Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains Review – Breaking Chains

Defeating titans is an experience that some will see as repetitive and dull, but others will see opportunities for making different strategic choices and experimenting with new ways to bring down these giant monsters. Basically, bringing down a titan is as simple as launching yourself towards it, pressing X, and then waiting for a small ring to enter a red circle in the middle of the screen. Once the ring and the circle match up, press X again to land a critical hit. Do this a few more times, and you’ll weaken the titan and gain access to their weak spot – the nape of their neck. A well-placed critical hit to the neck will incapacitate a titan, and it’s pretty satisfying. Some titans have the ability to harden parts of their body for defense, though, so it’s not always as easy as going straight for the neck. While hitting X in time with the connection of two circles can sound extremely dull, there’s more going on than just button mashing. The way that you approach the titan, your location on the ground or in the air, the sharpness of your blades, and the size and state of the titan all have an impact on how you go about fighting a titan. If you rush through the game, you’ll no doubt find the combat dull. However, if you spend a bit more time with it, there’s more to be seen. This is another factor that’s going to affect whether or not you enjoy your time with the game’s story mode.

The story is made up of 42 missions, of which only about 37 are necessary to see the end credits roll. The entire story can be played in around nine hours, and it turns out to be the more shallow of the two modes that Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains features. Honestly, story mode feels more like a warmup for the absolute best part of the game – world mode.

In world mode, you take on the role of the Special Ops Squad Leader. You get to customize your own character – including name, gender, face, hair, and clothing. Character sets are also unlocked over the course of the game. These sets let you model your character after a character from the anime, using a particular character’s appearance as a starting point. Your horse’s color can also be changed so that you can gallop through the horseback missions in style.

This isn’t where the customization ends, though. You can choose your character’s emblem, skills, and equipment. There are even titles that you can attach to your character to show off your heroic feats via StreetPass or online play.

World mode missions can be played solo, online via a local network, or online via the internet. Though the local network feature works relatively well, I found the experience to be most pleasing when going through the missions by myself. You’ll be able to hire, train, and equip a wide variety of soldiers that can accompany you on your missions. Normal missions are standard missions similar to those found in the story mode, while scout missions are more difficult endeavors that take place beyond the walls. Survival is the third and final mode, which allows you to fight titans until your death. This is one of the best parts of the game, as it is perfect for comparing high scores.

The more you play through world mode, the more you unlock. New weapons (e.g., blades, guns, etc.), skills, ODM gear, soldiers, emblems, titles, costumes, and character sets will be available after certain missions or objectives are complete. While the gameplay in world mode is very similar to that of story mode, it adds a lot of small factors that make it a more satisfying experience. Customization and a wider variety of useable weapons are obviously a few of these, but yet another is a permadeath feature – if one of your squad members perishes during a mission, they’re gone forever. You’ll have to replace them with another soldier who might not have the same fighting style, equipment, or training that the one you lost did. This adds extra intensity to moments where your team members are in the hands of titans. In story mode, it’s easy to focus on finishing the objective and being done without particularly caring about the fate of your teammates, but world mode brings a lot more pressure. In addition, you’ll gain experience and money after each adventure, which are necessary for using skills, buying new items, developing new equipment, and training soldiers. You’ll also need to forage for items during your mission. While this is a present element in story mode, it’s never as vital because the only items you need are the ones that immediately benefit you. In world mode, common metal is just as important as gun ammunition.

World mode is twice the game that story mode is, and that feels strange to say about two settings that share very similar methods of gameplay. However, it’s the truth. While story mode is a mediocre experience, world mode provides a thrilling experience that is equal parts action, strategy, item management, and teamwork. World mode is also the only mode that seems to offer any real replay value other than the replaying of story mode missions to get higher grades, which is something that some players will find exciting.

In both sections of the game, the music is fantastic. The selections chosen for the game really set the mood for each mission, and the voice acting taken straight from the anime series is just as great as it is when watching the show.

Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains is a game that has a very specific audience. After all, games based on anime and/or manga are hard to make: Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Sword Art Online, One Piece, and many more series have all tried their luck at expanding into the video game market in recent years. Like most games based on existing licenses, if you’re familiar with the source material, you already know what you’re getting into. If you’re a fan of the Attack on Titan series, this game is a no-brainer. You’re going to love playing through iconic moments from the anime and manga, and your pre-existing knowledge of each character’s personalities will make story mode much more entertaining. If you’re not familiar with AOT, it’s a bit harder to recommend at $39.99 – I have no doubt that many players will be waiting to pick this one up after a price drop or during a sale.

Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains is a competent action-adventure game, and there’s no question that the game is unique. There’s really nothing like Humanity in Chains on the Nintendo eShop right now, and that works in its favor. Though it is certainly not an essential 3DS title, the game is a unique experience that will please both fans of the series and action-adventure aficionados. If you’re at all interested in the series or just find the idea of slaughtering giant monsters appealing, you could do much worse than Humanity in Chains. You can download it now on Nintendo eShop, and each purchase will come with an exclusive 3DS Home theme for a limited time.

Review copy provided by ATLUS