The Chosen (PC) review "Better choices await you..."

Steam is home to hordes of minimalist titles. In many cases, we're talking games that showcase only the most basic tropes and remain indistinguishable from any other run-of-the-mill offering within its own family. It sounds funny, but some folks look for such products to scratch a particular itch, and many of these garden variety “genre exercises” work for them. I can relate, because some nights I just want to come home, crack open a cold drink, and watch a no-frills slasher or monster flick.

If you're that kind of person with turn-based RPGs, and especially inexpensive RPG Maker fare, then The Chosen should be right up your alley. Everyone else should read between the lines, though: mediocrity ahoy.

Right about now, I'm betting your brain is working out the possible storyline here. You're thinking of a teenage combat prodigy serving as the protagonist, surrounded by buxom babes wearing barely any clothing. If that is indeed the image forming in your head, then you're absolutely correct. Hell, you've probably also figured out that a power-seeking villain hopes to snatch a prized MacGuffin, his army strikes the hero's hometown, and he'll eventually end up securing an Excalibur-esque sword needed to fell the dark side's head honcho. All of this occurs here, but that really isn't a problem. Odds are you've played dozens, if not hundreds, of RPGs and adventure outings featuring much the same storyline, albeit with slight tweaks and remixes. It's not the tropes that matter so much as how they play out and how well they mesh with character arcs and lore.

You know, two things The Chosen lacks...

Okay, the game does offer lore, but it's all the same stuff we've seen elsewhere. A holy deity fights off another fantasy-realm Satan, seals him, and entrusts a holy sword to a warrior clan. Honestly, that's about all you get for backstory. As for character development, that predictably takes a back seat. The most depth you receive regarding the protagonist, Edge, revolves around his mother's death and father's disappearance that totally won't play into a plot twist anyone could see coming.

Really, there isn't much of a story on offer here. Edge's village gets raided, he secures and protects a holy sword, he embarks on numerous fetch quests, then fights his arch nemesis. Even his main adversary doesn't receive any depth beyond a bit of dialogue expressing his desire for power and conquest.

Ah, but what about Edge's teammates? Here lies a situation where I could say, “Describe the character without giving any physical details,” and you practically cannot do so. For all intents and purposes, they're “hot anime chick 1,” “hot anime chick 2,” and “hot anime chick 3,” all of whom are under-dressed to the point that it feels like parody. Only two factors differentiate them: their hometowns and their abilities in combat. In other words, one is basically “hot anime monk,” while the other two are “hot anime mage” and “hot anime spellsword.”

We could ignore all of that with the right kind of campaign, but this adventure provides only the most basic trip. You mosey from village to village, dungeon to dungeon, engaging in the simplest random counters, fighting off your standard fantasy foes. Slimes and hornets join soldiers, ghosts, and eventually even chimeras and gargoyles. Hell, you even fight an optional boss that's a standard dragon. Seriously, it's just called “dragon.”

Towns offer little flavor, as all of the NPCs dispense the most forgettable blather, with few of them assisting in world or lore building. Straightforward designs comprise most of your dungeons, and branches remain few and far between. Sometimes, divergent paths only inexplicably exit you from the stage, forcing you to start brief segments over.

None of the challenges require much thought or strategy. What few puzzles you find only demand a tiny bit of pondering, and every skirmish goes down easily by spamming your best strikes and healing when needed. Even the most powerful enemy present, the Demon God, drops after some standard strikes, repeated use of a strength buff, and sensible healing. A hefty pile of hit points is the only thing the super-boss has going for it.

I would say nothing stands out in this piece, but that's not entirely true. One section that is now stuck in my memory involves traveling from the first area to a place called Volcano Village. Obviously, it's near a volcano. After exiting a tunnel leading to a desert, I immediately found the burning mountain in question. I attempted to enter, only to be thwarted by a message telling me I needed an event item. Get used to this phenomenon because it crops up all over the campaign. I continued exploring and eventually came to a ruined castle, and there I found the coveted object.

Upon entering the volcano, I thought I would see the village immediately. However, I ended up powering through a timed dungeon, racing against raging lava flows until I snuffed out a boss. Afterward, my party conversed about their next moves, and one of them said, “We should ask Quinn.”

Quinn? Who the hell is Quinn? And where is the village?

As it turns out, I somehow missed the town and walked straight to the volcano. I eventually found it, talked to Quinn, and watched a cutscene where the party asked him how to enter the volcano, and of course, he told them to check out the wrecked castle to the south. Awkward...

Thankfully, this little mishap didn't result me being locked out of further plot beats. Speaking with Quinn again didn't open another chatty segment and settled on a quick line about grabbing an abandoned boat conveniently ashore to the southwest, waiting for someone to commandeer it without drama or fanfare. From there, though, the rest of the affair boils down to wandering and checking out places until you arrive at the correct one.

As I said, I'm not going to judge anyone who digs games like this. I appreciate the movie “Spawn of the Slithis,” despite knowing it's an unexceptional drive-in monster film with barely any plot. Just the same, I can't blame anyone who balks at the opportunity to watch it, nor would I grudge anyone who gives it a failing grade. That's where I sit with The Chosen. It's “Slithis” in RPG form, except I'm just not here for it...

Oh, and in case you're wondering: no, there's no “nudity” or “sexual content” in this one. The Steam tags are misplaced.

Staff review by Joseph Shaffer (April 03, 2025) Rumor has it that Joe is not actually a man, but a machine that likes video games, horror movies, and long walks on the beach. His/Its first contribution to HonestGamers was a review of Breath of Fire III.