Surviving the Abyss

About

"Surviving the Abyss" is a deep-sea research simulation game set in 1976 during the cold war. You are tasked with constructing and directing a research facility focused on human cloning, while maintaining oxygen, power, food, and the mental stability of your crew in the harsh ocean depths. Capture and study local wildlife, expand your base, and delve into genetic research to advance your facility, but be wary of the dangers lurking in the darkness.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 733 reviews

gameplay43 positive mentions

stability37 negative mentions

The game has a great atmosphere and visuals, creating an immersive underwater experience.
The cloning mechanics add a unique twist to the gameplay, requiring players to manage genetic resources carefully.
The game offers a challenging experience that keeps players engaged and encourages strategic planning.

The game suffers from significant balance issues, making it difficult to progress without restarting multiple times.
There are numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including issues with saving and resource management.
The tutorial is lacking in detail, leaving players confused about key mechanics and how to effectively manage their colony.

gameplay
137 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
66%
2%
The gameplay in "Surviving the Abyss" features a mix of accessible mechanics and challenging resource management, particularly around population cloning and survival elements reminiscent of titles like Frostpunk. While the core mechanics are engaging and atmospheric, many players note issues with clarity, balance, and bugs that hinder the experience, suggesting that the game is still in need of refinement and additional content to enhance replayability. Overall, the unique mechanics and setting are promising, but players are advised to wait for further updates to address current shortcomings.
- “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).”
- “Overall, I really enjoy this game a lot, mostly from the atmosphere and its unique mechanic of population management, but it's still not too punishing when making mistakes. I will certainly plan to replay this game again on higher difficulty since they’re planning for some future free updates.”
- “The gameplay loop is challenging, requiring one to scavenge for metals and building supplies from the limited deposits scattered nearby.”
- “The sheer fact that the mechanic of getting more population will play a sound effect that can only be prevented by turning off sound effects in the options is insane. It's even more egregious with the fact that you need to constantly replace units as they have absurdly short lifespans in the beginning of the game.”
- “The user interface is atrocious, the gameplay is slow and boring with no replayability.”
- “The save issues, and the freezing repeatedly during a primary game mechanic make this game virtually unplayable as it is.”
story
101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
64%
7%
The story in the game is generally viewed as decent but underdeveloped, with many players noting its potential but expressing disappointment in its execution and completion status, especially since the game is still in early access. While some appreciate the unique underwater setting and atmosphere, others feel the narrative lacks depth and progression, often leading to a sense of urgency that is undermined by gameplay mechanics. Overall, the story is seen as a mixed bag, with calls for more content and refinement to enhance player engagement.
- “The story is interesting.”
- “The atmosphere and sounds match perfectly with the topic and story.”
- “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 unraveling a dark mystery storyline.”
- “The only real goal seems to be getting a clone to not expire; there's no real story, which is sad.”
- “The disappointing part was that there was no actual ending and no actual point to the game or the missions; you just clone and build some stuff and then the end, nothing more to do.”
- “The story isn't finished, and there are some weird little interactions when building passageways.”
atmosphere
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
38%
4%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its haunting and immersive qualities, effectively capturing the eerie essence of deep-sea survival. Players appreciate the combination of beautiful visuals, unsettling sound design, and a sense of isolation that enhances the gameplay experience. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature, drawing comparisons to other titles while offering a unique and captivating environment.
- “The atmosphere is top-tier, with the unknown creeping in the darkness.”
- “I love the visuals in this game, I love the premise and the atmosphere; it's oppressive and the void of the unexplored depths invokes a sense of both curiosity of the unknown and the primal fear of the void.”
- “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.”
- “Surviving the abyss really nails the creepy underwater atmosphere I'm looking for, but everything else about the game is half-baked at best.”
- “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
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
40%
5%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their beauty and atmospheric depth, effectively capturing the eerie essence of the underwater environment. Many players appreciate the detailed visuals and immersive design, although some have noted performance issues and a desire for sharper graphics. Overall, while the visuals are a standout feature, there are calls for further refinement and updates to enhance the gaming experience.
- “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 graphics are beautiful, sound design is eerie, and the dialogue that comes up about different events really help bring you into the world!”
- “There is no reason that my PC should be struggling to play a game with this simple of graphics.”
- “Many things are still very basic; the research screen reminds me of Atari, bare and lifeless. I'm tired of games that look like amateur hour. Seriously, it's 2023; I don't want a game that looks like it came out in 1995. I grew up with those graphics; I'm not looking at them again, indie or not. The ocean is fine, your base is fine, but the rest of it looks terrible.”
- “I wanted to like this game, but the resources are unbalanced and the graphics are dark and murky.”
stability
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting frequent bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some players acknowledge the game's potential and have not encountered severe performance issues, many express frustration over game-breaking bugs and the slow pace of updates. Overall, the consensus suggests that the game is currently too unstable for a full recommendation, especially for those who may be sensitive to technical issues.
- “I love the game concept itself, but it's so buggy, it's gamebreaking.”
- “Started off loving this game, but constant game glitches (which should have been found by the devs by playing their own game!!) slow patch releases, game updates which I think have now spoiled what was great potential.”
- “The bigger you expand, the more you realize the game is unfinished, buggy, and still very empty endgame wise.”
music
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
70%
13%
The music in the game is widely praised for enhancing the eerie atmosphere and complementing the dark underwater setting, creating a sense of urgency and dread. While many players appreciate the unique soundtrack and its ability to evoke strong emotions, some have noted issues with sound balance and the overall sound design. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's immersive experience, despite some technical shortcomings.
- “Sound design is great, music is perfect for the setting.”
- “The music, the atmosphere is unique, and I love it.”
- “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.”
- “The music isn't eerie.”
- “Sound mechanics are lacking particularly in the music area.”
- “Some music/more ambient stuff would improve the vibe a lot as well.”
optimization
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
70%
13%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, particularly in the endgame and on lower-end rigs, while others report smooth gameplay even at high settings. Many users acknowledge that the game is still in early access and express hope for future updates to improve performance and address bugs. Despite the challenges, some players find the experience relatively polished for an early access title, indicating potential for improvement.
- “Performance was spotless and visual diversity is achieved by the constant unlocking of new buildings.”
- “All in all though, for the launch day of an early access title, I'd say it's a fairly polished experience (e.g. it runs well, no stuttering or crashing).”
- “Game runs smoothly with all settings maxed out.”
- “As of 27/11/24, post first patch after 1.0 release, performance is poor.”
- “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.”
- “Look, if I can play Anno 1800 at 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 at 1080p regardless of quality settings... then that is just unplayable!”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
Overall, the game's replayability is generally viewed as limited, with many players noting a lack of variety in gameplay and progression systems. While some enjoy the challenge of optimizing their strategies, the absence of significant unlockables or differing experiences leads to a consensus that the game does not offer substantial replay value. Balancing issues and a lack of engaging content further contribute to the perception of low replayability.
- “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.”
- “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. 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.”
- “My biggest complaint would be balancing and replay value at this time.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and poorly balanced, with a manual resource management system that hinders exploration and enjoyment. While the game has potential, the current resource scarcity and lack of clear guidance make the experience feel more like a chore than a challenge. Many reviewers suggest that adjustments to resource availability could significantly improve gameplay.
- “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 resource 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
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews on monetization for the game are mixed; while some players appreciate its balance and ongoing updates, others perceive it as an early access cash grab aimed at profiting from beta testers. Overall, opinions vary on whether the game's monetization strategy is fair or exploitative.
- “I'm under the impression this was an early access cash grab.”
- “Yet another EA cash grab to get paid by the beta testers.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, feeling heartbroken over potential issues with its release and experiencing frustration when saved games fail to load. The increasing lag as cities grow adds to the emotional weight, highlighting the players' investment in their gaming experience.
- “Hearing that this game will likely (this is pure speculation, though) be released the way it is right now is a bit heartbreaking.”
- “I just tried to reload my saved game twice and it isn't loading, which is heart-wrenching, to be honest. But it got me thinking that the game has gotten more and more laggy since I've built a bigger city.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game is noted for its humorous take on the city-building genre, providing players with a lighthearted and entertaining experience.
- “This game is a hilarious city builder.”
- “The humor in this game keeps me laughing while I build.”
- “I love how the game incorporates humor into every aspect of city planning.”