Abyss Odyssey

Abyss Odyssey grabs you with a strong hook: descend into a shifting nightmare, learn a fighting-game-style combat system, and steal the souls of monsters so you can use their own moves against the Abyss. That mix is more interesting than a standard roguelike brawl, especially once you start recognizing when a dangerous enemy is more valuable possessed than defeated.

Its problem is that the game asks for patience before its ideas fully pay off. Permadeath can erase your equipment and gold, and the run structure can make a bad stretch feel punishing, but persistent experience and levels keep progress from vanishing entirely. It is a flawed, inventive action game for anyone who enjoys learning a combat system instead of simply mashing through one.

Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Abyss Odyssey starts with the familiar pressure of a roguelike descent, but it becomes far more interesting when you stop treating it like one more platform brawler. Katrien has regular attacks, throws, specials, and a canceling system that lets you chain a normal move into a special or dash. Cancels cost points, so the better fights have a welcome push and pull: you can spend aggressively to extend a sequence, or hold back because the next enemy may demand more caution.

The best idea is soul possession. Time a special attack correctly and you can take over an enemy, then use that creature’s own move set on the fly. That is not just a novelty. It adds a reason to pay attention to what opponents can do, and it gives a run some satisfying improvisation when you find a form that suits the situation. Unlockable characters Ghost Monk and Pincoya also offer their own weapons and moves, giving you more ways to engage with the combat rather than merely more content to clear.

There is real friction in the death system. Losing equipment and gold stings, even if your accumulated experience and character level survive between attempts. The weakened soldier revival option and pricey checkpoint revivals can rescue a promising run, but they also make survival resources matter a great deal. If you enjoy gradual mastery and can accept setbacks, the persistent progression gives failure enough value to keep going. If you want each run to stand cleanly on its own, the losses may feel harsher than the reward.

Graphics

The 2D side-scrolling view gives fights a clean horizontal stage for jumps, dashes, throws, and sudden changes in who you control. Since enemy possession can quickly change your combat options, keeping the action focused along that plane is a sensible fit for the game’s more technical brawling.

Story

The setup is wonderfully odd: a powerful warlock’s nightmares have opened a path into an Abyss in 1890s Chile, and Katrien heads down to stop the monsters pouring through. It is the kind of premise that immediately gives the descent a bit more flavor than a generic dungeon crawl.

Do not expect the narrative to drive every moment. The story stays in the background while combat and survival take center stage, with additional information tucked into items found during play. That approach works if you like piecing together context between fights, but it will leave you wanting more if you came for a character-heavy adventure.

Still, the nightmare premise pairs nicely with the game’s shifting Abyss and the ability to inhabit enemies. The game does not need a constant stream of plot to make the journey feel stranger than a routine trip through randomly generated rooms. Its story is light, but its central image is memorable.

Overall Experience

Abyss Odyssey is at its strongest when its systems collide: you are managing a risky run, learning which attacks can be canceled, leveling up moves, and deciding whether a threatening enemy might become your best weapon. That is a more ambitious combination than its basic side-scrolling format suggests, and it rewards curiosity.

It also has enough rough edges to make the recommendation selective. The game can punish a failed attempt by stripping away gear and money, while its story offers only a modest reason to push onward. The carryover experience softens the blow, but it does not entirely remove the feeling that a bad run has cost you something meaningful.

Give it a chance if you want a roguelike where fighting-game habits matter and enemy transformations can change your plan mid-run. Skip it if you mainly want a smooth, low-stress platformer or a story with constant momentum. For the right player, its inventive combat and possession system outweigh the frustration, even if the whole package never becomes as polished as its best ideas.