From Counter-Strike to Cry of Fear, some of the most innovative gaming experiences out there have their origins in the video game modding scene. After all, these communities often serve as a training ground for passionate fans-turned-developers, with even beginners being encouraged to flex their creative programming muscles by remixing existing digital playgrounds into completely new experiences.
And every once in a while, these indie passion projects are so successful that they end up escaping the shadow of their fan-made origins and reaching a wider audience as standalone releases. A great example of this is Sam Prebble’s long-awaited Total Chaos – the next-gen remake of a revolutionary Doom II mod that is often hailed as one of the scariest and most ambitious mods ever made.
Originally known for his total conversion mods within the Doom fandom, Prebble would branch out to standalone titles in 2023 with the release of the over-the-top sci-fi Boomer Shooter Turbo Overkill through Trigger Happy Interactive. Since then, that very same team has quietly been working on a remake of Total Chaos meant to bring that title’s hardcore Survival Horror experience to mainstream gamers with a brand-new coat of high-resolution paint.
In the finished game, which was released by surprise on November 20, we step into the troubled shoes of a member of the Coast Guard in the 1970s as he attempts to answer a distress signal emanating from a remote island known as Fort Oasis. In classic Survival Horror fashion, this desolate mining colony turns out to harbor much more than abandoned equipment and ruined buildings, with our protagonist having to fight for his life as he encounters supernatural creatures and a mysterious voice on the radio leading him on to an uncertain fate.
In gameplay terms, this means traversing surprisingly large environments and solving clever puzzles all the while having to defend yourself from supernatural assailants that seem hell-bent on punishing you for undisclosed crimes. However, despite the title’s Boomer Shooter origins, combat here is mostly achieved through first-person brawling akin to the Condemned games (complete with fast-paced dodging and parrying), with the player having to make do with improvised weapons such as pipes, pickaxes and an assortment of craftable shanks, clubs and spears. The game will also occasionally provide you with firearms in order to deal with especially resilient enemies – though ammo is incredibly limited and inventory space is at a premium.
This ties into the game’s surprisingly in-depth resource management system, as players are forced to take weight limits into consideration while also juggling stats like hunger, bleeding, stamina and health. Not only does the added weight of certain objects mean that it’s often not worth carrying a firearm around if you suspect that there won’t be enough ammo around for it to be useful, but very few items are purely beneficial. Some forms of medication heal you at the cost of hunger and combat boosters often have nasty side-effects that may very well kill you in the long run.
These considerations are constantly hovering in the back of your mind as you explore the island, something that makes the title’s highly oppressive atmosphere hit that much harder since you’re aware that the mechanics here are just as brutal as the nightmarish aesthetics. Monsters hit hard and fast and save points can be few and far in between, so no matter how good you are at smashing these monsters apart, you’ll never feel truly safe.
Unfortunately, this interactive mean-streak can get a bit excessive at times, as Total Chaos frequently and repeatedly kicked my ass and allowed me to trap myself in seemingly unwinnable situations. And yet, I couldn’t stop myself from coming back for more punishment as the game steadily drip-fed narrative puzzle pieces forming a disturbing – though admittedly familiar – picture of psychological trauma. And while the plot isn’t exactly all that original, I respect how the game wears its Survival Horror influences on its sleeve, with details like the inclusion of an original song by Silent Hill veteran Akira Yamaoka proving that Trigger Happy Interactive knows exactly what they’re doing.
The story is also boosted by haunting visuals and memorable designs, with some of these deformed monsters seeming destined to haunt my future nightmares. And though exploration could often get a little tedious due to the repetitive nature of some of the mining colony’s industrial environments (as well as a couple of unnecessarily large maps), you can always count on Total Chaos’ sound design to keep you on your toes in fresh and terrifying ways.
At the end of the day, your enjoyment of Total Chaos will mostly depend on how resistant you are to friction-heavy gameplay and moments of completely justified frustration. After all, while this remake looks about as polished as any AAA release this year, all of its fancy bells and whistles have been mounted over a janky skeleton of retro game mechanics that might not please everyone.
However, as a fan of early Survival Horror and unforgiving gameplay mechanics that often feel scarier than the game surrounding them, I can safely say that I had a blast with Total Chaos – though your own mileage may vary. The experience is a little bloated and the story could have used some tightening up, but I’d still argue that this is one of the scariest gaming experiences of 2025, and I’d love to see Trigger Happy Interactive return to this brutal yet addicting formula in the future.
Review code provided by publisher.
Total Chaos is out now on Steam, PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series.
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