Chaos Strikes Back

Did You Know?

• Wayne Holder of FTL said in 1994 that he wished they had done the whole thing differently, as some people were expecting more.
• Computer Gaming World stated that with the release of Chaos Strikes Back, FTL still had one foot in the winner's circle.
• CSBWin, an Atari ST version based reverse engineered source code reconstruction by Paul R. Stevens around 2003, led to many ports for modern platforms like Windows and Linux.

Gameplay

Despite billing itself as an expansion pack, Chaos Strikes Back does not require the original Dungeon Master to run. Where the first game sent players down a straightforward sequence of flat levels connected by staircases, this sequel offers branching routes that loop across multiple floors. The puzzles are significantly more intricate, blending fast-paced combat that demands control system mastery with complex riddles and tricky room designs. The overall difficulty is much steeper than its predecessor. Players begin by choosing from a set of moderately advanced characters or importing their own from a Dungeon Master save file. The opening challenge involves escaping a pitch-black, enclosed room swarming with giant, man-eating worms. To ease the burden, a separate program provides cryptic hints tailored to the player’s current save, while an in-game real-time map uses the GOR magic glyph—a symbol that served no purpose in the first game. The main objective is to gather four pieces of corbum, the magical substance that powers Lord Chaos. This means navigating four distinct paths, each themed around a character discipline: fighter, wizard, priest, and ninja. A utility on the game disk lets players edit the portraits and names of their four-person party, with custom portraits usable in both Chaos Strikes Back and Dungeon Master. For those wanting more imposing character art to match higher levels, the same utility disk includes enhanced versions of the game’s pre-made portraits.