Surviving the Abyss

About

Surviving the Abyss is a single player survival city builder game with mystery, economy and post-apocalyptic themes. It was developed by Rocket Flair Studios and was released on November 5, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Discover and mine resources for construction, light your way in the dark, explore and expand into your surroundings to advance your research. Capture the diverse, highly-adapted flora and fauna of the deep, but beware: the darkness hides unexpected horrors, with only the light keeping them at bay.

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64%Audience ScoreBased on 862 reviews

gameplay47 positive mentions

stability44 negative mentions

Unique and immersive underwater city builder with great atmosphere and Lovecraftian horror vibes.
Challenging gameplay that requires careful resource and crew management, rewarding for strategic planning.
Active developer support with frequent updates addressing bugs and player feedback in early access.

Game is plagued with balancing issues, particularly with resource scarcity and population management leading to frequent death spirals.
Cloning mechanic and resource systems are not well explained, leading to player frustration and a steep learning curve.
Frequent bugs and quality of life issues including save problems, clunky UI, and tedious micromanagement hurt the overall experience.

gameplay
165 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
68%
4%
The gameplay in "Surviving the Abyss" offers a unique and engaging blend of city-building and survival mechanics centered on cloning and resource management, which many find compelling and atmospheric. However, it is often described as slow, repetitive, and sometimes frustrating due to unclear mechanics, bugs, limited replay value, and difficulty spikes. While promising and innovative, the game still requires balancing, better tutorials, and feature polishing to fully realize its potential.
- “Once again, a game with a premise unique enough that it keeps me engaged far past what the gameplay or mechanics normally would.”
- “The core gameplay mechanics are relatively easy to comprehend, as you're really only playing with a few essential variables (energy, air, food and to a lesser degree air purity).”
- “The gameplay cycle revolves around managing buildings resources (minerals and electricity), life sustaining resources (food, oxygen), science and crew (which you can create through cloning). That's the core gameplay.”
- “I cannot get more than an hour of gameplay out of it before some bug occurs and then the whole game shudders to a halt.”
- “Avoid like the plague, there are more broken things in this game than there is actual gameplay.”
- “Very very poor game camera can't move at all apart from rotate and zoom in and out, very slow gameplay found myself falling asleep; spend your money on a different game and come back to this in 6 months or more.”
story
146 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
66%
10%
The story offers an intriguing and atmospheric premise with unique mechanics, but it is widely seen as incomplete, abruptly ending and lacking meaningful development or resolution. Many players find the narrative engaging initially but feel it fails to deliver on depth, length, and polish, with some noting bugs and unclear explanations detract from the experience. Overall, it provides a decent backdrop for the city-building gameplay but remains a work in progress needing expansion and refinement.
- “Story has its pros and cons, and not everything is well explained in-game, but the atmosphere and unique mechanics really make it up.”
- “Great city management, story, and atmosphere!”
- “In its current state, it has a great gameplay loop of tentatively expanding your sphere of safety while exploring the depths, each new area has its own biome with different fish whose flesh you will use to develop new clones all whilst unravelling a dark mystery story-line.”
- “Without spoilers, it is evident that the developers ran out of money, time, patience, or sandwiches and quickly gave an ending to the storyline.”
- “They also fail to explain any story at all, and the ending is lackluster, removing some points for me.”
- “The story is nonsensical.”
atmosphere
99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
38%
3%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its dark, eerie, and immersive underwater setting, effectively blending horror and suspense with base-building mechanics. Many reviewers highlight the haunting visuals, sound design, and sense of isolation that create a compelling and tense experience, though some note the atmosphere may wane in later stages or be impacted by early access bugs. Overall, the unique deep-sea environment and Lovecraftian vibes are key strengths that strongly enhance the game's mood and player engagement.
- “The atmosphere is hauntingly dark, and the sense of isolation is palpable—your only company being your crew and… well, whatever’s hiding in the shadows.”
- “The atmosphere is top notch, you really get the feeling of being isolated under the sea.”
- “Surviving the abyss really nails the creepy underwater atmosphere I'm looking for, but everything else about the game is half-baked at best.”
- “The atmosphere worked so well because I knew that there was a scary monster out there, and as it barely bothered me as I conquered the map, I became very unafraid of it.”
- “I think the atmosphere and early-game click really really well, but the experience drops off as you continue to explore and grow your facility.”
- “In the meantime I'm probably gonna step away for a month or two so that the bugs and glitches are patched out because in its current state it's kinda bringing me out of the atmosphere of the game since I'm currently trying to avoid the bugs/glitches.”
graphics
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
45%
4%
The graphics are widely praised for their atmospheric, haunting, and immersive underwater visuals, effectively enhancing the game's eerie mood and unique setting. However, some users report performance issues even on high-end PCs, bugs, and occasional graphical quirks, with a few criticizing the art style as overly simplistic or outdated in certain areas. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point with room for optimization and refinement.
- “Great entry in the surviving series, beautiful visuals and dripping with haunting atmosphere.”
- “The game's graphics and atmospheric design excel in reflecting the otherworldly environments of the abyss.”
- “The game has some really beautiful environments and the graphics are really well designed and laid out.”
- “I have a high end PC and I turned down all graphics settings to minimum and still had issues.”
- “I had all graphics on minimal/off and I didn't get over 40fps.”
- “Many things are still very basic, the research screen is bare and lifeless. I'm tired of games that look like amateur hour; seriously, it’s 2023 and I don't want a game that looks like it came out in 1995.”
stability
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The game's stability is severely hampered by frequent bugs, glitches, crashes, and softlocks that disrupt progress and frustrate players. While some find it playable and see potential in the concept, the numerous technical issues and lack of polish—typical of an early access title—make it feel unfinished and often detract from the experience. Many recommend waiting for further patches before purchasing.
- “Overall, until they decide to actually fix the hard and softlocking bugs and glitches that prevent you from playing the game, you extremely need to avoid this product and don't even get it on a 99% sale. There isn't a game here, just a tech demo trying to scam you pretending it is one.”
- “The bigger you expand, the more you realize the game is unfinished, buggy, and still very empty endgame wise.”
- “Wait till most of the bugs are flushed out. Game crashes and freezes frequently, forcing you to start all over from square one.”
optimization
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
69%
14%
Optimization in the game is a mixed bag: while early gameplay generally runs smoothly with good visuals, performance significantly degrades in late-game and larger builds, leading to lag and frame drops even on capable hardware. Many users note persistent bugs and inefficient resource handling, especially in post-launch and endgame scenarios, though improvements are expected as developers continue to optimize and update. Overall, it remains playable but may require patience and hardware above minimum specs until further optimization patches arrive.
- “Performance was spotless and visual diversity is achieved by the constant unlocking of new buildings.”
- “That said, I surprisingly haven't had any issues running the game, no crashes, no performance issues and no obvious glitches.”
- “Game runs smoothly with all settings maxed out.”
- “Supposedly the devs are still working on it, so maybe we'll get some optimization and I can change this review - for now though, only buy if you want to play it for the story with a small number of buildings and low population.”
- “Look, if I can play Anno 1800 @ 3440x1440 resolution with no lower than 50fps, then there is definitely something very fishy going on in this game's optimization and/or execution that doesn't allow it to achieve more than 40fps @ 1080p regardless of quality settings... then that is just unplayable!”
- “The game is slow even when running at 144hz on 2k, and the request for GPU power is insane... sadly Ark is more optimized than this.”
music
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
64%
11%
The music in the game is generally praised for its eerie, atmospheric, and immersive qualities that enhance the dark, unsettling setting. However, some users find the ambient music repetitive or irritating, and sound balance issues occasionally diminish the overall audio experience. Overall, the soundtrack effectively contributes to the game's mood and tension, though improvements and more variety could elevate the atmosphere further.
- “The sound design, from music to immersive ambient noise, is particularly well done.”
- “Sound design is great; music is perfect for the setting.”
- “I still recommend as the potential for this game is fantastic and the dread you feel when that one song starts playing where it sounds like a chorus of voices screaming whilst the giant monster is lurking above you is chef's kiss.”
- “No music, sound effects, or voice over was pretty underwhelming, and I didn't really feel like the story was wrapped up in any meaningful way.”
- “Sound mechanics are lacking, particularly in the music area.”
- “Both of these things are drowned out by alarm sounds and random things that shouldn't be quite as loud as they are in comparison to the music and some of the ambient sounds.”
replayability
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
Replayability is widely criticized as very limited, with minimal variety in building options, tech trees, and map variability reducing incentive to replay. While some players find occasional enjoyment in optimization or higher difficulties, most feel the game lacks depth and lasting engagement beyond initial completion. Early access issues and balancing problems further hinder replay value.
- “Replayability may not be great for everyone, but I enjoy this game for when you want to try and optimize everything and see how far you can make it while surviving.”
- “+ Replay value through unlockables.”
- “- The game is much more playable after balance patches.”
- “The only replayability is if you just like underwater buildings but there is no variety in what you can actually build, so as a city-sprawler it fails as well.”
- “Surviving the Abyss doesn't offer much in terms of replayability; you can try on a higher difficulty but there's nothing in terms of build variety, the tech-tree will always be the same and you'll unlock most if not all of it.”
- “Finishing the game ended up being driven by my completionist tendencies and curiosity rather than any part of the gameplay that drew me back, and now that I have finished it, I intend to uninstall it and probably not play it again, as I see little replayability value in it.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
90%
Grinding in the game is widely regarded as tedious and overly punishing, with resource gathering feeling unbalanced and repetitive. While exploration and building improve with experience, the manual and poorly explained mechanics make early gameplay feel slow and frustrating. Overall, grinding significantly hampers enjoyment and progression.
- “A really beautiful concept, held back by horribly punishing resource grinding that will stop you from seeing what else the game is hiding in the darkness.”
- “In its current state, the game is very tedious - this is very different from hard.”
- “I see potential in the game, but right now the resources balance is way too off. Frostpunk is a walk in the park compared to this. If they make it easier resource/maintenance-wise it could be fun to play, but for now it's just tedious.”
monetization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews on monetization are mixed, with some praising the game for being well-balanced and not focused on quick cash grabs, while others criticize it as an early access cash grab with little meaningful updates. Overall, opinions reflect a divide between those who appreciate ongoing development and those skeptical of the game's monetization approach.
- “I'm under the impression this was an early access cash grab.”
- “Nothing changes, nice cash grab.”
- “Yet another early access cash grab to get paid by the beta testers.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express a strong emotional response of frustration and disappointment, feeling drained and heartbroken by technical issues like save file corruption and increasing lag as their cities grow. These problems have negatively impacted their overall experience and engagement with the game.
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users have mixed opinions on the game's humor; some find it funny, while others feel it could benefit from updates to enhance its comedic elements.
- “This game is a funny city builder”

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9h Median play time

13h Average play time

4-20h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 9 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Surviving the Abyss is a survival city builder game with mystery, economy and post-apocalyptic themes.

Surviving the Abyss is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 13 hours playing Surviving the Abyss.

Surviving the Abyss was released on November 5, 2024.

Surviving the Abyss was developed by Rocket Flair Studios.

Surviving the Abyss has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Surviving the Abyss for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

Surviving the Abyss is a single player game.

Similar games include Aquatico, Settlement Survival, Aven Colony, Flotsam, Endzone: A World Apart and others.

Surviving the Abyss

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gameplay

story

atmosphere

graphics

stability

optimization

music

replayability

grinding

monetization

emotional

humor

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