Abyss Odyssey brings together four great genres into a cohesive 2D side scrolling adventure that will keep your interest and bring you back over and over.
"Abyss Odyssey" is a side-scrolling action adventure game with procedurally generated levels and a complex fighting system. The game features three playable characters, each with unique abilities, and the ability to possess enemies. The goal is to reach the bottom of the abyss and defeat the great evil awaiting there. With ever-changing levels and technical, challenging combat, "Abyss Odyssey" offers a fresh and difficult experience.
Interesting art style and unique character designs
Fun gameplay with a mix of fighting game mechanics
Engaging co-op mode that enhances the experience
Clunky and unresponsive controls
Repetitive gameplay and level design
Frustrating combat mechanics with AI that can feel unfair
gameplay
1,023 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
66%
10%
The gameplay of "Abyss Odyssey" is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating its unique blend of fighting game mechanics and roguelike elements, reminiscent of titles like "Super Smash Bros." However, the execution is often criticized for being clunky and unintuitive, leading to a steep learning curve that can frustrate newcomers. While the art and music are praised, the repetitive nature of gameplay and lack of clear mechanics detract from the overall experience, making it a title that may appeal more to dedicated players willing to invest time in mastering its complexities.
“The combat mechanics, reminiscent of 'Super Smash Bros.', provide a familiar yet engaging experience.”
“Once I figured out the mechanics and made sense of the game's overall design, I actually really enjoyed myself.”
“The enemy capture mechanic combined with the almost 'Smash Bros.'-esque combat makes for a fun blend that makes you want to keep capturing and checking out the different movesets of enemies you encounter.”
“The main problem with this game is the gameplay.”
“Mechanically, though, the game is just a complete mess.”
“The gameplay is slow, awkward, and clunky.”
graphics
865 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
38%
2%
The graphics of "Abyss Odyssey" are widely praised for their unique and beautiful art style, heavily influenced by art nouveau and Chilean culture, which creates a visually striking experience. However, many players note inconsistencies in the visual quality, particularly between the hand-drawn art and in-game graphics, and some criticize the sluggish controls that detract from the overall enjoyment. Despite these issues, the vibrant colors and detailed environments contribute to a captivating atmosphere that many find appealing.
“The graphics are really good with very vibrant colors; even the more somber colors have a sort of vibrance to them which just makes you want to stop and look at it.”
“Abyss odyssey has a stunning visual; the artwork is marvelous, especially the art style of the enemies.”
“The art style is incredible, all characters including enemies are very well designed and the environments fit well within the game.”
“Art style is a miss for me, especially the fact that the foreground and background do not mesh harmonically at all.”
“There are also serious inconsistencies between the visual styles of the hand-drawn art and the in-game graphics.”
“The graphics are pretty awful for the Unreal Engine in 2014 - I've definitely seen better.”
music
540 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
36%
1%
The music in "Abyss Odyssey" has received a generally positive reception, with many players praising its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the game's immersive experience. While some reviews noted that the soundtrack is not groundbreaking, it effectively complements the game's visuals and themes, often evoking nostalgia for classic titles like Castlevania. Overall, the music is described as beautiful and fitting, contributing significantly to the game's appeal despite some criticisms regarding repetitiveness and a lack of standout tracks.
“The music is really good, having plenty of nice tracks to listen to, especially like the theme for the first level.”
“The music fits with the overall atmosphere pretty well.”
“The art style is amazing, the music is brilliant, the atmosphere is a delight.”
“The soundtrack is... not that great.”
“The music is mostly forgettable.”
“Music gets repetitive with only 5-6 tracks or so (one track for each environment/element).”
story
538 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
55%
8%
The story of "Abyss Odyssey" is a mixed bag, featuring an intriguing premise centered around a warlock's dreams manifesting as monsters, but it often feels underdeveloped and lacks depth. Players can uncover the narrative through journal entries and minimal dialogue, which some find engaging while others see it as insufficient and disconnected from gameplay. Overall, while the art and atmosphere are praised, many reviewers feel the story does not significantly enhance the experience, leaving it feeling thin and sometimes confusing.
“The story is interesting too, we're basically in a warlock's dream trying to fight our way to...wake him up or something.”
“The story unfolds succinctly and is of interest without being too laborious or text heavy.”
“The story is fascinating, a Chilean myth with a bizarre twist that makes the mood eerie and one of a kind.”
“The story is not that compelling and the controls feel frustrating to the max. The character feels sluggish and sometimes jumping makes you go ????.”
“The story sounds decent at first, but when coupled with soldiers with the IQ of a malfunctioning toaster, and combat that is the equivalent of 'Dreamfall: The Longest Journey' in terms of quality, it kinda gets lost by the wayside.”
“The story is very poor so far, almost nonexistent.”
replayability
172 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
56%
2%
The game offers a high level of replayability, primarily due to its procedurally generated levels, diverse character options, and unique playstyles that encourage experimentation. While many players appreciate the variety and challenge, some note that the gameplay can become repetitive over time, especially after mastering the mechanics. Overall, the combination of engaging combat and randomization contributes to a compelling experience that invites repeated playthroughs.
“This feature adds a significant layer of variety and replayability, allowing players to experiment with different playstyles.”
“The game structure is another of the features that caught my attention: on each playthrough, the player has the opportunity to play randomly generated rooms with different difficulty levels, to play special rooms, to play with different characters, to play against an assortment of enemies and to choose and upgrade your equipment, adding to replayability and longevity.”
“A visually appealing game with great replay value.”
“It might be quite difficult at times, and multiple characters and randomly generated levels grant some replayability value, but it might get a bit repetitive once you've discovered most of the in-game content.”
“Due to how short this game is and how there is not much replay value because once you beat it with two different characters there is just no drive for me to even keep playing.”
“The other problem is that once you beat it, there is not very much replay value.”
atmosphere
114 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
72%
25%
3%
The atmosphere in "Abyss Odyssey" is widely praised for its beautiful graphics, unique art style, and immersive music, creating a dark fantasy vibe that enhances the gameplay experience. Players appreciate the game's ability to evoke a dreamlike and eerie ambiance, complemented by elements of Chilean mythology and a compelling backstory. Despite some criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics, the overall atmosphere is considered a standout feature that draws players back for repeated experiences.
“The atmosphere in Abyss Odyssey is very unique and I'm thoroughly enjoying my time with it.”
“The atmosphere is beautiful, and truly dreamlike, and the audio is amazing.”
“The atmosphere has this very dark fantasy occult vibe that is very surreal, fitting of the dream/nightmare motif.”
“To a certain degree, the game is all right with the platformer/roguelike atmosphere, but what I cannot stand is the control mechanism of this game is downright horrible.”
“The atmosphere is odd and mysterious.”
stability
101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and control issues that significantly detract from the overall experience. Players have noted problems such as sluggish controls, freezing during gameplay, and severe issues in online co-op modes, leading to frustration and immersion-breaking moments. While the game has potential and is visually appealing, its current state is marred by instability that hampers enjoyment.
“If the old 2D Game Boy Tomb Raider (the good one) and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night had a child, it would be this game. It looks awesome, runs great, controls great too, and is just plain cool all around. If you like platformer games and games full of neat stylized 'eye candy,' then you'll probably like this.”
“Visually stunning with surprising voice acting, but as buggy as a swamp in summer.”
“The game is awesome, but when it comes to online co-op play, the game should be called 'Glitch Odyssey in the Abyss'. The game introduces game-breaking glitches when playing with an online partner, and most times NPCs and environmental assets won't load.”
“Bugs and glitches make it frustrating to play at times.”
grinding
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and unfulfilling, often feeling more like a chore than an engaging gameplay element. Players express frustration with the repetitive nature of grinding for experience and gold, compounded by clunky controls and significant penalties for dying, such as losing equipment. While some find the grind effective for character progression, many agree that it detracts from the overall enjoyment and innovation of the game.
“Unlockable characters add little value, serving as yet another tedious grind for leveling and unlocking abilities, rather than enriching the gameplay experience.”
“The clunky combat, forgettable story, and grindy levels make this feel more like a chore than a game.”
“Gameplay is unrewarding and tedious; your weapons do no more than chip tiny bits off enemy health, which draws out boring fights.”
character development
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
43%
10%
Character development in the game is highlighted by its impressive character designs, which are beautifully crafted and well-suited to the game's artistic style, drawing inspiration from French post-impressionism. While the characters have unique and interesting backstories, the overall narrative quality is considered mediocre, and the combat mechanics detract from the experience. Despite these shortcomings, the visual appeal of the characters and environments remains a strong point for players.
“The character designs are great, and the story is pretty decent with the characters having their own unique and interesting stories and inspirations.”
“The character design is a perfect fit for the setting - beautifully hand-drawn and styled after the posters and ads of the French post-impressionists of the 1890s (think Toulouse-Lautrec) but augmented with a far richer and deeper color palette.”
“The character designs are well thought out, and everything about them and the environment is pretty.”
“Nice artwork and character design, but poor on story and battle style.”
“Additionally, the character designs for female characters in the game are elegant and beautiful, but of course male characters are either placeholders or hideous.”
“The game's narrative isn't exactly high prose, but it neatly ties together all the gameplay elements with the art style and character designs.”
humor
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
92%
8%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding enjoyment in its quirky characters and absurd situations, such as playing as a naked lady covered in mayo or encountering a skeleton musician. However, others feel that the frustrating gameplay mechanics detract from the humor, leading to experiences that can be more irritating than funny. Overall, while there are moments of hilarity, particularly with glitches and character interactions, the inconsistent gameplay can overshadow the comedic elements for some players.
“The glitches are rather hilarious, and led to many hours of enjoyment.”
“My friend is pretty bad at platformer games, so it was funny watching him die from failed jump attempts multiple times.”
“Like you can play as a naked lady covered in mayo or talk to a skeleton guitar-playing Mexican dude; if you die, you turn into a Chilean soldier guy with the most hilarious beard ever. Lots of great, crazy stuff!”
“It's similar to Binding of Isaac, but has a different fight system (I like this one better), and has better graphics, and this is not funny.”
optimization
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
43%
19%
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it can run smoothly on low-end systems and is praised for its accessibility, players have reported visual and dialogue glitches, particularly on lower-performance setups. Some users feel that the game could benefit from further optimization, especially for newer hardware. Overall, it is recommended for its performance but noted that improvements are needed.
“The game is beautifully optimized, and can basically run on a potato.”
“Also, the game runs smoothly as silk and it can be too challenging at times, but it's definitely recommended!”
“The only downside I think of is that it could be more optimized, performance-wise.”
“The game has weird visual glitches and dialogue glitches when playing online on a low-performance system.”
“It's not the most optimized of games, that's for sure.”
“I don't know if this game was released to Xbox before, but to me, it's just another adaptation for PCs that lack some optimization.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, with moments of realization and vulnerability highlighted by instances of tears. While the combat mechanics can be challenging, leading to frustration for newcomers, the beautiful artwork and engaging character systems evoke a sense of appreciation and attachment, despite some dissatisfaction with controls. Overall, the emotional experience is a mix of awe and struggle, reflecting both the game's potential and its current limitations.
“Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake.”
“Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake.”
“The combat is a bit tricky to get used to, and starting players shouldn't even think of touching the nightmare mode.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game has drawn criticism, particularly due to the presence of advertisements in the main menu, which detracts from the overall experience. Players feel that the limited RPG and rogue-lite elements, along with a lack of meaningful engagement with the storyline, contribute to a sense of dissatisfaction, making the game feel flawed despite its artistic merits.
“I want to like this game, but the RPG and rogue-lite elements are limited. Monster collecting doesn't appeal to me as it only serves to add a flimsy excuse to learn more about a game whose versus lobbies are deader than the extinct species list. The storyline is only a bit interesting, less so when you realize you don't have any actual influence on it, and reading about it doesn't actually give you any real benefit beyond a decently arranged story. It's a decent game, but it can only ever be decent when it is so riddled with flaws, and the fact that the main menu contains an advertisement is just icing on the cake.”
“I want to like this game, but the RPG and rogue-lite elements are limited. Monster collecting doesn't appeal to me as it only serves to add a flimsy excuse to learn more about a game whose versus lobbies are deader than the extinct species list. The storyline is only a bit interesting, less so when you realize you don't have any actual influence on it, and reading about it doesn't actually give you any real benefit beyond a decently arranged story. It's a decent game, but it can only ever be decent when it is so riddled with flaws, and the fact that the main menu contains an advertisement is just icing on the cake.”