Luna Abyss Reviews
Challenging and visually stunning, Luna Abyss is a first-person Returnal that nails everything it sets out to do.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I played this on Xbox Series X, and it plays exceptionally well. Furthermore, each level is nicely varied. The deeper you go, the weirder things become. This allows the developer to go crazy with their ideas, and they didn’t hold back. The result is a strange experience that will surprise you at each turn. The audio is one of the standout elements of this game. It mixes melancholy and haunting sounds with aggressive and upbeat combat layers. The result is a dynamic soundscape that brings the action to life while enhancing the horror edge. The controls are well considered. The excellent UI ensures that you can swap between weapons with speed, and this was essential. Moreover, the inputs are tight, and this supports each platforming moment. Consequently, despite the challenges you’ll face, the control setup will not get in your way. Sadly, Luna Abyss is painfully short. I think I invested around 15 hours, and I took my time. Had I pushed harder, I would have completed it in around 10 hours. This was unfortunate, but a good return for an AA title.
Luna Abyss is a confident and atmospheric debut held back by technical hiccups and balancing issues. But the world design and the combat puzzles are undeniably praiseworthy.
Luna Abyss is a game that is technically, gameplay-wise, and creatively flawed, revealing numerous shortcomings in its development. From the narrative structure to the shooting mechanics, from the progression systems to the exploration mechanics, there is a noticeable lack of boldness and experience on the part of the team—a shortcoming compounded, among other things, by a budget that was certainly not generous. Beyond that, however, the good intentions are all there: the world-building has its own unique qualities, and the atmosphere is steeped in a rare sense of mystery and charm, which is then brought to life on screen through an art style that is nothing short of sensational.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Luna Abyss’ strength may not be its originality, but it weaves multiple genres and shooters together to craft one of the most engaging titles this year. Fawkes and the collective stories that are presented here come to life with strong writing and brilliant performances, with twists and turns that are genuinely pulled off to sheer perfection. I adored Luna Abyss, and simply want more.
Luna Abyss surprised me in the best way. It looks familiar for about five seconds, then reveals itself as something much stranger, smarter, and more exciting. The combat has a brilliant rhythm, the movement feels phenomenal, the world is wonderfully bizarre, and the level design constantly rewards curiosity and confidence. It is one of those games where the phrase "FPS with a twist" actually means something.
Luna Abyss has its own identity that sets it apart from more generic shooters with its mysterious world, strange characters, oppressive environments, and constant sense of danger. It never feels like a standard military FPS with a sci-fi skin layered on top.
Luna Abyss ultimately feels like a game built around ideas rather than scale. It doesn't overwhelm you with systems or branching paths. It gives you a confined structure and asks you to learn how to move, shoot, and survive within it, all while slowly uncovering what lies beneath the moon.
Despite some ropey platforming and some uneven pacing, Luna Abyss is a compelling debut from a new indie studio.
Luna Abyss is a highly original game, and its strengths lie in its atmosphere and storytelling. The gameplay is basic and more reminiscent of bullet hell games than a classic FPS. What really stood out to us was the exploration of a world that is as mysterious as it is fascinating, and the stories hidden within it.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Luna Abyss is a wonderful surprise in today’s indie gaming landscape. This single-player action-adventure game succeeds in creating a dark and fascinating world, driven by a remarkable artistic direction and an incredibly effective sound design. Its fast-paced gameplay becomes more and more enjoyable over time thanks to the various abilities unlocked throughout the adventure. However, the game is not without flaws. The puzzles lack depth, and the aim lock mechanic makes combat far too easy. Despite these shortcomings, Luna Abyss remains a memorable experience that clearly deserves the attention of fans of narrative-driven FPS games and dystopian universes.
Review in French | Read full review
Luna Abyss is a game I highly recommend for fans of intense shooters, and especially for those who enjoy bullet hell style experiences.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
All in all, I had a good time with Luna Abyss. It doesn’t quite reinvent the wheel, but its fast-paced yet relatively accessible bullet hell shooting makes for an interesting gameplay loop, coupled with various fun gameplay twists and great visuals. It could have been a bit more unique or daring, with some padding and replayability issues here and there, but especially as a Game Pass day one title, it’s easy to recommend shooting through the many mysteries of Luna.
The days of imprisonment tick down very slowly, and meanwhile, I have already been trapped in this game for over 10 hours. Luna Abyss is far from unique as a shooter, yet the platforming and shooting feel delightful and quite addictive. The extra elements such as double-jump, generating platforms that disappear after a few seconds, and hanging on rails from a sort of roller coaster have all been shown before, but they do add a bit more depth to the platforming. The chaos of flying balls trying to destroy you, the enemies exploding in your face, the challenge, and the gameplay all work well, and at a very stable framerate. So, if you like a DOOM-style game, with mostly platforming and a little less shooting, this game ticks all the boxes.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Luna Abyss is weird, chaotic and completely unafraid to do its own thing.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Luna Abyss blends fast, chaotic combat with heavy platforming and evolving traversal abilities, while the game pushes you deeper into a biomechanical world filled with secrets. Beyond its intense gameplay, it stands out for its philosophical undertones about suffering and meaning, its BLAME-inspired visual design, strong voice acting, and a story that slowly transforms from a prison mission into something far more existential and disturbing.
Review in Unknown | Read full review