Sigh of the Abyss

About

Embrace the monster within to change the fate of a nation in this dark fantasy visual novel.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

99%

Audience ScoreBased on 101 reviews

story55 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

The game features an amazing story with complex characters and a richly woven narrative that keeps players engaged.
The art style is stunning, resembling hand-painted oil paintings, which enhances the overall immersive experience.
Choices in the game feel meaningful and impactful, allowing for a variety of outcomes and high replay value.

Some players found the voice acting to be lacking in emotion and the overall quality inconsistent.
A few choices may not significantly alter the story, leading to a feeling that some decisions are less impactful than expected.
The ending felt rushed for some, with a lack of resolution for certain character arcs and plot points.

story
130 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
55%
2%
The story of the game is widely praised for its captivating narrative, complex characters, and meaningful choices that significantly impact the gameplay experience. Reviewers highlight the intricate plot twists, beautiful art style, and immersive world-building, making it a standout in the visual novel genre. Overall, players find the storytelling to be engaging and emotionally resonant, often comparing it to a well-written book that keeps them invested from start to finish.
- “The story is pretty incredible and the amount of choice effects is substantial.”
- “It creates a really interesting stage for a complex, compelling cast of characters, and the story does a great job of pushing and pulling you through a moral quandary, meaning you might end up making a choice at the end in opposition to your thoughts at the beginning of the game.”
- “The depth of the story and character development in this novel is one of the best I’ve experienced.”
- “That's not even to mention how either buggy, or worse, poorly thought out, the [spoiler] enacting the darkest night [/spoiler] ending currently seems to be, with the big revelation about [spoiler] the identity of the warden [/spoiler] happening seemingly offscreen, or how a major character [spoiler] sylas [/spoiler] is just automatically written out of the story off-screen because they disagree with the protagonist's choice.”
- “Once you choose an ending it's pretty linear with basically no choices to make aside from [spoiler] gathering your allies [/spoiler] which i think might be partially based on choices throughout the game, and partially on making a series of correct choices persona 4 style in order to avoid an instant bad ending which i actually found kind of funny, but mostly just frustrating because it exemplified how sudden this robbing of my ability to make choices that influence the story was.”
- “As for the critique, I'm not really impressed with how the world building and some of the story flow goes, the world and story are great, but sometimes I got lost in the narrative so I had to scroll down the codex many times to find what I need, even on the later chapters.”
graphics
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
38%
9%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their captivating and beautiful art style, often likened to oil paintings, which enhances the storytelling experience. While some users noted the reuse of artwork in different scenes, important story moments feature unique illustrations that stand out. Overall, the visuals are considered a significant strength, contributing to the game's rich narrative and emotional depth.
- “The art style is so beautiful, everything looks like an oil painting.”
- “Wow, what a great story experience, beautiful artwork, and compelling and realistic characters!”
- “The artwork is what drew me to this game; the illustration of the characters and the areas is unique.”
- “The same artwork seems to be reused for different scenes.”
- “Graphics and basically everything in the game are quite simple... all but the story.”
- “Unfortunately, what few 'relationship-oriented' interactions there are, they are all rated 'pg'; no real visuals, and vague text.”
music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
20%
15%
The music in the game is widely praised for its originality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers highlighting the pleasing instrumental score and outstanding soundtracks that complement the story and art beautifully. While there are no songs, the ambient sounds and character themes are noted for their immersive quality, effectively transporting players into the game's atmosphere. Overall, the music is considered a significant strength, contributing to the emotional depth and engagement of the narrative.
- “The soundtrack is wonderful as well, I especially love the different character themes.”
- “Accompanied with a beautiful art style and a pleasing instrumental soundtrack fitting of a classic Bioware RPG; a fairly focused but compelling story is brought to life!”
- “There are no songs in the game, but the original music score is quite pleasing.”
- “The soundtrack is very well done, not intrusive and fits the atmosphere of the story which feels mysterious and exotic.”
- “Accompanied with a beautiful art style, and a pleasing instrumental soundtrack fitting of a classic Bioware RPG; a fairly focused but compelling story is brought to life!”
gameplay
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The gameplay is praised for its engaging RPG mechanics, detailed lore, and impactful choices, providing a rich experience that can exceed 15 hours. Players appreciate the ability to shape their character's personality and abilities, which adds variety to the gameplay while maintaining a strong narrative focus. The inclusion of well-developed female characters driving the plot is also highlighted as a positive aspect.
- “I loved the whole game mechanics and played the complete story blind.”
- “Detailed and intriguing lore, impactful choices, easy and well-done mechanics, stunning visual art.”
- “The gameplay is a lot longer than I expected; my first playthrough took me more than 15 hours, and I was entertained every second of it.”
- “The gameplay is a lot longer than I expected; my first playthrough took me more than 15 hours and I was entertained every second of it.”
- “As a visual novel, the choices the player makes are the most important gameplay aspect.”
- “Getting to choose your abilities mixes up the gameplay, opening up different options while closing off others.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The game is praised for its high replayability, offering numerous choices and routes that encourage players to revisit the experience. Its length and variety contribute to a solid replay value, making it an engaging option for those who enjoy exploring different outcomes.
- “It's a solid game with great replay value.”
- “This is a fairly long visual novel with lots of replayability.”
- “You want plenty of choices and replayability.”
- “The replay value is very high here, since it has lots of choices and routes.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted for its quirky and unexpected moments, such as the rapid progression from flirting to engagement, which some players found amusing. However, many reviewers feel that the humor serves more as flavor text rather than significantly impacting gameplay, leading to a linear experience that can be frustrating despite its comedic elements. Overall, while there are funny interactions, the humor does not deeply influence the narrative choices available to players.
- “I just wanted to add how funny I found it that you go from flirting to choosing someone and them saying you're now engaged basically, hahaha.”
- “I think it's because of the game timeline, but I found the interaction kind of funny. Like, wow, at least they're not afraid of commitment!”
- “I actually found it kind of funny how sudden the robbing of my ability to make choices that influence the story was.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The character development in the game is highly praised for its depth and integration into the narrative, allowing for a natural progression of romance and personal growth. The beautiful hand-drawn artwork complements the storytelling, enhancing the overall experience of character evolution.
- “The depth of the story and character development in this novel is one of the best I've experienced.”
- “It also makes it feel much more natural if you let the romance choices and scenes seep into the plot one step at a time with room for character development in between.”
- “Solid story, beautifully hand-drawn artwork, passionate character development.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its captivating style and well-crafted soundtrack, which enhances the mysterious and exotic narrative without being intrusive. Overall, players find the atmosphere to be immersive and integral to the storytelling experience.
- “The style, the sound, the atmosphere, the story.”
- “The game has such a good atmosphere!”
- “The soundtrack is very well done, not intrusive and fits the atmosphere of the story, which feels mysterious and exotic.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players express a deep emotional connection to the game, captivated by its slowly unfolding narrative and the rich, hand-painted visuals that enhance the storytelling. The characters' intricate backstories and relatable emotions create an immersive experience that keeps players engaged and invested, often leading to late-night gaming sessions.
- “I became enamored during the first hour or so, captivated by the slowly unfolding story, the beautiful and touching style of hand-painted backgrounds, and the game characters rich with their own stories, fears, hopes, and feelings. That first evening, I stayed awake well into the night, unable to tear myself away from the narrative, like a book that draws you in and refuses to let you go.”
- “The emotional depth of the characters truly resonated with me, making their struggles and triumphs feel incredibly real. I found myself deeply invested in their journeys, which made the experience all the more impactful.”
- “This game masterfully weaves together moments of joy and sorrow, creating an emotional rollercoaster that left me reflecting on my own life long after I finished playing.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The stability of the game has been criticized for being buggy and poorly designed, particularly regarding key plot developments that occur offscreen, which detracts from the overall narrative experience. Players have expressed frustration with character decisions that feel abrupt and unearned, indicating a lack of coherence in the storytelling.
- “The game is riddled with bugs that disrupt the experience, and the poorly thought-out mechanics make it frustrating to play.”
- “The ending feels incomplete and poorly executed, with key plot points happening offscreen, leaving players confused and unsatisfied.”
- “Major character decisions are handled poorly, with important characters being written out of the story without proper explanation, which undermines the player's choices.”