Abyssus

Abyssus is an excellent, fast and frenetic roguelike FPS that you can play with your friends, and a must-play for fans of the genre.

Despite these concerns, I’ve had a lot of fun with Abyssus, and I imagine I’ll continue to do so. It’s not the most complicated game I’ve ever played, and it has some balance issues, but it just feels so good to blow enemies away and to chain abilities together that can cause massive havoc around you. I’ll just make sure that when I come back to Abyssus, I’m consistently doing it with a crew of friends who are all ready to cause even more of that mayhem with me.

Abyssus is a thrilling and addictive roguelite FPS that shines brightest when played with friends, as the chaos and challenge ramp up the deeper you venture into the ancient civilization hidden beneath the dark sea.

Still, even with these many rough stretches, there’s enough worth seeing in Abyssus that fans of run-based first-person shooting will likely be willing to power through many of these problems. Its core run-and-gunning offers twitchy thrills, and when the customization works, it leads to some wildly different weapons. While there likely isn’t any saving the game’s lackluster worldbuilding, with some progression tweaks and difficulty adjustments, it’s easy to imagine this being a much more airtight ship. And even with some leaks, Abyssus is still largely worth checking out thanks to its frenetic gunplay and compounding upgrades that will leave you the king of the sea.

Abyssus is a good cooperative roguelite shooter, featuring a beautiful setting and decent gunplay, but it suffers from lack of variety, being too chaotic at times (especially with four players) and also, let's face it, having a subdued soundtrack. It must be said, however, that when you're shooting, you don't ask too many questions.

Abyssus is a solid title, and one that I expect to return to over and over until I complete it. While there are some aspects that could be improved, they won’t deter me from coming back to the post-launch content when those eventually release as well. For a surprisingly enjoyable FPS roguelike title, look no further than Abyssus this summer. I am looking forward to seeing how the game continues to grow over time, as well as hopping into some multiplayer action down the line.

If a chance to see the RPS Roguelike done right appeals, though, Abyssus' synthesis of systems is an enjoyable enough choice. [Issue#415, p.104]

A roguelike first-person shooter with a brinepunk aesthetic, Abyssus provides a lot of frantic fun, especially if played in co-op. Its progression could do with a little work, though, with you needing to grind Soul Fragments to unlock basic upgrades that feel necessary for your survival, alongside some pesky difficulty spikes.

Abyssus delivers competent combat and plenty of customization options that can lead to exciting moments, especially in co-op play. However, the repetitive level design and technical issues weigh it down, making for a fun experience that is unlikely to stand out among the genre’s big names.

While the concept of Abyssus, a rogue-like co-op shooter with a Bioshock-inspired Brinepunk setting is promising, the execution unfortunately is lacking. What is titled as a 1.0 release feels much more like an Early Access title, with balancing issues, a lot of repeated content (even among rogue-likes) and a barely functioning multiplayer at launch. Every now and then there's a glimpse of a really good game and "Abyssus" might yet come back if the developers iron out the issues.

Abyssus is a solid roguelite FPS that approaches the genre from a fresh angle, with strong gear options, satisfying progression, and decent gunplay. Unfortunately, its uninspired lore, generic enemies, and repetitive level design keep it from making a real splash. DoubleMoose Games is a few content updates away from something truly memorable - but for now, it’s stuck in the kiddie pool.

All things considered, Abyssus is a good game with a solid foundation, that could easily be a great game come future patches. Even now, it’s great fun to dive in and blow enemies away, particularly with a squad of friends, even if that does inordinately ramp up the difficulty. At the introductory offer price being offered in the Steam store until August 19, I’d feel more than comfortable recommending it to a friend, and it has the potential to be a staple evening’s enjoyment if it can get over the biggest hurdles discussed in this review.

Abyssus is not a game for the weak of will, with some encounters veering close to bullet-hell strafe-shooter territory.