Chorus doesn’t waste time showing this title isn’t just a simple shoot ‘em up in space but an open-world adventure title where you are in control. As Nara, you have control over a powerful Starfighter named the Forsaken and you must use your mean machine to defeat various space enemies and take on various quests to help others in need. Nara is a damaged soul so as the player you’ll see the world through her eyes and her special abilities. Chorus is a pretty deep little title so let’s discuss some of the challenges you’ll be facing.

Nara isn’t a regular human. Her hidden power, titled Right of Passage, allows her to see memories from long ago. As you advance through Chorus, you can gain other powers that will make you an even deadlier space warrior, teleporting your ship behind enemies to attack them or even manipulating objects in space to become weapons against your foes. These abilities keep Chorus from becoming stale, and rarely will you find yourself not gripping your controller tightly during a skirmish!

Despite her dark past, Nara now has a goal: to help others who need her assistance. Chorus is literally an open space title where you can take on main missions or side-quests that can net you credits to upgrade the Forsaken. These side-quests also help to show a large story of Nara’s universe, and while they can be quite…simplistic, we enjoyed learning about Nara’s past and mindset as we played.

Before you even start up Chorus properly, you’re given some choices on how to play. You can go for a normal difficulty playthrough, which can be tough, but never impossible. Then there’s the choice of making Chorus into an entirely new game by having permadeath on, which makes every space battle that much direr. These settings might seem silly, but this gives Chorus almost two different gameplay styles, perfect for those who want a space challenge or just a simpler open-world title.

Chorus does an excellent job giving players expert control over their starship. There are times where you’ll need to fly through waves of bullets to avoid becoming space debris, and other times slowing down to nab some precious items to better your starship later. Plus, there are plenty of locations where you’ll need this precision control, as corridors inside abandoned star cruisers and inside various outposts require the player to not just boost their way through everything.

Our major gripe with Chorus lies in its story, something we've seen in dozens of movies and other games already. The whole tale of a powerful being seeking redemption can be found in titles like Star Wars, and it kind of hinders the plot of Chorus in many ways. We found ourselves wanting to skip cutscenes—especially the long drawn initial opening—and jump right into the space combat/exploration. The side stories tend to be a bit generic, but we liked seeing other plots of Chorus than the main one presented.