Hailing from the Abyss

About

"Hailing from the Abyss" is a rhythm-based game where you journey through distinct stages with unique enemies and original soundtracks, battling against memories in a mesmerizing pixel art style. The game features over 20 hand-crafted stages, multiple chapters with unique enemies, power-ups, consumables, and a duel system. Your protagonist is on a train ride home, wearing headphones and dozing off, causing the memories to come to life.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

74%

Audience ScoreBased on 70 reviews

music24 positive mentions

stability2 negative mentions

The game features a great soundtrack with many enjoyable tracks that complement the gameplay.
The pixel art style and visuals are appealing, providing a fresh aesthetic in the rhythm game genre.
The game offers a decent challenge, especially for experienced players, and has potential for improvement with regular updates.

The note mapping and timing are often off, leading to frustrating gameplay where hits do not register correctly.
The intense lighting effects and screen flashes can be overwhelming, making it difficult to focus on the gameplay.
There are numerous bugs and a lack of quality-of-life features, such as audio adjustments and calibration options, which detract from the overall experience.

music
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
65%
5%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising the soundtrack for its quality and ability to enhance gameplay, while others criticize it for lacking originality and variety, often relying on chiptune remixes. Many appreciate the well-executed charting that syncs nicely with the music, although issues with timing and arrow placement detract from the overall experience. Overall, while some tracks shine and contribute positively to the game, others feel repetitive and overly long, impacting the rhythm and enjoyment.
- “The soundtrack of the game is just amazing, and the level design is top-notch.”
- “In terms of soundtracks, each song feels carefully chosen to complement the gameplay, and even after replaying the song countless times, it still gets you in the zone.”
- “The music is so good, and I love the feeling of hitting.”
- “The music lags behind the hit boxes of the arrows.”
- “Music also lacks a lot of variety.”
- “Not to compare to things like In The Groove, DDR, or even Stepmania, but timing is key and it's all over the place in this game, which takes away a lot of the fun factor when you see arrows jumbled and not flowing to the song properly.”
story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
65%
15%
The game's story is generally considered serviceable, with some players enjoying its humor and character charm, which adds depth to the experience. However, the storytelling is criticized for being vague and confusing, with slow text boxes that disrupt the flow. Despite these issues, many players appreciate the inclusion of a narrative in a rhythm game, enhancing their overall enjoyment.
- “Nevertheless, I very much liked and enjoyed the game, story, and the music.”
- “As you complete stages in the game, you will be unlocking dialogues about the story.”
- “Unlike previous rhythm games, it is fun because it has a story, and the game characters are cute, so I want to buy it when I make it into a doll.”
- “The text boxes for the story are slow and linger on screen for a few seconds before it lets you continue.”
- “The story is serviceable, in my opinion.”
- “The storyline is confusingly vague.”
gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The gameplay is generally satisfactory, featuring a carefully curated soundtrack that enhances the experience, though some players have noted significant lag due to intense lighting effects. There are concerns about gameplay mechanics, particularly the ability to bypass challenges by pressing all keys simultaneously, which suggests potential bugs. The "duel" format adds a visual flair but does not significantly enhance the rhythm mechanics.
- “In terms of soundtracks, each song feels carefully chosen to complement the gameplay, and even after replaying the song countless times, it still gets you in the zone.”
- “Provides a satisfactory gaming experience with decent graphics and gameplay, making it a solid choice for the genre.”
- “[b]Hailing from the Abyss has a slight gimmick to its gameplay as it is in a 'duel' format,[/b] but this only enhances the visual part of the gameplay and it doesn't add to the rhythm sections a lot mechanics-wise.”
- “The intense lighting effects cause the gameplay to lag so much on certain levels.”
- “However, I found that simultaneously pressing all keys allowed me to bypass challenges, indicating potential issues with the current gameplay mechanics.”
- “Hailing from the Abyss has a slight gimmick to its gameplay as it is in a 'duel' format, but this only enhances the visual part of the gameplay and it doesn't add much to the rhythm sections mechanics-wise.”
graphics
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
56%
19%
The graphics of the game receive mixed feedback, with many praising the cute art style and stunning pixel art that enhance immersion and overall gameplay experience. However, there are significant issues with note mapping and calibration, leading to frustration as some notes do not register correctly, which detracts from the enjoyment. Overall, while the visuals are appealing, technical flaws in the graphics system hinder the gameplay experience.
- “- stunning visuals”
- “+ the aesthetic of the pixel art and animation work nicely together!”
- “I have no idea what is happening with the mapping and graphics of the notes, but the calibration needs an automatic timed beat version. Fun so far, but I'm having a stroke actively knowing I hit notes and they're just not registering.”
- “Ever since one of the early chapters, a significant amount of the hold notes for the first column have the hold bar graphic show up on the second column instead, obstructing the notes that are on the second column.”
- “The cute graphics and combat style make the game immersive.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is criticized for being buggy and having poorly designed charting, which can make gameplay feel cluttered and frustrating. Additionally, the lack of a scroll speed adjuster further complicates the experience, particularly for skilled rhythm game players who may find the difficulty levels unbalanced. Overall, while some aspects are workable, the stability issues detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “The game is buggy and the charting is a bit of a mess, making it difficult to read. It would be nice if there was a scroll speed adjuster, but there isn't. If you're an avid rhythm game player with above-average skill, this game is definitely not for you. The hard charts offer little challenge, while the easy ones are far too simple for anyone with even a bit of skill.”
- “The game suffers from numerous bugs, and the charting system is poorly designed, which complicates gameplay. A scroll speed adjuster would have been a helpful feature, but its absence makes the charts hard to follow. For experienced rhythm game players, the difficulty levels are unbalanced, with hard charts lacking substance and easy charts being overly simplistic.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is noted for providing lighthearted moments, with some funny lines that offer a welcome break between the more intense rhythm sections, despite the overall storytelling being considered weak.
- “Although the storytelling of the game is not strong, it has some funny lines that provide a nice break between the rhythm sections.”

Buy Hailing from the Abyss

Hailing from the Abyss
$4.99
See offer on Steam

Videos

97%299reviews

Nocturne

2020

Role Playing

79%928reviews

The TakeOver

2019

Casual Hack and Slash

91%4.3kreviews

Melody's Escape

2016

Platformer

73%614reviews

Soundfall

2022

Shooter

84%1.1kreviews

Astebreed

2014

Arcade Shooter

73%259reviews

Sound Slide

2019

Action

86%640reviews

Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost

2024

Casual Shooter

93%1.3kreviews

vivid/stasis

2023

Action

78%1.8kreviews

Scarlet Tower

2024

Survival Hack and Slash

82%2kreviews

Musynx

2018

Arcade Simulation

+12

Hailing from the Abyss

Platforms

About

Buy Hailing from the Abyss