Once I first began enjoying Luna Abyss, I actually wasn’t certain about it. Admittedly, I generally is a little bit of a snob on the subject of shiny graphics and gameplay really feel, and from my first second with the sport, I might inform that Luna Abyss was firmly AA.
Nevertheless, throughout my 10+ hours with the sport, I used to be steadily received over by a shooter that impresses not simply with its bullet hell gameplay, however its harrowing sci-fi world.
Set on the mysterious Purple Moon above Earth, you’re Fawkes, a prisoner on Luna with a hefty sentence forward of them. Nevertheless, after being chosen as a Scout, you’re given the chance to cut back your sentence by exploring the labyrinth beneath the Purple Moon’s floor, often known as The Abyss.
Exploring the Abyss was the primary level at which developer Kwalee Labs impressed me. Luna Abyss is much from the best-looking recreation on PS5, however the best way it performs with scale and lightweight will rapidly draw you into its sombre sci-fi world.
Huge chasms fade away into darkness, huge pipes weave their method round like roots, and also you fall from unbelievable heights. I used to be stopped in my tracks a number of instances by haunting vistas, creepy discarded our bodies, and harsh lighting.
In the event you stand up shut and private with all of it, certain, it’s slightly muddy, however I used to be genuinely impressed by the vibes Kwalee Labs was in a position to seize. It’s spooky and teeters getting ready to cosmic horror, with disproportionately massive areas.
Then there’s the gameplay, which does begin out fairly gradual. With a squeeze of L2, weapons auto goal, and with little or no in the best way of evasive manoeuvres, fight feels stale to begin.
However then the sport introduces a shotgun, which may break blue shields; then there’s a speedy sprint and a double leap; a rifle particularly used to interrupt purple shields; and so forth. On high of that, each time you face an enemy in some type of boss-like stage, that enemy is then simply thrown into common fight encounters.
There are numerous upgrades to well being and weapons hidden throughout its ranges that faucet into the sensation of escalating energy. My main Scout Rifle was a beast by the tip of the playthrough, whereas my Protect Breaker shotgun remained at its base degree all through the entire marketing campaign.
The small nooks and crannies containing these upgrades are straightforward to overlook, so it had me scouring the degrees extra vigilantly come the tip of my time with the sport.
As I labored my method into the mid-game, Luna Abyss was enjoying fully totally different from these opening minutes. And as I fought the ultimate boss, it was fully totally different once more.
There’s not an enormous number of weapons or an enormous RPG-like ability tree, however Kwalee well introduces the brand new weapons, abilities, and enemies that it does have to offer Luna Abyss a unbelievable, streamlined sense of development. The entire expertise, a minimum of from a gameplay perspective, feels very centered and deliberate due to it.
What began as a considerably boring shooter expertise ended up being as “lock-in” as DOOM. I used to be grappling round, switching weapons on the fly, whereas dodging glowing projectiles like in Returnal.
Would I say that it feels fairly as good as video games like DOOM: The Darkish Ages? No. However the truth that it’s even a query to be requested proves to me that Kwalee has achieved a superb job right here. It is punching above its weight.
In fact, you aren’t simply taking pictures continuously all through its marketing campaign. Luna Abyss is speckled with enjoyable little platforming sections, which once more increase as you progress. Within the latter hours, it begins to mess around with all the things you’ve realized, and whereas I by no means felt that it was too difficult, I had enjoyable leaping, dashing, grappling, possessing, and activating platforms. It really jogged my memory of a few of the platforming present in Future 2.
The principle level at which I turned slightly disenfranchised with the sport is its story. Luna Abyss does really do an honest job of padding out a mysterious, centuries-spanning lore. And the esoteric vibe that it’s going for helps enhance that unknowable ingredient of The Abyss as a setting.
You’ll come throughout varied characters in your travels, and right here you get to mess around with totally different dialogue decisions – though it ought to be famous that it makes no distinction to the end result of the narrative, from what I might inform.
There are first rate sufficient vocal performances to be discovered, however the occult nature of the world round you means I by no means actually latched onto anyone character, least of all Fawkes or the ominous Aylin that directs your quests. And the conclusion to the narrative I might see coming from 1,000,000 miles away.
There are additionally some little bizarre bits to Luna Abyss. Like Fawkes’ jail cell, which you return to on the finish of every chapter. Right here you’ll be able to fall asleep and skim by textual content logs within the library – although these are accessible at any time by your menu anyway.
It got here throughout like these cell segments have been supposed to have one other facet to them, however have been minimize someplace within the growth course of. Every time you say to Aylin that you just wish to return into The Abyss, she’ll ask in case you’re certain, however there’s actually nothing else to do right here in case you’re all learn up within the textual content logs. It might be nitpicky, however these segments at all times felt tremendous clunky to me.
I spent my time with Luna Abyss on each the bottom PS5 and PS5 Professional, with no discernible distinction between the 2. Fundamental vibrations go away the DualSense controller under-utilised, however regular efficiency throughout each consoles lets that hectic gameplay sing.
Once more, in no way is it the best-looking recreation, and there are moments the place it virtually seems to be last-gen, however each every now and then, it’ll catch your breath with its ominous sense of scale.
