CHAOS;HEAD NOAH

About CHAOS;HEAD NOAH

CHAOS;HEAD was first released in Japan in 2008 by 5pb. and Nitroplus, and its expanded version CHAOS;HEAD NOAH followed on Xbox 360 in 2009 before many Japanese ports. Spike Chunsoft brought it to English for the first time in October 2022, on Steam and on Switch, where it is sold alone and in a double pack with the later CHAOS;CHILD. It is the first of the Science Adventure series that includes STEINS;GATE.

This release is the series' first HD remaster: everything is redrawn for 1080p, it runs on the MAGES engine, and it includes all of the opening movies, among them songs made for the later ports. It can be played in English or Japanese. It costs $24.99 on Steam, Switch and GOG, where it is sold DRM-free.

Takumi Nishijo is a second-year student who lives among his figures and has no interest in the world outside. Shibuya is gripped by the New Generation Madness, a run of bizarre killings that the police cannot solve. One day a figure called Shogun sends him a gruesome image that seems to predict the next murder. The next day, on his way home, he walks into that exact crime scene, and a blood-soaked girl, Rimi Sakihata, stands before the body.

You read the story and make choices through the delusion trigger: at certain moments you choose whether Takumi's imagination turns positive, negative or stays grounded. Positive delusions are often comic or suggestive; negative ones are violent and frightening. On later readings those choices decide which ending you reach. A TIPS glossary explains terms and internet slang, and text you have already read can be skipped.

One reading of the main story takes about 28 hours by HowLongToBeat's count, and reaching more endings takes far longer.

The horror is in uncertainty and in the crime scenes, which are shown graphically in still images and text. Takumi is a deliberately unlikable, frightened narrator, and the game lets you feel how little he can trust his own eyes. The ESRB rates it M for blood and gore, intense violence, language and sexual themes, and PEGI rates it 18. It suits readers who liked CHAOS;CHILD or STEINS;GATE and can take gore and sexual content. Players on Steam rate it highly, and critics are more divided, with an OpenCritic top critic average of 71.

How to play CHAOS;HEAD NOAH

1. Start the story and advance the text as Takumi narrates his days in Shibuya.
2. When the delusion trigger appears, choose a positive or negative delusion, or none.
3. Read the TIPS glossary for terms and internet slang as they come up.
4. Finish the first route, then play again and choose differently to open the other routes and endings.

Tips

• Read the content warnings first; crime scenes are graphic and some scenes are sexual.
• Save before delusion choices so you can see both sides.
• On a second reading, use fast-forward to skip text you have already read.
• Play it before CHAOS;CHILD; the later game builds on what happens here.

Questions