For some of us, the love of horror games can not be contained to just one season. Even as the snow begins to fall and the holiday decorations go up, there’s still something that calls for us to explore the creepy side of life. If that sounds like you, you might want to consider cozying up with Trigger Happy Interactive’s recently released Total Chaos on Xbox.
Admittedly, I wasn’t aware of Total Chaos’ cult following when I first loaded it up. To me, it was simply a deeply unsettling survival horror that had recently launched on Xbox. I played it with trepidation, unnerved by every unnatural sound swirling around in my headphones. The cryptic transmission on the radio beckoned me as I navigated by boat through an increasingly treacherous storm that ultimately left me as little more than wreckage washed up on the shore of a mysterious island.
The oppressive horrors waiting to bear down on me as my character stood on the shoreline were palpable. Every splash of the ocean, creak of the gate, whistle of the wind. It all added to the disturbing feeling that Total Chaos excels at. The deeply unsettling ambiance of the island of Fort Oasis hangs in your ears as you explore the island.
Total Chaos’ analog horror visual aesthetic pairs with the haunting audio to enhance the game’s creep factor. As you traverse the island, each step feels risky. From standing by the shoreline as waves crash against the beach, to dark caves haunted by a variety of anomalies, everything in Total Chaos is dedicated to adding to your unease. You aren’t casually taking a tour of the island of Fort Oasis. You’ll come face-to-face with untold horrors and monstrous creatures waiting to take a swipe at you.
Combat and resource management are at the center of Total Chaos’ gameplay. A retro inventory system challenges you to pick and choose the items that you take with you on your journey. Syringes may be a small health boost, but they cause bleeding which may require you to pack along some bandages, as well — increasing the space that might be better suited for other healing items.
Other survival elements, like hunger, add to the challenge of staying alive. Do you dare to cook and consume the monster meat that you found alone on a table in a dimly-lit room? Is the boost you get from rotten bread worth the damage to your overall health? It might be, if it gets you out of the clutches of the shocking monster’s grasp.
From Doom II mod to horror masterpiece
Total Chaos may now be psychological analog survival horror in its darkest form, but its humble beginnings actually saw this nightmarish indie game start its life as a mod for Doom II. Way back in days gone by, a young would-be modder named Sam Prebble garnered quite a bit of attention with Total Chaos due to the game using Doom’s engine unconventionally. Unlike Doom II, which relied on sprites for characters, Prebble used the Doom engine to create an atmospheric horror game in 3D with free look capabilities.
Total Chaos’ unconventional dev journey continued for several years, with the game undergoing changes and seeing significant improvements with each new iteration over two decades. Prebble went on to build a name for himself in visual effects, working on titles like Avatar and Rise of the Planet of the Apes and serving in a leadership role at Trigger Happy Interactive.
Eventually, Trigger Happy partnered with publishers Apogee Entertainment, Atari, and Infogrames to breathe new life into the island of Fort Oasis. The team rebuilt Total Chaos as a full standalone release and partnered with Akira Yamaoka — the creator behind the music of Silent Hill — to create a proper soundtrack perfect for an agonizing descent into madness.
Total Chaos is available now on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox PC after shadow dropping on November 20. The game is playable on Xbox Cloud Gaming and is optimized for Xbox-compatible handhelds with full support for Xbox Play Anywhere. Total Chaos is also available as part of an Xbox Game Pass subscription on console and PC.
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