CHAOS;CHILD

game

Disappointed after hearing about all the hype this VN gets.

The story started out alright but felt kinda lacking by the end. It doesn't help that the protagonist, Takuru, is an insufferable person and not in a "love to hate him" kind of way like Takumi from Chaos;Head was. Most of the cast were very one dimensional as well and the dialogue was often drawn out, I swear the most common line was "..." there had to be at least a hundred of those in the script.
The gameplay of having us make a map like a detective seemed fun at first but was utterly pointless as well, it was basically a multiple choice question quiz making sure you were following along with what the characters literally just said the moment before.

I was excited for the true ending and played through it but when the credits started I thought "Is that it?" but then the after credits scene came to save the day and after viewing it I thought... "Is that it?" again. If you like Shinkai endings you'll probably like this rip off though.

The ending to Nono's route was satisfying even with how infuriating Takuru was acting in this route so I had high hopes for how the true ending would portray Serika and expand on her character. Well it did nothing for her, it was a POV from Serika's perspective and how she wanted to regain her memories then in the end she sort of does but ultimately accepts Takuru's wish of wanting her to live a normal life while he rots in prison. Kinda depressing ending and I get what the writers were trying to go for but it fell flat.

Peak 🙏🙏

Unlike Chaos;Head, I can recommend Chaos;Child, because it is an enjoyable story regardless of your familiarity with Chaos;Head. A general knowledge of what happened in Chaos;Head is helpful to understand the context of the story, but is not required.

The story struggles a bit with its theme, forcing you to doubt everything you're told as a possible delusion, but you end up caring about most of the characters in the process, so you're not caring that the story is a bit weak. The writing does a good job of instilling believability in the scenarios and terror in the main character, which makes it realer, even if the story doesn't make sense all the time. Above all, if you like psychological horror, the game does a good enough job to be worth checking out.

the story is very interesting and the true ending was near perfection.

Just too goddamn tragic and bittersweet, cherish the slice of life scenes till you can....
I honestly can't say much about how I emotionally feel about this VN, it is not that deep and it is probably just me, but whenever I try to think, my mind just becomes a haze, so as of now I'm not sure if I love it or hate it or like it or dislike it, I only know that it was worth my time and certainly not meh/mid.

Edit - One thing I'm sure about is that I found the story to be very good and interesting, as good as Steins;Gate, I'm just not sure how I feel emotionally about it(like I mentioned above)

Chaos;Child builds on the foundation of Chaos;Head Noah, refining and expanding the concepts without relying too heavily on callbacks. It’s a natural evolution of its predecessor, introducing new features like the Mapping Trigger System and deepening the psychological horror elements, all while carving its own path.

The narrative is gripping, packed with twists that keep you questioning reality. While the constant barrage of surprises can be overwhelming at times, the writing keeps you hooked with a compelling story, an endearing cast, and a constant challenge to test how much you’ll tolerate from the characters. The atmosphere of paranoia and tension lingers long after the game ends.

The art and music enhance the experience, with striking visuals and a haunting soundtrack that amplifies the emotional impact. Though it lacks the chapter select feature of its predecessor, it still offers all the necessary quality-of-life features for smooth progression.

At the time of writing, Chaos;Child stands as my second favorite Science Adventure title, a testament to how it refines the series’ formula while staying fresh and engaging.

★ Gripping Narrative: Builds on Chaos;Head Noah’s foundation, offering a fresh, compelling story with psychological twists.

★ Strong Character Development: A memorable cast, including returning and new characters, with rich emotional depth.

★ Refined Art Style: The visual design blends traditional and modern styles, delivering a polished aesthetic with engaging character animations

★ Excellent Audio: Takeshi Abo’s atmospheric soundtrack and the strong seiyuu performances elevate the experience.

★ Strong Ties to Science Adventure Lore: Rewards players familiar with the series’ universe, offering deeper context and connections.

⚠️ Overwhelming Twists: The numerous twists can sometimes feel excessive, leading to confusion or fatigue.

⚠️Minor Reveals: Some plot twists or character developments don’t land as strongly as intended, feeling underwhelming.

⚠️ Pacing: The pacing can feel slow at times, requiring patience as the story and details gradually unfold.

⚠️ Guide Recommended: Certain decisions and endings require specific choices, making a guide almost necessary for true completion.


Summary: Chaos;Child builds on Chaos;Head Noah’s foundation with a gripping narrative, strong character development, and a series of thought-provoking twists. The game rewards players who’ve experienced prior entries, delivering an intense psychological thriller with deep ties to the Science Adventure universe. Its refined art style, atmospheric music, and talented seiyuu cast elevate the experience.

While the sheer number of twists can be overwhelming at times, and the pacing may fatigue some players, it remains an impressive and memorable entry in the series. As always, the Committe of Zero patch is highly recommended.

Rating 9/10

Major improvement over it's predecessor Chaos;Head in almost every way, was really impressed by this. But you still need to read C;H before C;C as it spoils so much and many plot points will make no sense if you don't know the context.
Might be the best VN in SciADV Series

peak fiction

Phenomenal VN. Kurusu's route is absolute cinema! 10 / 10

Nobody reads the reviews anyways, so i'll just say i'm gay

Summary: If you like visual novels about Japanese teenagers with magical powers, you'll probably enjoy this game. If you do play it, I would highly recommend using the fan translation patch.

As above, the only real objective negative about this game is the poor localisation. The words on the screen are fine (I guess), but there's a few typos and lots of formatting errors that make it feel like a first draft. There is a fan patch that corrects this, but that shouldn't be necessary on a game that costs money. There's also no option to just use the Japanese text instead.

The auto feature is extremely slow, even on the fastest setting.

The game itself is good. The visuals are good. The music is decent. The voice acting is very good. I experienced no bugs. The interaction gimmicks are fun enough.

Overall, the story is intriguing and feels like time and effort was put into it. I enjoyed reading it. However, at times the pacing feels very slow; half the dialogue feels like various types of heavy breathing instead of a way to convey information. It's also sometimes difficult to tell how seriously I'm meant to be taking what's happening. The tone's all over the place. Is that character acting like an idiot because it's relevant to the plot, or is it just because he's a cartoon character?

It's a good game, but only if you enjoy the genre.

This game messed with me mentally and emotionally so much. Really interesting characters and twists.

Absolute Cinema

New Chaos entry doko?

Anyways for me this was on par with Steins;Gate or even slightly better (my opinion). What I enjoyed was that a few endings impacted me emotionally and Chaos;Child builds on the familiar events and concepts established in Chaos;Head Noah. The character routes allows you to understand some of the main characters in depth and their backstories.

If you enjoyed Chaos;Head Noah, you will enjoy Chaos;Child.

it had a great impact on me,I won't forget it

burst out in tears and i think i will never recover from it

i am utterly BROKEN, my tears feel like pieces of shattered glass, this glass being a delicate part of my soul which can't help but cry with me. This game left me DEPRESSED. Yes, the story is perfect as it is, but it's just so, so sad it feels unfair even if we know it was for the best. Takuru and Serika stand out as THE BEST pair in fiction.

it left a huge impact on me, as well as a void deep in my soul that i will feel every time i hear the ending song.

actually astonished by the glow up from Chaos;Head Noah

good

YOU NEED TO PLAY CHAOS;HEAD NOAH BEFORE THIS ONE

Didn't hit as hard as Chaos;Head for me, but it's still very good. Def recommend.

good

That ending...

its fucking peak, its the best murder mystery story I can think of as well as probably one of the best stories i've ever experienced so read it NOW.

Peak

While it may have had some help with exposition via Chaos;Head, it uses this as an advantage rather than a crutch to deliver a unique and wild story besting your expectations

I was a huge fan of what Choas;Head was trying to do. I loved the confusing, eerie atmosphere. I loved the drug-induced delusions and how hard it was to tell what was real and what was fake. But it never stuck the landing for any of its ideas. They would always fall flat before they reached their full potential. By the time I started going through the 2nd or 3rd character route in the VN, I was starting to get sick of it. Chaos;Child didn't make me feel this way.

Chaos;Child shares concepts and themes with C;H but executes them better. Not to say there are things that couldn't have been better. Just that it did what I hoped C;H would do. I didn't feel this way at first. The first 6 chapters in the common route weren't all too interesting. They weren't bad but they didn't grab me like C;H's first few chapters did. After that point though, the story grabbed me and didn't let go till I finished everything.

There was a moment in the 2nd third of the story that was incredibly suspenseful. And the payoff was gut-wrenching. After this moment, the entire atmosphere of the VN changes. And it stays that way for the rest of the story. This was what made me really enjoy my time with the story. While the first third of the story felt like a basic murder mystery with anime tropes, everything after was a suspenseful and demented narrative that kept you on the edge of your seat.

The twists and turns throughout were mostly satisfying and only a few moments did it feel unearnt or dumb. The final twist was the main one. In hindsight, they give you a couple of hints related to the final twist through a character named Mio, but even with those it felt very out of nowhere. And I was constantly taking notes, able to solve all the other mysteries before they were answered. This was one of the best parts of the VN, which is why this final twist felt so jarring. The twist itself is good and works well with the themes and message of the VN. But they definitely could've built up to it better.

As for the characters and their routes. I liked them quite a bit. Aside from one of the antagonists and Hana, I liked the other characters and enjoyed their interactions together. The big problem with Hana is that she's barely around in the story. She has a character route which does help her, but not enough I feel. She just didn't get enough development to feel as interesting as the other characters. Unlike the character routes in C;H and S;G, I enjoyed most of the routes here. Only one of them was below the others, and it was still decent. The best two routes were Nono's and Hinae's. They had very interesting scenarios and were great to read through.

The character routes also add a lot to the story this time around. In C;H, they made me like the VN much less. In C;C though, they feel like pieces to a puzzle that satisfyingly get put together piece by piece. The story rewards people who pay attention and try to solve the mysteries before the story reveals the answers. That's probably my favourite part about C;C. I love how all these routes make both Takuru and Serika fascinating characters to study. There's so much to delve into with the two of them alone, they are probably my 2nd favourite thing about the story. The consequences of each character's actions being my 3rd favourite thing.

C;C also makes the Committee of 300 feel even scarier than they already are. They get away with so much and their actions cause ripples that affect innocents in horrifying ways. This helps with the thriller aspect of the story.

As for the visual and audio aspects of the VN, they're consistently great, even amazing sometimes. The presentation of the VN fits well with the narrative and the expressiveness of the character portraits is nice. The hazy, newspaper look mixed with the colour palette adds to the atmosphere. The characters look behind them, left, and right when talking to another character other than the character in first person. The music is probably the best in the series. It's incredibly fitting and feels like the composer at his best. The only track I dislike is the one used for comedic moments. It's very overused. Also, the sound effects borrowed from C;H is a nice touch.

Chaos;Child is what I wanted from Chaos;Head as a story. I still think C;H is an incredible experience because of its one of a kind atmosphere and its unique drug-fueled journey. But C;C has much more consistent writing and didn't leave me feeling annoyed or dissatisfied like C;H did. I even think this is a bit better than Steins;Gate as a VN. It's tonally much less jarring. If it did things like the build-up to the final twist and Hana's character better among other things, I'd count this among my favourite VNs.

8/10

At the time of writing, Chaos;Child is now my 2nd favorite game in the Sci;Adv series. The story and main characters left a pretty big impact on my mind, as well as the psychological thriller of the narrative that legit had me sitting on the edge of my seat at certain moments.

It was also neat to see how the story parallels Chaos;Head in many ways (both in- and out-of-universe). For instance the protag Takumi from C;H was a classic shut-in, not wanting to do anything with the world or anyone, and preferred to run away from main plot. Takuru in C;C on the other hand wanted to pursue the main mystery, while everyone around him just wanted him to live a normal school life.

My only complaints with Chaos;Child are that the pacing did feel a little jarring, some of the villains not having much screentime or nonsensical motivations, and the big plot twist about the story sorta felt like it came out of nowhere. It felt like a deus ex machina vehicle to enable new interactions between the main lead characters, but it was actually written so well that I was willing to overlook it.

You will be pressing A for the next 50 hours and you will like it

As long as you liked chaos;head, you're going to love this game. Or any SciAdv novel, but Chaos;Head is absolutely mandatory to do befoire Chaos;Child. Do yourself a favour and play it !

taku did nothing wrong

i liek tis one

srs its a good game, go play it

This game was such a surprise for me, I though nothing could stand on equal grounds with Steins;Gate, but somehow it was done. Nono is the best character in fiction hands down.

This game was very good, please play the previous games before this one.

this is very sad and damn good

Doomed Yaoi

Best entry in the science;adventure series i have played by far was a ride start to finish great game also play chaos;head first.

very good game and story

the funny okkei waifu

semicolon ;

This one's a pain to write...
I love the Science Adventure games: the Steins:Gate series is probably my favorite Visual Novel series, and I4ve played a LOT of such games.
But this one is a sheer 46 hours of suffering. The story is good-ish, but the characters are mostly insufferable and the main character is the worst of them all. The gameplay doesn't help with the focus on "fantaisies" that are a "good" reason to have a bunch of fan service pictures here and there.

Honestly, I'd say you can skip this one as well as Chaos:Head.

Really good.

Welcome to Chaos World.

So first off, this is a Visual Novel in the Science Adventure Series. It is the 4th release after Chaos;Head (and Chaos;Head NoAH), Steins;Gate and Robotics;Notes, but you don't need to complete all of them before this. However it is recommended that you do Chaos;Head NoAH first as that is the first of the Chaos series, and describes the events that heavily influence Chaos;Child.
This game was insane, and that's an understatement. It starts off a bit slow like most of the Science Adventure series, just normal slice of life interactions and teenagers investigating murders - nothing too crazy. But boy does this story go WAY beyond that. At first, things are a bit creepy and spooky as more and more details of the mysteries are revealed. Without spoiling too much, things go from ominous to straight up insane. The amount of plot twists are just unreal, Highly recommended, this is one of the peaks of fiction. Maybe not at the level of Steins;Gate, but still extremely well written with an insane buildup to the final plot.

For the most part around the same as chaos;head.
Finale is great tho
so i guess child>head

This game forces you to see all character endings before you can watch the true ending (Tip: Find a decent guide, because you're in for a world of pain trying to figure out yourself how to get to a specific character). You'd expect the true ending to be the best, but it is actually the worst (they went full 5 centimeters per second). The best ending this game can offer is the Real Sky End.

Do yourself a favor—don't bother with the Silent Sky End (True Ending), especially if you're the type who gets depressed easily. If you thought you'd be desensitized after Clannad, think again. Japanese people are very creative. They don't run out of visual novels that makes you want to jump off a building.

Hey, Taku, did you have fun?

As someone who really enjoys the Science Adventure series this was a tough review to write. I have enjoyed every main entry into the Science Adventure series except for this one and it is solely due to the writing and characters. Despite interesting scenes, powers, and delusions things were personally ruined for me by non-sensical plot twists (not just one but multiple) that seem mostly done for shock factor. I expected Chaos: Head pt 2 but I ended up disappointed by the direction the story took (and the ending).

This game does have its strong points: some interesting scenarios, some cool visuals, and good music but they were not able to overcome the weak-points it has as a novel. Good science fiction (and VNs) should be carried by their writing and this definitely isn't. Of course if that is not a deal breaker for you I am sure you can find enjoyment in this game, but I personally prefer to think of the Science Adventure series only having 5 entries (S;G, C;H, R;N, O;9, A;C).

why did I laugh for like 10 minutes at the game's Mature Content Description, there's something about how it went from describing gore to just sex lol

i love you serika

"Uhh but it gets better the more you play"
If the first 20 hours are ass then I really don't care how it ends. Worse than C;H in every way.

Hey, Taku, did you have fun?