Abyss Odyssy: Extended Dream

A visually lush update of a unique 2D action platformer. 

By Urian Brown August 21, 2015

Abyss Odyssey is fascinating. It’s the kind of game you want to read about after spending time playing it. It’s a roguelike, a fighting game and a platformer all in the same package, wrapped up in a Nouveau-style aesthetic package. The sum of its parts are a little uneven, but quirky developers (and ostensible ATLUS buddies) ACE Team have put something together that, compared to previous efforts like Rock of Ages and Zeno Clash, feels a lot more like something you’d see from this particular publisher.

Basically, Abyss Odyssey is a bunch of familiar things smashed together into one small game. It looks sort of like a classic Prince of Persia, controls like Smash Bros., throws a bunch of numbers at you like an RPG and jumps on the procedurally-generated (and start over if you die) “roguelike” bandwagon.

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Here’s the deal: a warlock of vague moral standing has a peculiar sleeping disorder, one that gives life to his dreams. Because things like that never work out, he starts out with a horrible nightmare. Monsters are destroying everything, and it’s up to the protagonist (another figment of the Warlock’s imagination) and a bunch of jabroni-level soldier guys to do something about it.

In Abyss Odyssey, any encounter can be your last. Enemies are tough, and the constantly-changing difficulty level doesn’t help much. The controls are familiar to anyone who plays Smash Bros., but defense is much more important here. The player has to be constantly on their toes, always ready to react to the enemy and take advantage of openings.

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Unfortunately, the controls feel a bit sluggish at times, especially when it comes to defense. Players can roll out of the way, but it’s slow and the timing is dubious. Unlike Smash Bros., the player also can’t change what direction they face coming out of a roll, so even more care must be taken to avoid eating cheap damage.

Luckily, players can also absorb enemies and transform into them depending on their inventory. Playing as an enemy character changes available moves dramatically and also acts as a totally separate set of hit points. This mechanic is essentially a super-cool shield that protects the player and mixes up the gameplay. It’s pretty sweet and probably the best part of Abyss Odyssey.

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Once the protagonist is killed, she’s replaced by a random soldier-guy. This guy is significantly weaker and can be battered to bits by enemies in no time. His primary cause is to run and find a checkpoint to revive the protagonist before all is lost and the player starts over. It’s an interesting way the player can make a save, but the procedurally-generated-ness of the levels can be frustrating. 

Many floors don’t even have revive points, and bonus continues are hard to find unless you purchase them before going into the dungeon. So most of the time the player ends up bumbling around for several minutes with a purposefully-hampered character until they either die, manage to make it to the next floor or find a maybe-more-rare-than-necessary revive point.

Not all is lost, however, as the player does retain experience and skill levels, so there’s a bit more to progression than just pure player skill and wrestling against some of the lesser mechanics. Each skill feels thoroughly useful in clear situations, and the upgrades definitely matter. Stringing together combos once the player is nice and beefed up is definitely satisfying.

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A multiplayer component is also present—a sort of versus mode. Unlocking more character requires multiple runs through the main game, and the pace is certainly quick enough once the momentum gets going. It’s not essential and kind of at odds with the core of the game (despite the fighter-inspired controls), but it’s a fun bonus option. I doubt it will have legs going forward, though.

Abyss Odyssey has some clear and tangible flaws, but the total package is intriguing and absolutely worth trying out. The PS4 version is very pleasing to the eye and while the controls take some getting used to, once a few levels have gone by the player will know for sure what they’re getting out of the experience. ACE Team still has some kinks to work out, but Abyss Odyssey feels like its most complete outing yet.

Hint: Seriously, don’t forget to absorb enemies. Also, throwing is a great way to score some cheap hits on more defensive baddies.

by Lucas White