By: Michael (@DragmireG)

• Abyss Odyssey: Extended Dream Edition
  
• Developer - ACE Team
  
• Publisher - ATLUS
  
• PlayStation 4
  
• Rating - T
  

Bienvenido al abismo.

The Warlock’s evil dreams are invading a fantasy version of Santiago, Chile. You play the role of one of his dreams, Katrien, and you must enter the Abyss and fight through monsters and hazards so you can defeat him and stop the spread of his dream.

The art style is both great and refreshing to see in a sea of the similar styles and mediocrity. The Chilean company employed an Art Nouveau style mixed with enemy and character designs based on their myths and culture.

At first you might be overwhelmed by the game due to the fact what seems like a platformer is actually a brawler fighting game hybrid; so even regular enemies can put up a decent fight if you’re not paying attention.

The mechanics of controlling your character aren’t complex and are comparable to controlling a character from Nintendo’s Smash Bros.(It even has breakable shields and grabs). Sadly the combat isn’t as smooth and you’ll find yourself facing the wrong way when you’re trying to make a quick turn to hit an enemy.

You gain experience in this game and as you level you gain skill points, which you can use to give your move set buffs. As you play you’ll find several types of loot such as money or items you can equip (like stronger versions of your main weapon). Despite this, your character’s abilities remain pretty limited and don’t change much from what you started with, so you never feel great growth or accomplishment as you gain levels.

The Abyss also mixes aspects of a rouge-like game. You essentially have to go and beat the Warlock without dying or you start from the top of the Abyss again. There are ways to counter this though. When your character dies you’ll turn into a generic Spanish solider with pretty much the same stats (there are different types depending on your character). They have their own move set but they are basic compared to your main character. Once in this form you got to get all the crap your main dropped and find a shrine to revive your character and continue the game properly. The game also lets you collect enemies, with the move sets they use to attack you. You can be Skeleton Warrior or a Stone Golem for example. Once they die you can continue as your main character. You can also buy a checkpoint token from the shopkeeper and use it at a shrine to set up camp if all your other options have been exhausted.

Ironically, the randomly generated worlds that were intended to give the game new life each time you play, pretty much shows how uninspired it is. Each section can vary in difficulty, but the platforming and hazards are things you’ve seen countless times but done better in other games: lava, swinging axe, moving platforms, spikes, pits, etc. etc.  Basically the only thing new would be some of the “wallpaper “of these sections you’ll be seeing as you go deeper into the Abyss.

The game is very short. You can bet it in a few hours, but it’s designed for multiple playthroughs. Sadly there is not enough incentive to play the game due to its repetition, clunky mechanics, and lack of content.

Despite being an Extended Edition, there is not enough in this version of the game to invest in. Maybe they needed more time to dream up something more.