Abyss Odyssey Reviews
Engrossing as it is difficult (whether or not said difficulty was intended by ACE Team), Abyss Odyssey successfully captures the imagination lying dormant in the minds of its players.
If you can deal with the game's difficulty, which isn't off putting but not exactly new player friendly, Abyss Odyssey is definitely a game worth a shot.
Abyss Odyssey is an oasis in the desert for a 2D Castlevania fan.
'Abyss Odyssey: Extended Dream Edition' is quite the intriguing title. It offers plenty of content, and is worth checking out on the PS4 for anyone who missed the original release. The always shifting dungeons, the deep and more satisfying than ever before combat system, and the multiplayer gives this title a surprisingly amount of staying power. It's worth a try, alone or with friends; as long as you don't mind a few of the typical rogue-like quirks, 'Abyss Odyssey' is worth the entry price.
While Abyss Odyssey suffers from a few design choices that ultimately hold it back from greatness, its easily ACE Team's most playable game to date, which doesn't come at the sacrifice of the look and feel we've come to love with earlier titles. Hopefully, many of the shortcomings can be addressed in future updates, which seems to be a big part of ACE Team's plan for the game post-release.
Despite being let down by the unresponsive controls, Abyss Odyssey: Extended Dream Edition remains an oddly compelling experience brimming with a lot of interesting ideas. It's a real shame that ACE Team didn't use this definitive version as an opportunity to fix the numerous issues that plagued the last-gen iterations.
The best parts about Abyss Odyssey are those in which it is utterly unique: a Mediterranean fantasy setting, a brightly pastel art style, and a fun mix of roguelike randomization with fighter-game mechanics. That said, none of these points make the game engaging enough to have your friends come back for more in-house fun.
Abyss Odyssey is definitely up there as one of the indie GOTYs so far, but it has its fair bit of clunkiness too.
A fun platforming, fighting, dungeon crawling side-scroller of an experience, Abyss Odyssey is a fun game that is easy to pick up and a challenge to master. Beautiful artwork and music immerse you into the game world as you descend into the Abyss to find and defeat the Warlock. Beware though that at present time, multi-player may not be all it's chalked up to be. Regardless, the game is certainly worth a shot in single player and if nothing else online co-op can at least give a laugh or two as you attack your friend when he least expects it.
Overall, there's a good game here, but few things set it apart from other 2D side-scrolling dungeon crawlers and, in many cases, it doesn't win out in comparison.
In one of Nietzsche's more famous quote from Beyond Good and Evil, so states, "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." The longer you play Abyss Odyssey, the more this becomes true.
The important thing is that what's available now is really good, utilizing a fighting engine that rewards creativity in using its moves and set in a dungeon loaded with replayability. The art nouveau style is more apparent in the 2D character portraits than the polygonal graphics but still give the game a unique tone, like playing a Grateful Dead album cover.
Abyss Odyssey disappoints because every element looks astounding on paper. And then you pick up the controller.
Those who like the genre or who love artistic games will enjoy it despite its flaws.
Abyss Odyssey is going to appeal to a certain audience. If you are one with that audience, you will truly enjoy the experience that this game has to offer. For casual gamers, the difficulty might be too much, but it is an adventure game that you basically just jump into.
Abyss Odyssey set out to redefine a genre and create something that we'd never seen before. It's just a shame that it forgot what makes the genre so enjoyable in the first place.
From the very first time you load up the menu it's clear that Abyss Odyssey comes from a place of passion and expertise. Its strange blend of Metroidvania, roguelike, and fighting game elements might turn off those who prefer their gaming experiences to be more straightforward, but anyone who's not too afraid to leap into the unknown abyss will find a finely-crafted, unique experience well worth the jump.
Then again, I can see certain types of gamers enjoying this, too, especially with its lower price point. If you welcome the challenge of a technical 2.5D hack and slash and the quirks that comes with a roguelike, however, this game will be more up your alley.
The channeling of art nouveau not only impacts the look of the characters and settings, but complements the curves that fighters draw with the motion of their attacks.
Unfortunately, playing through this game once was more than enough for me. While Abyss Odyssey is undeniably a very good-looking game, the stiff controls coupled with minimal exploration and a boring ambient soundtrack makes the abysmal abyss a slog to go through.