Total Chaos Brings Psychological Horror to All Major Platforms
- Total Chaos, a rebuilt UE5 version of a Doom II mod, was shadowdropped and released on PC and consoles with upgraded visuals, Hollywood-level VFX, and music by Akira Yamaoka.
- Published by Apogee with Atari/Infogrames, it marks the revitalized publisher’s first modern survival-horror title.
- Its Nov. 20 shadowdrop places it alongside surprise releases like Fallout Shelter, Apex Legends, Hi-Fi Rush, and Oblivion Remastered.
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Doom II Mod Gets Reborn
Total Chaos started life as a Doom II mod, but has since been rebuilt as a standalone game using Unreal Engine 5. It includes original music by Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka and visual fx by top Hollywood talent, and is available now on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.
Total Chaos is set on Fort Oasis, a once-vibrant island home to a coal mining community. However, as with all the best survival horrors, something monstrous has taken over the island and it’s up to players to delve into the literal depths and find out what’s going on.
“Total Chaos began for me almost two decades ago when the original mod became my first real step into creating a world of my own,” said Sam Prebble, the lead developer. “I never imagined I’d return to Fort Oasis and rebuild it as a full standalone release on PC and consoles.”
“I’m grateful to everyone who helped bring it to this moment, especially the teams at Apogee, Atari, and Infogrames. See you on the island. Listen carefully to the voice you follow.”
True Indie Publishing
Total Chaos is published by Apogee, in association with Atari/Infogrames. Apogee was founded by Scott Miller in 1990 and went on to publish the likes of Duke Nukem, Wolfenstein 3D, and Max Payne. It’s now owned by Embracer Group but still positions itself as “The Original Indie Publisher,” and recent titles include Turbo Overkill (also by Prebble) and Wizordum.
“Total Chaos is Apogee’s first step into survival horror and a full-circle moment for Sam, whose early love for classics like DOOM, Duke Nukem 3D, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and the horror genre at large helped inspire this original vision,” said Apogee’s Executive Producer, Jeron Moore.
“What began as a total conversion mod has grown into a faithful and expanded remake. Our creative bond from Turbo Overkill made it a privilege to support him again and ensure Total Chaos delivers a truly landmark horror experience.”
Moore’s comment about it being the first survival horror title under Apogee is technically true, since the version operating now is effectively a new company using an old name, similar to Acclaim. However, under Miller’s original stewardship the company put out multiple horror titles as 3D Realms – which also saw a revival, in 2021, via new ownership under Saber Interactive.
Top Talent and Shadowdrops
All this means is that Total Chaos has a lot of big names and experienced industry veterans behind it, but this also extends to Prebble himself. The developer has extensive visual effects experience working for Peter Jackson’s Wētā studio, on Avatar, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
This experience has translated into gruesome creatures and location design, with players familiar with the original 2018 mod noting that, while some level layout remains largely the same, pretty much everything has received a major upgrade/overhaul. Players have also been praising the game’s emphasis on resource management, as well as sharing similar vibes to Silent Hill and Amnesia.
Total Chaos officially launched on Nov. 24, but was the latest big budget title to get “shadowdropped” (on Nov. 20) – this is a relatively new practice that sees a game get released without warning. Bethesda may have inadvertently created the idea when it revealed and released Fallout Shelter on the same day back in 2015. EA’s Apex Legends may be the first big-budget example as it was released with very little prior hype in 2019. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is perhaps the most famous recent example, although Hi-Fi Rush was another high-profile game shadowdropped (in January 2023).
Both latter titles are also linked with Bethesda. The studio’s director, Tom Mustaine, recently spoke at the Golden Joystick Awards on the idea of shadowdrops, and went on say that Bethesda’s overall boss, Todd Howard, “wanted to shadowdrop things for a long time because it’s so great to be able to say, ‘Here’s the thing, get it today.’ It’s very valuable.”
On getting a lot of attention for the Oblivion drop, he added: “Personally, I think it was great to own the internet for that day and, you know, give people exactly what they want the moment we talk about it. I’m a fan of that personally, but I’d love to see more people do it.”
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