Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss
- August 1, 2024
- Sarepta Studio
- 10h median play time
Get on Steam"Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss" is a single-player, first-person psychological drama set in 1905. As a deep-sea diver on the ship Thalassa, you must investigate the mysterious disappearance of your crew and the ship's fate. With only your support Bailey guiding you from the surface, dive into the depths, uncover clues, and unravel the mystery of what truly happened onboard. The game offers a captivating story that explores human emotions and interactions.
Reviews
- The game features a deeply moving story that keeps players engaged and invested throughout the experience.
- The atmosphere and graphics are stunning, creating an immersive environment that enhances the exploration of the sunken ship.
- The mystery-solving mechanics are well-designed, allowing players to piece together clues and uncover the narrative effectively.
- The game suffers from technical issues such as crashes, stuttering, and low audio levels, which can detract from the overall experience.
- Certain animations and interactions feel forced or repetitive, leading to moments of frustration during gameplay.
- The lack of manual save options and some unclear puzzle mechanics can lead to confusion and hinder the enjoyment of the story.
- story50 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is widely praised for its emotional depth and compelling narrative, often described as moving and beautifully crafted. Players appreciate the atmospheric setting and the gradual unfolding of the plot through exploration, although some note that gameplay mechanics can disrupt immersion. Overall, the storytelling is considered a standout feature, making it a recommended experience for fans of narrative-driven games.
“The storytelling is strong from start to finish, weaving loss and human connection into a compelling experience.”
“A tragic but hopeful story set in a haunting yet beautiful world.”
“The game weaves an excellent story slowly percolating small and seemingly incidental details until you have a full picture of what happened to the Thalassa.”
“Clues can appear in rooms you have already visited once you reach a certain story point, which kind of forces you to rely on the map to see where to go back and it breaks the immersion a bit.”
“The story is obvious, but the expectations of these mystery nodes are not.”
“If the above reasons are fixed, I would rate this a 4-star instead, since the story does have some noticeable gaps in the ending.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its exploration-focused mechanics typical of walking simulators, with a strong emphasis on storytelling and atmosphere. While the mystery and deduction elements are generally effective, they can occasionally present challenges, requiring players to piece together clues with some trial and error. Overall, the game offers a satisfying experience that captures the essence of exploring a wrecked ship, despite some minor mechanical issues.
“Mystery/detective games often struggle to actually give the player the experience of solving the mysteries, but Thalassa's mystery mechanics work very well -- guiding you toward which types of evidence to examine and what types of connections to look for, but you still need to mentally make those connections to be able to mark a mystery as complete.”
“Not the longest game (I finished in 11 hours with breaks included), but it has a well-done story, beautiful graphics, and gameplay that definitely captures the feeling of exploring a recently wrecked ship.”
“While the gameplay is centered around exploring the Thalassa, what keeps you engaged is the shifting perspectives you have on the crew and their actions.”
“There's nothing distinct about the gameplay compared to other walking sims, but the story is very moving and the atmosphere is absolutely incredible.”
“After over 7 hours of gameplay, I can't go any further.”
“This kind of micro-mechanical friction is pretty pervasive.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 70 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game are praised for their beauty and detail, contributing significantly to the immersive storytelling experience. However, some players have reported issues such as micro-stuttering and long loading times, which detract from the visual experience. Despite these technical drawbacks, the game's artwork and visual design are generally well-received.
“I'm not done yet, but I love the story and the beautiful graphics!”
“Super story rich, amazing graphics and detail.”
“Beautiful game, both in visuals and story.”
“I've been playing around with the graphic settings, going from high to low, changing the frame rate, but it still happens.”
“Constant micro-stuttering no matter the graphics setting.”
“Areas failing to load and taking up to 1 minute to load on low graphics.”
- emotional8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by strong voice acting and compelling characters, with some players finding the narrative both heart-wrenching and beautifully haunting. While the prologue may feel overly sentimental to some, the overall experience is described as intense and capable of evoking deep feelings, with many players reporting moments of genuine emotional impact.
“I found this game was best played blind to fully immerse myself in the heart-wrenching secrets of the sea.”
“Heartbreaking and hauntingly beautiful, I couldn't stop thinking about it once I was finished.”
“This game made me cry twice, but I enjoyed it :)”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its incredible underwater ambience and emotional depth, reminiscent of the Bioshock series. However, some players noted technical issues like stutters and audio problems that detracted from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, the combination of great voice acting and a moving story contributes to a captivating atmosphere.
“There's nothing distinct about the gameplay compared to other walking sims, but the story is very moving and the atmosphere is absolutely incredible.”
“+ the atmosphere and underwater ambience is done to perfection.”
“A beautiful and very enjoyable game with an excellent atmosphere and solid story.”
“Great voice acting; good atmosphere, long repetitive animated sequences, and certain strange anomalies (e.g. ladder dropping down so fast underwater? Where are the dead bodies? How can you breathe for so long underwater?)”
“After I saw the first couple of trailers, it really reminded me of the BioShock 1 and 2's ocean atmosphere.”
“And with the game’s stutters and audio problems, the modest underwater atmosphere is compromised.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -17 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been criticized for persistent lag and micro-stuttering, particularly during scene loading, despite high frame rates. While some players managed to improve their experience by adjusting image quality settings, the overall performance issues have led others to pause their gameplay in hopes of future fixes.
“I don't want to rob myself of what seems like a great story and game due to these performance issues.”
“The optimization in this game is crucial for fully enjoying the experience.”
“I hope the developers prioritize optimization to enhance gameplay and overall enjoyment.”
“The only con is the lag/stuttering.”
“Constant micro-stuttering no matter the graphics setting.”
“I did have some issues with the game stuttering and the image splitting apart at times, and had to adjust the image quality, but I was able to play without much issue after making adjustments.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have serious stability issues, with major bugs that can force players to restart from the beginning. However, users noted that there are no shuddering, glitches, or crashes during gameplay.
“Seriously buggy, and I mean major 'restart the game from the beginning' bugs.”
“The game is plagued with stability issues that ruin the experience.”
“Frequent crashes make it nearly unplayable at times.”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its emotional depth, with a soundtrack reminiscent of Hans Zimmer that enhances the overall experience. Players find the combination of the music and voice acting to be particularly impactful, often evoking strong emotional responses.
“This is a great game for that, and I really enjoyed the music and artwork for it.”
“It is heart-wrenching, especially with the amazing soundtrack that reminded me of Hans Zimmer at times (like that doesn't break me already), and the voice acting that just hits the exact spot and note to make you cry.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Many users express disappointment in the game's replayability, citing minimal value in returning to play after initial completion, which has led some to pause their gaming experience until performance issues are addressed.
“The game has little to no replay value, so I've decided to stop playing for now, hoping that the performance issues will be fixed.”
“After completing the game, I found that there was no incentive to play again, which really diminished my overall experience.”
“Once you've finished the main storyline, there's not much left to draw you back in, making it feel like a one-time experience.”
