Every so often a niche title gets ported over to new consoles and I get excited because I haven’t had the chance to play it. Chaos Code -New Sign of Catastrophe- is one such title that was recently ported over to the Switch. It was developed by FK Digital and published by Arc System Works. Chaos Code has always been a fighting game that people around me loved but not take too seriously so I was excited to finally get my hands on it. Originally released back in arcades in 2011, Chaos Code has seen many ports with this one being the latest. How does the Switch port stack up with the other ports? Let’s find out and dig a little deeper.
Chaos Code takes place in the future where a newly discovered energy source named Chaotics promises to become the main energy source for all mankind and eliminate the energy shortage that is taking place. The person that discovered this energy sought to keep it secret by hiding it in something called the Chaos Code. The professor, knowing how many people would like to get their hands on it, announces there is a prize for finding it leading many to go on the hunt of the Chaos Code.
Like many other titles, Chaos Code -New Sign of Catastrophe- is a fast-paced 2D fighter in the style of Guilty Gear or BlazBlue with 16 unique characters and features a plethora of special moves that can be used at your discretion. One of the strongest things that Chaos Code has going for it is that its cast of character are all unique, each offering something that the others doesn’t. Bravo the Italian chef is probably my favorite.
Most of the expected fighting game bells and whistles are here. You have your normal modes like Arcade, Versus, Practice, etc. that will keep players entertained for a while. If you’re a fan of customizing character color, there is a mode all for that as well. The controls are tight and clean but playing on the joycons leaves a little bit to be desired. If you can play with another type of controller with a D-pad I would highly recommend it.
There is a major mode that is missing in the Switch version that’s available in other ports of Chaos Code: online play. I’m not sure why the online play was taken out but it hurts this port’s replayability to an extent. That means most of the time you’re either going to be in Arcade mode fighting against a computer like in Practice mode. On the go it’s not so bad, but if you ever want to play with another player you have to be in the same room on the same console. It makes me kind of sad because this game is really fun but I don’t want to play alone especially in times like this when online play is vital. Still, I don’t want to overlook the fact that this port is only $9.
After wanting to play Chaos Code for so long I am happy that it came out to the Switch. However, I don’t believe that this port does the series justice given the lack of online play. I feel most players are going to pick it up a couple of times and then forget about it. Maybe in the future, online multiplayer will get implemented. For $9 however, you can’t go wrong with this port.
