Overview
ChainStaff drops players into an Earth overrun by Star Spores, alien organisms that have mutated local wildlife into enormous, hostile creatures. The player character carries an unwanted passenger: an alien attached directly to their head that provides both enhanced combat abilities and a morally questionable voice whispering suggestions. That parasite is also the source of the ChainStaff itself, a weapon that shifts functions on the fly and sits at the center of every combat encounter and traversal moment in the game.
Mommy's Best Games built ChainStaff around a single-button weapon system that refuses to be simple. The same input throws the staff as a spear to slice enemies apart, plants it as a ground shield to deflect incoming attacks, or fires it as a grappling hook to swing across gaps and reach high ground. Context and timing determine which function activates, which means mastering the ChainStaff is less about memorizing a moveset and more about reading situations quickly. It's a design that rewards experimentation and punishes passivity.
What does the ChainStaff actually do in combat?
The ChainStaff functions as the game's entire weapon system, replacing the standard multi-weapon loadout most action-platformers rely on. Here's what it handles:
- Spear throw: slices enemies and projectiles
- Ground plant: creates a temporary shield
- Grapple: swings and pulls the player through environments
- Upgrades: unlocked through progression that alters behavior
Every encounter is built around these functions. Boss fights, in particular, require switching between them mid-fight rather than settling into one approach. The game estimates 6 to 8 hours for a first playthrough, which gives the system enough room to introduce new challenges without overstaying its welcome.
Moral choices and multiple endings
Stranded soldiers appear throughout ChainStaff's levels, each one presenting the same binary decision: rescue them, or harvest their organs for upgrades. Rescuing soldiers leads to different ending conditions than harvesting does, and the alien voice in the player's head actively encourages the latter option. The tension between what benefits your build and what the game frames as the right call is deliberately uncomfortable, and it feeds directly into which of the multiple endings the player reaches. It's a simple mechanic on paper, but the consistency of the choice across the whole game gives it weight.
Visual and audio design
ChainStaff's art is entirely hand-drawn, styled after album covers from the 1970s and 1980s. Rocky crags with mist, moonlit icy hills, and mossy cliffs with running water fill the backgrounds, and the aesthetic lands somewhere between a prog rock gatefold sleeve and a heavy metal poster. It's a specific reference point that gives the game a look distinct from both pixel art throwbacks and modern HD indie games.
The soundtrack comes from Deon van Heerden, the composer behind Broforce and Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef. His work here leans into classic metal riffs and driving percussion, with occasional breaks into 70s synth and melody. The music matches the visual aesthetic closely enough that both feel like they came from the same source rather than being assembled separately.
Content and replayability
With multiple endings tied to the rescue-or-harvest decision, ChainStaff has a built-in reason for a second run. The game's death system is worth noting: every death is technically avoidable, but some enemies and situations require specific strategies rather than raw reflexes. That framing positions ChainStaff as a game that expects players to learn its systems, not just outlevel problems.
Conclusion
ChainStaff is a focused action-platformer that earns its concept. The single-weapon design could have been a gimmick, but the depth of the ChainStaff's functions, combined with a moral progression system that genuinely changes the ending, gives the game more substance than its premise suggests. Deon van Heerden's metal soundtrack and the hand-drawn art inspired by classic rock album covers make it visually and aurally distinct. For fans of character-action games and grappling-hook platformers looking for something with a strong aesthetic identity and real mechanical depth, ChainStaff delivers.
