Sci-fi, Metrodvania-Dark Souls gameplay with the feel and vibe of games like Limbo and Inside? That’s what End of Abyss is. I reviewed Section 9 Interactive’s survival horror game. Did I love it? Read on below.
Full disclosure. We bought this game at the PlayStation Store at 10% off because of our membership.
End of Abyss is an isometric action-adventure survival horror game. It’s like Dead Space with Metroidvania-style gameplay. If you’ve played games like Limbo and Inside and liked them, you’ll definitely get the same vibe here. The only difference is there’s shooting and lots of exploring.
You’re the technician, the team’s gopher. An outbreak hits the complex, and everyone inside gets infected and starts mutating.
You have to explore the derelict, sprawling underground complex to find out what happened and fix things. And then scavenge for scraps.
You’ll encounter mutated workers, monsters and fleas. Yes, fleas. At the start of the game, you only have your trusty plasma gun, your scanner, and your reflexes to get you through the dark areas of the End of Abyss.
You’ll eventually discover new weapons and items to help you kill the infected. Monsters you kill sometimes drop scrap. You’ll also find it in boxes and other areas.
The scrap you find can improve your weapons and ammo, plus items that’ll help you overcome the monsters of the Abyss. And there are boss battles.
So you explore, kill the infected, battle boss monsters, find scrap and try your best not to get killed.
End of Abyss Pros and Cons
So is it a great game? Well, we don’t want to spend too much time on this because you’ve probably seen a ton of reviews already.
It’s not a great game, but it is a good one. End of Abyss’ oppressive atmosphere works. The enemies, though not very varied, are interesting enough, and the boss fights can be quite challenging. The scramble for scrap to upgrade weapons and forge items is one of the game’s best mechanics, but I also hated it. Why? Well, every time you save, the monsters reset, which you have to kill..again. Which is a pain. But that’s the only way to get more scrap.
We like it but we sure wish combat wasn’t Dark Souls-like. I’m not a fan of the type of combat. Losing the stuff you expended after you get killed really gets to me. As for sound design, it’s decent. In some places, it works, but even with 3D headphones, the ambient sounds are sometimes everywhere.
Maybe it’s the intended effect in a sprawling underground complex.
One pet peeve? The reload button gets too mixed up with movement. Several times, I had a full clip, and it kept reloading the weapon because I was dodging for my life.
End of Abyss Verdict
It’s a good game for the price. I’m only a quarter of the way through, and I already feel tired. I’ll pick this up again when I feel like it. If you love sci-fi, killing infected, looking for scrap, and exploring an underground complex in an isometric view, then pick up End of Abyss.
We give End of Abyss a 3.5 out of 5.
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