Abyssus Review: DOOM Had a Baby With BioShock, and It's Gloriously Messy
Ever wondered what would happen if you took the hyper-caffeinated gun ballet of modern DOOM, threw it into the mysterious, leaky depths of BioShock, and then bolted a roguelite progression system onto the whole mess? Well, wonder no more, because Abyssus is here, and it’s a frantic, gorgeous, and occasionally infuriating answer to that very question. It's a game that absolutely nails the feeling of being an underwater death machine, even if it sometimes feels like the machine is held together with rust and prayer.
The Thrill of the Deep
Let's get this out of the way first: when Abyssus is firing on all cylinders, it’s a goddamn blast. The core of the game is a four-player co-op shooter where you and your buddies dive into a sunken, brine-powered kingdom to blast its corrupted inhabitants back to whatever watery hell they crawled out of. The gunplay is the star of the show here. It’s fast, visceral, and incredibly responsive. Every shot from the Brine Revolver feels like a thunderclap, and sliding around arenas while dodging a hailstorm of projectiles feels exactly as chaotic and empowering as it should.
The art direction is also top-notch. This "brinepunk" aesthetic is a fantastic blend of steampunk machinery and eldritch horror, creating a world that is as beautiful as it is oppressive. The hand-crafted levels, stitched together procedurally for each run, are stunning to look at. The first time I saw one of the massive bosses emerge, I was genuinely impressed. The developers knew how to create a spectacle. The roguelite loop is addictive, too. You die, you spend your collected resources on permanent upgrades, and you dive back in, just a little bit stronger, a little bit wiser, ready to get your ass kicked slightly further into the abyss. It’s a tried-and-true formula, and for the most part, it works wonders here.
Leaks in the Hull
Now, about those prayers holding the machine together. This game launched with more than a few technical barnacles on its hull. On day one, trying to use the public session finder was a complete joke, a non-functional button that left a lot of players stranded and pissed off. Sure, you could still invite friends directly through Steam, but the broken matchmaking left a nasty first impression.
Worse than that, though, are the reports of corrupted save files. With some players having spent hours grinding, unlocking new weapons and mods, only to have the game threaten to brick their progress with a nasty crash. I managed to avoid the save-file apocalypse myself, but the fact that it’s a possibility hangs over every run like a guillotine. It’s hard to fully invest in a deep run when you’re worried the game might just decide to flush all your hard work down the toilet. It feels less like a finished product and more like a very, very promising Early Access title that jumped the gun on its 1.0 release. (Although, credit where credit is due, the devs are pumping out patches at a proper speed; and as I did not encounter the save-file issues myself, meaning I can’t confirm it, I wont judge it too harshly)
Is The Treasure Worth the Dive?
The other question is one of depth, both literally and figuratively. After a few successful runs, the patterns start to emerge. The environments, while gorgeous, begin to feel a bit samey. The enemy variety is decent, but you'll have seen most of what the game has to throw at you within a handful of hours. For a full-release price tag, some might find the content pool a little shallow. It’s a fantastic weekend game with friends, but I’m not sure it has the long-term legs of genre titans like Risk of Rain 2 or Gunfire Reborn. Not yet, anyway.
The Verdict
Abyssus is a game of brilliant highs and frustrating lows. The core combat is so slick, so satisfying, that it almost makes you forget about the technical jank and the slightly thin content. It’s one of the best co-op shooters I’ve played this year when it works. The key phrase there is when it works. It’s a phenomenal foundation for something truly special, but right now, it feels like a treasure chest that’s still half-buried in the sand. You can see the gold glinting, but you’re going to have to dig through a lot of muck to get to it.
Score: 7.8/10 An exhilarating deep-sea dive that’s occasionally threatening to spring a leak.