Sentient spaceships in media are nothing new, but usually, you’re fighting said sentient ship and not using it to overthrow the dark space cult that gave you evil powers. If that seemed a lot to take in then you might not be ready for the newly announced Chorus (stylized as CHORVS, but definitely not pronounced “korvs”), revealed during today’s Inside Xbox event, and making its way to both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 according to the official website. The announce trailer for Chorus reveals a dark future, muttering, evil voices, and the special bond between fugitive and machine gun-toting spaceship, coming sometime in 2021.
Developed by Deep Silver and FishLabs, the trailer for Chorus depicts Nara, a woman on the run from a mysterious, dark cult that at one point used her for their own machinations. According to the official website, players will “take control of Nara, once the Circle’s deadliest warrior, now their most wanted fugitive, on a quest to destroy the dark cult that created her. Unlock devastating weapons and mind-bending abilities in a true evolution of the space-combat shooter. Along with Forsaken, her sentient starfighter, explore ancient temples, engage in exhilarating zero-g combat, and venture beyond our waking reality.”
The footage shown in the trailer mostly highlights travel and combat via Forsaken, your spaceship buddy. The description gives the impression that this is an inside the ship-only affair and that any exploration will take place out in the vast coldness of space itself. Is Chorus just a really fancy shmup? Will flying a spaceship through rings while spraying bullets everywhere ever get old? Why do sci-fi space games keep going with music-themed titles–just in case you forgot Bioware’s Anthem? Hopefully, all these questions and more will be answered as we slouch ever closer towards the launch of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, though Chorus does appear to be getting a current-gen launch as well if the website is to be trusted.
Chorus is set to launch an aria of gunfire in 2021.