Sometimes, the stars align and a game manages to rack up tens of thousands of players on Steam, seemingly from out of nowhere. Such is the case with Chained Together, a new platformer that asks you to climb out of the depths of hell.
Since its release last Wednesday, Chained Together has been rocketing up the Steam charts, and unlike definitely-not-a-scam "game" Banana, this one doesn't seem to be offering any kind of financial incentive to its players.
Instead, it's a physics platformer that's all about climbing out of hell, and it can be tackled either by yourself or with up to three friends in local multiplayer. If you ask me, though, it rather seems like Chained Together has been built around co-op.
It's not entirely clear what's behind Chained Together's meteoric (and entirely appropriate, given the subject matter) rise, but absent any kind of artificial boost, a number of factors could be at play here.
The game has a pretty low price point; at time of writing, it's available for $4.49, which is only a 10% discount on its usual price of $4.99. That's a solid price for any group of friends looking to take a punt on a new co-op experience.
It's also a simple, straightforward game in the vein of Human: Fall Flat or Only Up!, and it doesn't appear to offer any kind of microtransactions or live-service elements, which may well be refreshing for those looking for a multiplayer game devoid of such things.
There is also, of course, the fact that Chained Together is a pretty good game to stream; it's got plenty of laugh-out-loud emergent moments, and going by its Steam reviews, it's also a great way to get angry at your friends, which never fails to shift a few copies.
If you'd like to try Chained Together, you can grab it right now on PC via Steam. It's only a few dollars, so it's almost certainly worth an hour or two of your time at the very least.
