End of Abyss isn’t shy about where it’s pulling its inspiration from. Having seen the trailers and covered it a bit this year, I can see Little Nightmares, a bit of Metroid, and a whole lot of determination to make something cool.
And there are similarities, since the founders of Section 9 Interactive once worked at Tarsier Studios. So it makes sense that the studio would approach familiar territory with a new outlook. End of Abyss mostly works, but some issues keep it from being excellent.
End of Abyss Makes You Feel Fear
End of Abyss offers a familiar but new experience, including an underground facility to explore, weapons to discover and improve, ammunition and items to make, suit modifications to find and equip, and bosses to fight. The game still has the familiar 2.5D view and the feeling of being thrown right into the middle of the story, but that is about all that is similar.
This metroidvania title puts you in the role of Cel, a young combat technician, as she and her team investigate a deserted underground facility to find out why the building has fallen into such a state and why the staff have turned into horrific monsters. There’s very little story to go on, and much of what happened is left to your imagination, with Section 9 Interactive choosing to keep it intentionally vague.
With a pulse rifle and a knife, Cel has what it takes not only to survive but to explore. Along the journey, you’ll find more weapons that let you go deeper into the unknown, like a flamethrower. If you’ve played a twin-stick shooter, you’ll feel right at home here with movement and weapons tied to the sticks, but Cel can strafe to avoid damage. However, how much damage can you deliver before an enemy closes in? In some cases, I had felt too confident, only to find myself overtaken.
Weapons can be upgraded once a workbench becomes available, and later you can use multiple weapons. Weapons also require ammo, which you must craft, and it’s not wise to use it so freely. I only ran out of ammo a few times, but otherwise I found just enough to survive. Using Fragments, Cel can upgrade weapons when enemies drop them, or you can find them in chests.
Consumables like grenades and flares made things easier. As enemies swarmed me, I’d toss an explosive and get out of the way. I’d craft the max as often as I could on the workbench and make sure I had them on hand. Same with flares, as they can distract enemies while you whittle their health away. You have some great tools at your disposal, so making sure you use everything is the best advice I can suggest.
Exploration is as important as anything else in End of Abyss. You’ll do quite a bit of it, and it leaves you feeling cold, unwelcome, and most of all, tiny. I felt like I didn’t belong in this labyrinthine place, filled with a blue light that should bring calm but instead instilled fear. Cel isn’t physically imposing to begin with, but they have tools to help them navigate this place that feels like a nightmare come to life.
To make exploration easier, Cel has a scanner that can detect obstacles and how to overcome them, doors and the keys required to open them, and enemies and the most effective way to defeat them. Using the scanner is essential for making progress because anything you scan appears on your map, so you can refer to it whenever you come across a new key or ability or get lost.
Despite having the necessary tools, I still felt a bit fearful in this place. It doesn’t feel like a place that wants you to leave, and frankly, it can feel claustrophobic at times. Not many games evoke that fear, at least nothing I can think of.
Each area you visit often is excessively dark and offers little direction; eventually, with the right tools, new rooms and secret areas become available. As a Metroidvania, it has backtracking to get some of the better items later on, which is up to you to decide if it’s worth it.
I ran into a few bugs during my time in End of Abyss. In a few cases, I’d get soft locks and had to force-restart my console. Another issue had me missing out on areas loading incorrectly, and these issues can be frustrating, especially the soft locks in later stages.
Verdict
End of Abyss is an adventure that is both difficult and satisfying, combining stunning graphics with some rather unpleasant visuals and offering a carefully designed exploration facility. Every area is packed full of secrets to discover, unique enemies to fight, and tough bosses to overcome. With a mysterious story to solve, the game stands out in a highly competitive field and offers an experience well worth diving into.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
End of Abyss Review
Summary
End of Abyss is an adventure that is both difficult and satisfying, combining stunning graphics with some rather unpleasant visuals and offering a carefully designed exploration facility.
Liked
Great sense of atmosphere
Combat can be fun
Tons of monsters to meet
Didn't Like
Map can become confusing
7
