Chasm: The Rift is a marginally above-average first-person shooter that would have probably been better known had it been released before the likes of Quake II and Jedi Knights.
Like most 3D shooters, Chasm incorporates only a vaguely thought-out story. There are different "rifts" in time, and aggressive creatures from the past, present and future are infiltrating our time. You must attack and kill these "time strikers" and investigate what is going on. Translation: you walk around basic levels killing everything in sight solving puzzles no harder than pushing the right buttons to open doors. Before each mission, a funny-looking commander briefs you. These sequences usually involve watching two animated people talk and can't quite match up to the high-quality FMVs out there today.
The most commendable aspect of the game is the monsters. Chasm has 16 original enemies from various time periods. These range from basic scorpions to alien captains. There are also 4 masters: the Sarcophagus, who has a surgically implanted chainsaw arm and rocket launcher, the Phantom (two swords and a fireball), a Sphinx and a Time Judge. Another interesting aspect about the enemies is that different parts of their anatomy will fly off as you fire at them (get your mind out of the gutter, not those parts). Arms and heads will fly different directions during the heat of the battle, depending on where they are shot.
Enemies have a descent polygon count, smooth animations, and are pretty original in concept. At 640-by-480, the maximum available resolution, Chasm looks attractive enough, though not nearly as lavish as GLQuake or even Jedi Knight. Support for 3Dfx-based cards or even Direct3D would help.
Overall, it’s just too bad Chasm wasn’t released a year before it came out—in 1996 at the time of Quake, it would have proved a worthy challenger to the 3-D action throne. It is a pity that the developers took months to find a publisher, and months more to complete it. As it stands, Chasm is just a poor man’s Quake that would be a must-buy if Quake and its brethren were never made. Enjoyable, but there are many better FPS out there—recommended only if you have played every other FPS on the market ;)
Review By HOTUD
English 
Comments and reviews
For anyone interested, the indie game Hrot takes a lot of inspiration from Chasm: The Rift.
The remaster has just been released on Steam & GOG.
fantastic game but some level designs (i.e.: the path to and including most of level 4) are just a bit bizarre but overall super fun and a worthwhile play
This game is getting an official release on steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2061230/Chasm_The_Rift/
A very underrated "Quake clone".
If you're having problems with the game spinning, try removing any controllers you have plugged in. That worked for me.
I'm playing this on the zomb's lair port and my mouse keeps spinning. Anybody know how to fix this?
Hello, if anyone wants to play the game with better resolutions and fixed bugs(some) you can play the game through the PanzerChasm!
Just search it and download it from google(you can download it on ModDB Or Offcial Github page).
Hope you enjoyed! :)
@ICE It's 'then' not 'than'
sto scaricando il gioco... è normale che in giochi come questi o quake la grafica sia molto scura (contrasto molto alto) o è il gioco che è così?
grazie mille... supportate questo sito!
For anyone having trouble with that runtime error mentioned in the comments here do this:
- Install game in DosBox
- Go to the PcgamingWiki link here on the page
- Download the "csmtcpip.exe" Patch and the modified "PS10.exe" (the link under "Performance Fix")
- Put "csmtcpip.exe" in your install directory of the game and run "csmtcpip.exe" in Dosbox.
- Let it extract, than run "fix.exe" in DosBox afterwards
- Replace the original "PS10.exe" in the install folder with the one you downloaded from PcGaming Wiki
Worked for me at least
I recently played this hidden gem with PanzerChasm and I had a lot of fun playing it. It was an immersive game with destroyable decor, great textures, a variety of enemies, unique weapons and great level design despite its limitations. With the port I played it with ease due to its full mouse look support.
For how old it is, I love this little game. What I don't like is how it is compared to Quake (its Chasm: The Rift not Quake) and the damn pigs (they are the most annoying enemy in the game). I was surprised, because this was the first game created by the developer. It may not be Doom or Quake, but it is still a great game.
cheat codes: https://www.gamesradar.com/chasm-the-rift/cheats/
Hi i have a little problem playing this game. it starts fine and looks like there are no problems but when the real game starts the player moves constantly in circles and look up. i tried to reinstall a few times but always the same. i used a different keyboard and i changed the controlls but no chance at all. i play it in dosbox on ubuntu. other dos-games dont have a problem with the controlls. blood for example plays very smooth. does anyone have a similar problem or know how to change it?
thanx in advanced
here the solution to play the game on windows 10
https://www.dosgamers.com/dos/dos-games/chasm-the-rift
Tried this game on my mac mini (Late 2012) using DosBox app and then the Boxer app, but it doesn't work. There's unfortunately a runtime error.
Best Graphics for this time, good gameplay the Editor did never work for me.
I have the original german version with green blood but
It still was better than Quake II. The weapons are are very Special, vulcan machine gun, throwing round blades that cut off zombie arms, heads, legs.
Never seen any that detail in aiming on games only in Soldier of Fortune.
I downloaded it and tried to run it in DosBox but I get a Runtime Error 200 message. Any idea how to fix this?
wow these comments are interesting.
first not quake or any id engine.
second has many advantages over these closer in spec to its windows competition q2.
ive played at least 3 versions of this game the later us release had a windows 32 mode offering very good graphics.
to be honest the gameplay is the downfall not bad just not as fun as more successful games.
very weird storyline kinda original but too weird.
do you have a German version of this game with green blood? Help!
Good game, while it may not be one of the titans of 90s FPS games, it deserves at least to have a place on the "best of the rest" listing. Despite some people's claims, it is neither a Quake nor a Wolfenstein 3D engine, but its own thing which has some pretty cool features despite the engine limitations. The graphics and theme of the game do remind a bit of Quake at times though.
A CD-image version, including the level editor and CD audio, can be found through the 3D Shooter Legends site.
Also, to you folks who have made any good addon levels, upload them somewhere? I'm sure I am not the only person who'd like to play.
hahaha, so funny that this game is under the EDITOR/CONSTRUCTION SET
theme but the level editor is not present, that's priceless,hey don't get me wrong
here,the people who put this site together have done a fantastic job but it is what it is and the level editor just aint here.....sigh-
where is the mapmaker/level editor utility?
my cdrom version from back in the day came with
a program to make my own levels and fill them with
enemies,and it was amazing what you could do with lighting
as far as enemies being able to see you or not, the mapmaker
program made up 50% of what made this game so much fun.
this version is the nuetered version!!!!!!
Has one of the most interesting renderers. The game abounds with originality. It is by no means a Quake engine. Where is the source code?
Pretty good quake-style game.
6,50:Good game. Quake 1 engine
This game's pretty good, had fun while playing it... nonetheless, it just screams for a sequel that we'll never get. What a shame. =.=
This ukrainian game wasn't released before Quake due to publisher's delay. Ukraine never does trash. Network game included.
Network game: (change/add value in Dos Box Config File)
[ipx]
ipx=true
Server: ipxnet startserver
Client: ipxnet connect 192.168.***.***
Leitbild, 1996's ID vs. Action Forms. Questions?
A nice Quake rip-off from Russia! The engine looks really dull in comparation with Quake (f.e. the heighth of the map structure is limited as it was in the Wolfenstein engine), but it has other nice features like the ability to shoot off limbs and heads from your enemies... Ok, sometimes it looked very stupid if one enemy attacks you with his shoulders instead of his (shot off) arms! XD
But a great variety of locations (missile bases, alien structures, ancient egypt etc.) and a solid an easy gameplay makes it a nice FPS game really worth a look... :)
Hi, I downloaded your game and when I run it in DOSBox it says "runtime error 200 error loading from "csm.bin" HELP!
As a fan of Doom, Quake etc I really enjoyed it. It's good!
I remember being amazed at the demo when you could blast enemies arms off. I also remember how the second level completely abandons the mechanic in the full game.
No comment nor review for this game at the moment.