Mommy’s Best Games’ Nathan Fouts Talks ChainStaff – Interview Series

Earthworm Jim is about to have his anthropomorphic world ruffled with the feathers of ChainStaff’s throwback love letter to eighties action-platforming—an ode that will reportedly mesh the greatest aspects of old-school abstract sci-fi with a fresh layer of heavy metal.

“In ChainStaff, you are a mutant with an alien attached to your head ready to master your transforming spear and grappling hook, blazing weapon upgrades,” the press release reads in part. “With the rocking soundtrack of Broforce composer Deon van Herrden, players will swing, shoot, and spear their way through hordes of evil monsters and bone-shaking boss fights, and get this thing off your head!”

Nathan Fouts, Director and Game Designer, pitches in: “I love games such as Mega Man X and Bionic Commando and I wanted to add something new. The grappling hook mechanics are smooth as silk here, and the ability to change the ChainStaff into a spear, shield, bridge and more, all with the touch of a single button should give players a new type of platforming challenge!”

In an effort to learn more about ChainStaff ahead of its April 8, 2026 launch on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and PC, we recently sat down with Nathan at Mommy’s Best Games to iron over the details.

ChainStaff takes us back to the vibrant corridors of eighties’ side-scrolling action platforming with its colorful characters and projectile-soaked environments. Tell us, what inspired you to create a throwback to this time period, in particular?

Nathan: I think the gameplay from that period is very enjoyable. Everything is clear and easy to see and understand. You’re in 2D, judging your jumps is very easy to do compared to 3D platformers. Because of that, I like to make more interesting gameplay, so I love pulling in gameplay mechanics like grappling hooks. Because the platforming is easier, that means we get to give you neat, new ways to control your player–like the living, transforming ChainStaff weapon.

Tell us more about ChainStaff and its leading heroes/villains. Who are we filling the shoes of in this world, and what are we aiming to accomplish?

Nathan: You take the role of Sgt Jesse Varlette, aka “Varl”. He was sent in with a large group of soldiers, that were meant to repel the invading “Star Spores”. However, in the initial attack, many of his friends were killed, but he was “rescued” by an alien. It attached to his head, and is apparently keeping him alive, but also giving him super human strength and the ability to control the ChainStaff. With it, Captain Knox, your superior, is having you use your new abilities to fight the Star Spores. But your sister, Dr. V is trying desperately to get that freakish alien off your head!

Weapons and “grotesque upgrades” clearly play a huge role in ChainStaff. Could you tell us more about these gadgets?

Nathan: In ChainStaff, the player is sent to destroy the Star Spore, contained in a huge, mutant boss in each area. But along the way, some of his fellow soldiers who were trying to help fight the aliens, have been hurt. They are somewhere in the level, asking for help. When you find them, you can rescue them, sending them back to base. With the data they’ve acquired on the enemy, Captain Knox can give you new weapons researched from the aliens. This is the “Human Tech tree”. You’ll get a variety of secondary weapons that shoot with your main gun.

However, if you decide to eat your fellow soldiers, you can gain alien powers. Making your main gun stronger, and gaining the ability for more health and “blood lust” abilities to fight stronger.

The characters in the story do react to you being good and evil, with 6 different endings in the game. And if you eat too many soldiers, the other soldiers in the levels start fighting back against you!

You’ve described each of the in-game levels as a “classic rock album come to life.” Care to elaborate? What can we expect to uncover in these bustling portals?

Nathan: I just love the album cover art from the 70s and 80s and the make it more of the game, each time you start a new level, a dusty, stained album jacket slides into view and you can hear the record player popping and scratching as the game music starts. Then the album cover fades into the actual live gameplay, and the full sound of the music kicks in!

There are some truly wild levels to explore from dragon-claw waterfalls, to jellyfish clouds at sunset. Start swinging and explore around!

Do you have any words of advice for those who might be looking to pick up a copy of ChainStaff? Are there any do’s or don’ts that might aid their journey?

Nathan: You can eat up to 4 soldiers before they start fighting back. Eat 3, stop there, then decide whether to be evil or not.

Check your Area Map to blurry parts of the map. These are new places to explore where you can gain new upgrades!

Are you stuck on a boss? Try exploring in a new level or branch to fight more powers.

To unlock new levels, you need to find the Spore Pollen for each new level. Sometimes these are on secondary level branches, so check there if you seem stuck!

Do you think ChainStaff could be the beginning of a new wave of eighties throwbacks? We’re jumping ahead here, but we have to ask, what will be the next step for you? Are we likely to see another ode to classic platforming?

Nathan: I do love me some side-scrolling action! I’ve made Serious Sam DD XXL and Shoot 1UP in the past. Check out my past games to try to imagine what I might make in the future.

We wouldn’t want to miss out on any important updates ahead of ChainStaff’s launch on consoles and PC. Where might we be able to find some additional information on the game, if you don’t mind me asking?

Nathan: The best places to connect with me are:

Discord to chat and get some cheats; my Mailing list for giveaways; and bluesky for the latest news.

Would you like to add final details for our readers before we wrap things up here?

Nathan: Thank you for the opportunity to chat. The soundtrack for ChainStaff is truly special, lovingly hand-crafted with real instruments by the composer of Broforce, Deon van Heerden. Get ready to rock on April 8th! It’s coming to all consoles and Steam: https://chainstaffgame.com/

Thanks for speaking with us, Nathan — we really appreciate it. Best of luck with ChainStaff!

You can learn even more about Mommy’s Best Games’ ChainStaff by following the official bluesky handle here. For additional pre-launch updates, be sure to add the game to your wishlist on Steam here.