The Chaos Engine

Overview

The Chaos Engine dropped two mercenaries into a steampunk nightmare where a time-manipulating machine had twisted Victorian England. Six playable characters with different abilities, sixteen levels of maze-like exploration, and relentless enemies created the Bitmap Brothers’ most ambitious title.

Fast facts

• Developer: The Bitmap Brothers.
• Publisher: Renegade Software.
• Players: 1-2 cooperative.
• Setting: Victorian steampunk.

Playable characters

Character	Speed	Power	Special
Mercenary	Medium	Medium	Balanced
Brigand	Fast	Low	Speed
Gentleman	Medium	Medium	Range
Navvie	Slow	High	Strength
Thug	Slow	High	Durability
Preacher	Medium	Medium	Healing

Gameplay mechanics

Element	Design
Perspective	Top-down
Scrolling	Forced, exploration
Objectives	Keys, switches, exits
Power-ups	Weapons, health, special

Level structure

Four worlds, four levels each:

• Forest
• Workshop
• Fortress
• The Doomed

Each world escalates difficulty.

Cooperative play

Two-player design:

• CPU partner in solo mode
• Shared resources
• Tactical character pairing
• Split rewards

AI partner

Single-player CPU companion:

• Selectable character
• Competent assistance
• Takes share of pickups
• Unusual for the era

Combat system

Weapon	Behaviour
Default gun	Unlimited, moderate
Spread shot	Wide coverage
Rapid fire	Fast, short range
Bouncing	Ricochets off walls

Visual design

Element	Style
Palette	Dark, industrial
Architecture	Victorian machinery
Enemies	Mechanical, mutated
Effects	Explosions, debris

Reception

Publication	Score
Amiga Format	91%
CU Amiga	92%
Edge	8/10

Sequel

The Chaos Engine 2 (1996):

• Competitive multiplayer
• Split-screen
• Less well-received

Legacy

The Chaos Engine demonstrated:

• Single-player co-op viability
• Steampunk aesthetic appeal
• Character variety value
• Bitmap Brothers at peak

See also

• The Bitmap Brothers
• Speedball 2
• Xenon 2
• Commodore Amiga