Abyssus Brings Brinepunk Action and BioShock Vibes to FPS…

Since its reveal trailer debuted last December, Double Moose and The Arcade Crew's Abyssus has been quietly preparing for its eventual release while steadily working its way onto plenty of Steam wishlists. Now, Abyssus is set to arrive on PC on August 12 to deliver what it's calling a "Brinepunk" action roguelike experience, merging the combat of a first-person shooter along with the randomized upgrades, meta-progression, and other elements players would normally expect to find in a game like Hades. And after getting to play it, it certainly seems like Abyssus is poised to make a similar splash.

Ahead of Abyssus' fast-approaching launch on August 12, The Best War Games had the chance to go hands-on with a full build of the game, minus being able to access the title's online matchmaking. From our experience, Abyssus is already providing a fast and frenetic FPS roguelike experience that leverages its unique setting and satisfying combat to great effect, even if it doesn't stray too far from the path tread by similar games before it. And its rock-solid technical state on PC is a great sign for the title being able to sit nicely with the platform's audience once it drops in just under two weeks.

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By Eman Fatima

Abyssus' 'Brinepunk' Setting Makes it Feel like Witchfire-Meets-BioShock

There are plenty of great first-person shooter roguelikes that could serve as immediate touchpoints for comparison to Abyssus, but one that stands out above the rest is Witchfire. While not an extraction shooter in the same vein as Witchfire, Abyssus does share a lot in common with The Astronauts' Early Access hit in terms of its general structure and gameplay loop. Players begin each expedition into the titular abyss in a central hub area where they can spend their earned gold, swap out their equipment, link up with players in a multiplayer session, train, and more. When ready, you head into the Diving Bell and descend into the depths, working your way through increasingly challenging rooms as you progress deeper and deeper into the caverns.

The general setup should sound familiar to anyone who's played an action roguelike, but Abyssus throws players a loop courtesy of the game's setting. Referred to as "Brinepunk", Abyssus merges elements of BioShock and Tomb Raider to come up with something that feels wholly unique within the FPS roguelike subgenre. The mysterious abyss that you'll descend into is a mixture of water-logged caves and Aztec temple ruins, and just within the first biome, you come across stone automaton enemies that feel strangely anachronous, almost otherworldly. It's the supernatural tilt to Abyssus that makes it feel like Witchfire, and its aquatic setting ties in BioShock for good measure to create something great at pulling you back for one run after another.

The BioShock comparison is only aided by how Abyssus handles the standard progression and perk rollout from one room to the next. After clearing an area full of enemies, players will regularly come across glowing green Blessing Altars that grant two possible boons. Each one is usually tied to some kind of elemental damage type (think wind, fire, spirit damage, etc.) And is then broken into a choice between that bonus damage and elemental affinity attaching to primary fire, secondary fire, or the character's ability. Each of these feels different in practice, almost like a plasmid from BioShock, and experimenting with these abilities to find the best loadout for dealing with an area's enemies is all part of the fun in Abyssus.

Ahead of Its Release, Abyssus Is Already Showing Plenty of Promise

Another element that adds water to the comparison between Abyssus and Witchfire is that both games are fairly challenging, even for someone who plays first-person shooters and roguelikes regularly. Enemies in Abyssus can be fast and unpredictable, and their attack patterns are reminiscent of some of the bullet hell-type enemies from Returnal in how much you'll need to stay constantly on the move and aware of your surroundings to not end up meeting the game over screen. But even though roguelikes are inherently challenging and Abyssus isn't afraid to put players' skills to the test, it still manages to strike an enjoyable balance and satisfying power curve that prevents it from ever feeling unfair.

The main weapon players have against Abyssus' substantial challenge — other than their actual weapons — is the game's meta-progression, which it handles using a resource economy geared toward different power curves. Completing challenges is the main way players will unlock various upgrades and mods for weapons like alternate fire modes, new color schemes, and more, but the most important items players can pick up during each expedition are the Soul Fragments. These tokens are exchanged back at the hub area at the appropriately named Wheel of Souls for permanent upgrades, which, in our experience, have a fairly dramatic impact on survivability in each subsequent run.

The most challenging foes in each expedition, the bosses players encounter at the second and fourth depths, are nigh impossible at first. Gradually, you'll start to gain an edge over them, and it says a lot about how well Abyssus has dialed in the moment-to-moment gameplay that it's still all too easy to hop right back in after repeated failures against these tougher fights.

Co-op Is a Key Component of Abyssus, But Even Solo, It's Still a Blast

One of Abyssus' main draws is the ability to play the game in up to 4-player co-op, which alters the difficulty balance and is sure to be an element that attracts many players to the title. While we did have access to the multiplayer component in our full preview build of the game, some issues related to an outdated client rendered public matchmaking ineffective. Even still, the time we spent with Abyssus left a strong enough impression of the game to suggest that those who prefer to approach the game solo will have plenty of fun with what it brings to the table. There are a lot of FPS roguelike games to choose from, and Abyssus already makes a strong impression by sticking to the gameplay fundamentals that the subgenre is known for while introducing something that feels fresh in its setting and atmosphere.

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