“When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” I apologize. I am probably not the only reviewer to use a Nietzsche quote when discussing this game. However, in Abyss Odyssey you do not gaze into the abyss so much as you adventure through the abyss and are also a part of said abyss. Maybe I should explain. Long ago a powerful Warlock fell asleep beneath the earth. His dreams and nightmares, however, have manifested in our world and are terrorizing humankind in the form of The Abyss. When the game begins, you play as Katrien a woman who seeks to find the Warlock’s lair and slay him, putting an end to the nightmare. The catch is that Katrien is also a part of the Abyss, a figment of the Warlock’s imagination. I know, it is weird. The game will not be to everyone’s taste, however, to those who enjoy it, you will find a rewarding and unique game from the great team at Ace Team.
Abyss Odyssey is a procedurally generated, side-scrolling fighting game with a perma-death system at its core. While some have likened the game to brawlers, the combat is more depth and has more in common with fighting games than brawlers. All three main playable characters, we will return to that main character bit soon, have a basic attack and five special attacks. You begin the game with one special attack and unlock more as you level up and gaining experience from slaying foes. Along with unlocking special attacks, leveling up unlocks skill points for you to assign. Each special attack has three upgrade slots. You can increase the damage for the ability, a damage reduction, or an increase in mana whenever the attack is successful. However, the player can also use skill points to unlock “cancels” up to a maximum of three. The cancel system and special attacks is where the fighting elements are most obvious, reminding me in several ways of Super Smash Bros. Attacks can be “canceled” into special attacks, dodges, and all sorts of combinations. You can assign three special attacks to your character at once, and like Super Smash the special attacks are tied to a directional button. Besides all the attacks I just mentioned, there are also juggles, air attacks, parries, and dodging attacks. After eight hours of playtime, I am still discovering new combinations and attacks. The fighting system requires the player to do more than simply mash buttons and hope for the best. The combat instead encourages experimenting and thoughtfully engaging your foes and using all of your abilities to succeed.
There are three main characters in the game. Each one plays different and has unique attacks and playstyle of their own. However, each character levels individually. While your gold and experience is persistent throughout your deaths, if you want to develop a character, you must play as them. I appreciated how the game encourages you to try all the main characters, however, unlocking all the specials can take quite a bit of time and some players may not appreciate the grinding aspect.
Nearly every character and enemy you encounter in the game is playable. Yes, even the bosses. Whenever your character’s mana bar is full, you can unleash a super attack, in my experience it is the same across each character that not only damages enemies, but allows you to trap their soul. If you are within level range of an enemy, which you only find out AFTER you launch the super much to my chagrin, you can slay them soon after unleashing the super attack to gain their soul. When you have captured an enemy’s soul, you can freely change between the enemy and your character at any time, provided they have the HP. The enemies are where the game really gets interesting. Being able to play as your enemies is a welcome twist and some of the enemies are a joy to play. Besides adding another character, capturing a soul in essence adds a life to your playthrough. If your main character falls while you have a soul, you will transform into the enemy for a chance at more adventuring.
The death system is also distinctive as well. As I mentioned, enemies function in essence as a second life. However, you also have access to a third life of sorts, if you have no souls or they are slain, and your main character is slain, you will become a soldier. If you can survive as the soldier until you come across an altar in the game where you can revive your main character, you will be given another chance at the Abyss. Every time your main character is revived, you do have access to the soldier upon dying. In essence, you have a minimum of two lives in every playthough, unlike many games with a perma-death system. By default, you have one soldier’s life after your main character; however, you can purchase or find camp tokens in the game that will set an altar as a checkpoint. Some camp tokens also allow you to have up to four more soldiers after your death and allow you to have them aid you in combat as well.
As I mentioned, the only things that carry over between playthroughs is your gold and experience for each character. All the equipment you find is limited to your current playthrough. This can lead to some frustration when trying to find a better weapon than the default one. The game also seems to enjoy taunting you as well. Each main character has a weapon type associated with them that only they can use. So you just found an awesome two-handed sword that deals 25 damage and has an ice effect while playing as Katrien? Well tough luck buddy, Katrien can only use rapiers. The same goes for the other characters. You seem to find weapons for the characters except the one you are currently playing. Needless to say, it can be frustrating and fighting through the Abyss to face the final boss with your default weapon is rather difficult.
The highlight of the game besides the combat is the art style. The game is highly stylized with vibrant colors, distinctive enemies, and detailed characters. The Abyss has several distinctive areas and each has its own theme, environmental hazards, and art style. The enemies are varied, imaginative, and distinct. You will remember which ones you will want to capture, that centaur is awesome by the way.
The few times when you do engage in conversation with someone, you are greeted to a close up character portrait that is simply gorgeous. The level of detail in the world and background is stunning. You will see fireflies flittering by your face, smoke in the air, and other little touches. One area was an underground area of sorts and in the background were gigantic stalagmites. Whenever I moved, the light behind the stalagmites would shift, changing the angle of the shadows cast by the stalagmites. There were several occasion where I stopped to take in the beauty of the game.
Ace Team is dedicated to keep the game fresh and patch it as the need arises. As players defeat the final boss, they will crack his mask. After a mysterious number has been reached, the mask of the Warlock will crack, revealing another form of the boss and unleashing new monsters and surprises into the Abyss. Needless to say, players who enjoy the game will have their hands full for some time.
The game also includes seamless “drop in, drop out” co-op that can be played online or locally with up to four players. The game also includes a PvP mode that is exclusive to the PC. The PvP mode is local only at the moment, but Ace Team has assured me they are already well on their way to bringing online functionality to the multiplayer. However, right now, the online co-op is a mixed bag. Some games I could play with no problems, others were unplayable due to lag and characters falling through the scenery. I did not encounter these when playing solo; the online needs some work to become stable. As of now, the online is a mixed bag, but given Ace Team’s reputation for quickly solving issue with their games, I hope this is remedied soon. Co-op also has friendly fire, which can make the mode irritating if your partners are less than cooperative. Friendly fire does encourage more strategic play and teamwork, but it all highly depends on your partners. There are some slight collision issues at times, sometimes enemies seem to phase through your attacks and you but they can attack you. Another annoyance for PC players is all of the button prompts and controls you see in-game are by default labeled with Xbox control buttons. Discovering the actual PC controls requires digging in the options menu, which is counter-intuitive. The biggest criticism I can level at the game is it prone to repetition. The grind between characters could get monotonous especially once you have seen all the enemies. The game does have a plethora of characters and secrets to stave off the tedium, but I still can see some players growing weary and experiencing everything the game has in store. I have played for around ten hours and can see myself playing some more, especially if I can get some friends interested in the game. Just know what you are getting into when purchasing the game.
What does your purchase net you?
The game is selling for $14.99. As mentioned, I have played for ten hours and plan to continue playing. Your mileage will vary depending on your enjoyment. If you have the option, I also recommend the PC version unless your friends are all on consoles. The addition of online PvP will add some replayability.
Summary
Despite the shortcomings, much like Ace Team’s previous titles, there is nothing quite like Abyss Odyssey. I really enjoyed my time, and recommend the game if anything you have read piqued your interest. The game is more polished and accessible than the studio’s previous games, but Abyss Odyssey is not for everyone. Hopefully the coming weeks will see the online receiving some fixes and the PvP launching, at which point the game will be much easier to recommend. As it stands, I recommend the game, but with some reservations. Now then, I must return to the Abyss!
Moment of Artistry
The moment you stop to take in the beautiful scenery. At which point an enemy attacks and you perform a rewarding combo and then continuing to admire the scenery.
Pros
+ Deep and rewarding combat system
+ Lots of different characters, each with a unique fighting style
+ Beautiful art direction, gorgeous character art, and detailed world
+ Something different
Cons
– Online is not as stable as it should be at the moment
– Friendly fire in co-op might be too much for some players
– Might be repetitive to some
*Since writing my review, the developers have added a toggle to friendly fire allowing it to be optional, and the game’s online mode is more stable.
8.0/10
Recommended.
Abyss Odyssey is available on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.
This was a review of the PC version of the game as provided by Atlus.
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