Abyssus

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.