''Abyss Odyssey'' is a

platform Platform may refer to: Arts * Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow * ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film * ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke * '' The Platform'' (2019 film) * Pla ...

action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by

ACE Team ACE Team is a Chilean video game developer based in Santiago. Founded in the late 1990s by brothers Andres, Carlos and Edmundo Bordeu, the company started out by developing total conversions before turning to commercial game development. All o ...

and published by

Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, video game publisher, publisher, Arcade game, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for the ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona (series), Persona'' ...

. It was released in July 2014 for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

, and

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, and for the

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in July 2015. The game's plot follows a set of heroes who fight to reach a warlock whose dreams are infecting reality in late 19th century

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. ''Abyss Odyssey'' combines elements from multiple video game genres, has a unique art style based on the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

movement and has characters based on

Chilean mythology Chilean mythology includes the mythology, beliefs and folklore of the Chilean people. Evolution Chilean mythology covers of a large collection of myths and legends from the beliefs of Chile's indigenous groups (Mapuche, Tehuelche, Changos, Dia ...

. It received mostly positive reviews from critics who praised its atmosphere but criticized some aspects of gameplay.

Gameplay

The gameplay has a fusion of elements from a number of gaming genres. The player controls an avatar who battles enemies and advances through dungeons to reach the conclusion of the stage. The game's levels are

procedurally generated In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated content and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. I ...

, providing a new experience on each. The player only has one life but may be revived. If the player character dies, the player is put in control of a much weaker human who tries to avenge their death and can revive the player at specific altars. The game's fighting system combines elements of the ''

Super Smash Bros. is a series of platform fighting video games published by Nintendo. Created by Masahiro Sakurai, the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series is a crossover featuring many characters from other video game series created by Nintendo and other develope ...

'' and ''

Street Fighter is a Media mix, Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. Street Fighter 1, The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by List of Street Fighter video games, six other ma ...

'' franchises, and rewards players for timing their blocks and attacks at the right moment. Players can capture the souls of enemies they encounter—once collected, a player can then assume the form and abilities of the enemy in-game. ''Abyss Odyssey'' uses a community-based unlock system; upon its launch, only the first "phase" of the game was available. After a certain number of players defeat the game's final boss, the Warlock, the next phase of the game is unlocked for all players.

Development

Developer

revealed ''Abyss Odyssey'' on their blog on 4 March 2014. The developers were inspired by the

movement and they used

Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau ...

as a direct reference for much of the game's art and atmosphere. The developers intended the game to be extremely replayable and designed the combat mechanics to be simple to understand, after initially considering a more complicated fighting layout. An Enhanced Edition titled ''Abyss Odyssey: Extended Dream Edition'' introduced competitive multiplayer as well as new types of enemies and bosses to the game and was released for the

in July 2015. A "nightmare" difficulty mode is included in the Enhanced Edition.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to the

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website

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. Critics praised the game's art style and atmosphere, but were disappointed by some of its game mechanics and its repetitive nature. ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

''s Dan Whitehead praised the PC version's visuals and new ideas in a positive review, but felt that there was a "... sense that in straddling so many genres, the game has spread itself a little thin." ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

''s Richard Cobbett compared the same PC version's

roguelike Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a style of role-playing game traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player character. Most ro ...

elements unfavorably to '' The Binding of Isaac'' and ''

Spelunky ''Spelunky'' is a 2008 platform video game created by independent developer Derek Yu and released as source-available freeware for Microsoft Windows. It was remade for the Xbox 360 in 2012, with ports of the new version following for various ...

'', but noted that "the soundtrack is fantastic, and the art is even better." ''Hardcore Gamer''s James Cunningham likened the art style to "playing a Grateful Dead album cover" and called it "a quirky little gaming gem." Reception to the combat system was mixed. ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...

''s Alasdair Duncan felt that the combat system was "enjoyable and deep" and provided one of the main reasons to play the game, while ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

''s Emanuel Maiberg derided what he felt to be the game's sluggish control input and compared the game negatively to the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series that its fighting system is based on.

References

External links

* * {{Atlus 2014 video games ACE Team games Action-adventure games Atlus games Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games Roguelike video games Sega video games Unreal Engine 3 games Video games developed in Chile Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set in Chile Video games using procedural generation Windows games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games