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Chimera is a co-op first-person shooter heavily emphasizing survival elements - such as managing food - and expanding bases. IT was developed and published by a Polish studio Creepy Jar -known for the acclaimed game Green Hell.

Plot

Chimera is set on an alien, seemingly safe planet plagued by disasters caused by the titular star - mainly destructive fire and ice. The player character is a convict from Earth, participating in a research expedition. He's tasked with exploring this new world and creating a base to face the deadly climate and hordes of enemies. As it soon turns out, the planet is deeming with hostile inhabitants.

Though the game does feature a story campaign - which can be completed solo or in co-op for up to four people (if we choose singleplayer, we'll be accompanied by AI-controlled allies) - it's also very open-ended. Players can freely explore the game's entire open world, even after completing the main storyline.

Mechanics

Gameplay-wise, Chimera somewhat resembles the aforementioned Green Hell. The game is played from the first-person perspective, tasking us with fighting enemies using a wide roster of futuristic weaponry, dealing with the planet's dangerous climate and the hero's needs, such as eating or sleeping.

The main mechanic that distinguishes Chimera from Green Hell is base building. Players must extract and process the planet's resources, then manage them, creating a production chain.

They must also develop new technology to protect themselves and their base from recurring disasters. One must be careful, as larger, more advanced facilities attract more enemies.

Though Chimera is much larger in scope than Creepy Jar's previous game, its world is logical and well thought out. As an example, weather conditions constantly change, forcing players to adapt on the fly.

Trivia

The development of Chimera was influenced by the "static nature" of Green Hell. On one hand, the developers didn't want to be seen as constantly making the same game, but on the other hand, they needed a different setting than Amazon rainforests, "which can either be hot, or hot and rainy".

While creating the game's new world, they were inspired by many popular science sources and sci-fi novels. Most of the technologies and events in the game thus have a basis in reality. Not all, though - the creators let loose in some cases, prioritizing fun over scientific accuracy.

Technical aspects

The game runs on the Unreal Engine 5. Thanks to this tech, Creepy Jar were able to implement many new features that weren't possible in Green Hell - both visual and mechanical.

Chimera debuted in Early Access on Steam.

Last updated on 20 December 2023