ChainStaff is visually stunning on ROG Xbox Ally X with great boss fights and a smart core weapon idea, but uneven control feel keeps the run-and-gun action from fully clicking
ChainStaff is a game I admire more than I love. It looks incredible and has excellent moments, but the way it feels in my hands never fully settled. On my ROG Xbox Ally X, I came away impressed by the presentation and boss design, but frustrated by the overall control feel.
The setting is simple and weird in the best way. Star Spores crash into Earth and mutate everything around them. Flora and fauna become grotesque versions of themselves, bigger, sharper, and far more hostile, with thorns, mandibles, claws, and extra mouths where they do not belong. You play as Sgt. Varlette, who is also mutated, not by the spores, but by an alien-mutant parasite bug that joins you because it also hates these creatures and wants them gone.
At a mechanical level, the game pulls from classic Contra style run-and-gun design. It is a side scroller with directional aiming and constant pressure. The key difference is the ChainStaff, easily the game’s most interesting system.
You can charge and launch the ChainStaff as a heavy attack, throw it to block projectiles, and use it as traversal to reach higher routes. Offense, defense, and movement all in one weapon is a strong idea, and when those uses click together, the game feels great.
That is the best version of ChainStaff, and I did get glimpses of it. But I also kept running into a control disconnect on Ally X. I tried different control schemes, including single-stick and dual-stick layouts, and still never felt truly comfortable. It was not one broken setting, just a persistent off-feeling in movement and aiming.
Because the game can be quite challenging, this matters a lot. When fights are built around fast reactions and tool switching, slight awkwardness gets amplified. Instead of only fighting monsters, I often felt like I was also fighting my own inputs, but maybe that is just my own fault.
The level design also gave me mixed feelings. Levels include multiple paths, which adds replay value in theory, but in practice means replaying sections to open alternate routes and progress further. The checkpoint spawn system helps as you don't have to replay the whole level, but it still feels repetitive.
There is also a light metroidvania layer, where some routes require upgrades before they are accessible. If you like progression gating, this may be a plus. For me, it hurt pacing and pushed me into more backtracking than I wanted.
The game also has a separate upgrade economy tied to rescuing soldiers hidden across levels. Saving them earns points you can spend on persistent upgrades like extra armor and secondary attacks, including rockets. Those upgrades are not filler, they genuinely help in combat, especially in tougher stretches where survivability and burst damage matter.
Where ChainStaff completely won me over was boss fights. These encounters are creatively disgusting, visually memorable, and mechanically varied. They feel like the point where the game’s ideas fully come together. Bosses are not just oversized health bars, they demand pattern reading, movement discipline, and smart use of your ChainStaff abilities.
One boss in particular looked like a giant sack of organs, and the core mechanic was pulling its guts out with the ChainStaff while the arena sank into lava. It is absurd, gross, and very cool. Most major fights have that same personality, and they are consistently the highlight.
I would genuinely play a boss-rush mode if it existed. The bosses are sharp and exciting, while parts of the path to reach them can feel like friction.
From a technical standpoint on ROG Xbox Ally X, performance is strong. The game runs locked at 120 fps and looks clear and vibrant on the handheld screen. Visual fidelity is not the issue, movement and aiming feel are.
That is why my verdict lands where it does. ChainStaff has a brilliant central mechanic, great visual identity, and very fun boss fights. But the control feel, at least for me on Ally X, prevented the combat loop from becoming truly satisfying over long sessions.
If your tolerance for unusual control feel is high, you may click with this faster than I did. If precision handling is your top priority, expect an adjustment period and some frustration. It is stylish, creative, and packed with great ideas, but it did not feel as good to play as it looked. Thanks for reading!
