Abyss Odyssey Reviews
Those who like the genre or who love artistic games will enjoy it despite its flaws.
Abyss Odyssey: Extended Dream Edition does a bit of polishing to the core game, but it still has a few flaws that make it hard to rave about this title. But for those that are interested and dedicated, the experience is ultimately rewarding and satisfying.
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.
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.
Abyss Odyssey: Extended Dream Edition successfully manages to merge a fighting game with a roguelike RPG to offer an experience that feels both familiar and unique. With an unexpected setting and art style, as well as some clever concessions around its difficulty to make the penalty for death a bit more palatable to the average player, it ensures that your descent into the darkness is enjoyable. If you can get past the fact that the combat only really comes into its own a few hours in, you may just find yourself disappearing into its depths for bit longer than you might have expected.
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.
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.
'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.
An unnecessary port of an already unspectacular game. It may find an audience, but it'll make it as tough as possible to like it first.
Abyss Odyssey is definitely up there as one of the indie GOTYs so far, but it has its fair bit of clunkiness too.
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 an oasis in the desert for a 2D Castlevania fan.
Wondering what this whole "roguelike" thing is all about? Then Abyss Odyssey could be the game for you: It's a fine introduction to the rules of the genre, with some helpful training wheels to prevent newcomers from being discouraged. If you've suffered the scars of past roguelikes, though, you'll find Abyss Odyssey's lack of challenge a significant downside.
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.
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.
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.
Abyss Odyssey disappoints because every element looks astounding on paper. And then you pick up the controller.
Abyss Odyssey brings plenty of style to this sort-of roguelike, but never gets as deep as its dungeon demands.
And yet if Abyss Odyssey stumbles, it at least does so while attempting a genuinely thrilling, high-wire juggling act of game design rather than simply milking obvious and proven gameplay features. For all its missteps, it remains utterly unique, absolutely gorgeous and delightfully eccentric. If you can stick around long enough to understand what's going on and what's expected of you, and make your peace with Abyss Odyssey's slightly over-reaching nature, you're left with a game that more than repays your patience.