Chaos Child is a visual novel game and is part of the science adventure visual novel series by Mages Inc. Mages Inc, or more specifically, their gaming division 5PB which also created Steins Gate. The novel sets up its own story and lore so it is accessible to newcomers. Chaos Child is darker and edgier than other Science Adventure games.
Chaos Child is set 6 years after the first game Chaos Head but has a new cast of characters, making it more accessible to new players. However, it also has callbacks from the previous game for veteran players to enjoy. Chaos Head was the first entry of the science adventure games and this is the fourth main entry to the games. The story is set in 2015 Shibuya, which has been rebuilt after being destroyed by a massive earthquake. Strange events started happening in the city on separate occasions and they all seem interconnected. In addition, people seem to acquire psychic powers.
Chaos Child is a very long game with an intriguing and intricate story and deep lore. The pacing takes things easy unfolding slowly and allowing the plot to develop. The graphics and the art style of this game is highly detailed and the character models were all unique. The characters and the backgrounds both blended in quite seamlessly and the cutscenes and visuals were superbly executed as well. The detailed crime scenes were gruesome and quite unnerving. Shibuya looks like the real city at the time the game was created, even more so than The World Ends With You. Each background felt unique and intricate and the use of lighting and shadowy effects in certain areas of the game was perfect.
The game’s dark atmosphere combined with elements of science fiction works well together. There are subtle changes to the feeling of the story, one part can be lighthearted slice of life where the other part is a dark and brooding noir stylized. There is a lot of horror and psychological suspense and additional neo noir thriller elements in this game.
It focuses on many different themes both established in Science Adventure and also new themes. Weather is the overarching theme as each game in the science adventure series uses weather as a setting for the story. This game has stormy weather. PTSD is common theme as this deals in the after effects of characters who experience grisly events from or survived horrific natural disasters.
In Chaos Child, those who grew up after the Shibuya earthquake are known as the Chaos Child generation and they suffer from a form PTSD due to the after effects.
They basically live a life that is normal to others but they don’t appear to be aware of the surroundings or what is happening to them and are zombie like. The most notable thing about them is their elderly like appearance and there is no cure for their malady.
The game focuses on being able to alter the realities around you. Tragedy and loss are very common place throughout the game as many people died during the earthquake and many more are still feeling the after effects of the devastation.
A common theme is this game is Giglomania. Giglomania refer to those who have their psychic powers awakened. It allows people to see things that normal people would never be able to and wield a special type of sword know as a D-Sword, which is connected to the Dirac Sea. “Errors” are co-related to Giglomania as these are how D-Swords are summoned and with the use of D-Swords delusions can be transformed into reality.
The overall story and concepts of the game were highly engaging and it felt like a complete story from start to finish. The main character is Takuru Miyashiro, an anti-social and cynical student who surprisingly, is the president of his high school newspaper club. His family died during an earthquake in Shibuya and since then he has been on his own splitting time between his foster family and living in a trailer in Miyashita park.
One of the most notable aspects of his character is that he is pretty heavily fixated on the news media and visits just about many different forms of news media from tv, internet and the newspapers. He is what can be considered as a “Information Otaku”. Because of his cynical nature, he never takes anything at face value and he sees himself as the smartest person in the entire room. To him, almost everyone else is naïve and uninformed or part of the problem. He refers to them as wrong siders, people who are purposely naïve, ignorant and gullible. Takuru is cowardly and gets overwhelmed by crowds.
He is a perfectionist and has a great eye for detail. He is highly skilled in the use of technology especially in research and his investigative skills are superb. He criticizes fads and trends around him and is highly intelligent. The main reason he is the president of the newspaper club is due to his inquisitive and intelligent nature. His main goal is to debunk lies and to find the truth of the matter. He considers the mainstream media to be biased, agenda pushing and in the pockets of the wealthy elite.
Takuru Miyashiro small Newspaper club is an independent, fact and evidence based journalist group with no personal agenda focused on delivering the unbiased facts and truth of events as they occur. Takuru investigates a mysterious case known as Return Of New Generation Madness, a serial murder case. These murders were very similar to a previous set of murders that happened before the events of the game and the murders have become viral on the internet. At the same time, a mysterious case of sumo stickers that are appearing all across Shibuya that appears to be related to the case. This eventually leads to a much larger conspiracy theory relating to the world of science adventure.