the adventure mode and is on the bare bones side.
There are a few instances of audio logs or notes to pick up or keys to find in order to open locked doors. Do not expect any clever puzzles baked into the setting or cheeky switches that need to be pulled that alter the environment. The exploration is basic but functional. At best, it serves as a very pretty overworld map to get from point A to B.
The amount of content in Miasma Chronicles is substantial, but it is not a long adventure. The story wastes no time and partaking in optional side content, expect the game to run somewhere past the 25-hour range. During that time, expect to lose a few battles along the way which is time lost. If calculating the lost time, Miasma Chronicles can actually be very long.
Miasma Chronicles is a novel take on tactical turn-based gameplay. Some ideas are not fully realized to their fullest; like the ambushes or the adventure mode. The core gameplay is one of the better examples of its genre. It manages to impress thanks to its incredible visuals and likable cast of offbeat characters and strange world.
Miasma Chronicles was reviewed on PlayStation 5 using a code provided by 505 Games. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy can be found here. Miasma Chronicles is now available for Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.
