End of Abyss

End of Abyss is the surprise hit of year, with its forebodingly atmospheric Facility, unsettling enemy design, and well executed minimalist philosophy, it brilliantly combines its multiple genres to create a distilled and engaging survival horror experience.

End of Abyss is claustrophobic and eerie, science fiction survival horror through the eyes of Little Nightmares. Section 9 expresses its roots in new ways, incorporating intricate progression and anxious combat into the mix. By placing protagonist and player in a harsh world of dangerous paths and twisting secrets, each new door may open unto a potential flood of horrors and clutched chests.

End of Abyss is easily one of the better Metroidvanias to release this year. Its exceptional map design and rewarding character progression draw you in almost instantly, while the challenging monstrosities make combat fun to master. However, the game's strengths can also become a source of frustration. Its heavy reliance on Metroidvania elements, such as constantly requiring a key or specific item, combined with a complex level layout and lack of a proper fast-travel system, can leave you trekking back and forth across the map, turning progression into a major time sink. Still, either way, End of Abyss is more than worth the investment.

End of Abyss is a moody and cinematic metroidvania with a tantalisingly dark sci-fi world, tactile twin-sticks combat, and a scintillating brain-teaser of a map. It’s brutally hands-off at times, but it makes the moments when you figure it all out all the more satisfying. Some bugs do taint the experience a little, but End of Abyss is a gorgeous horror-tinged must for metroidvania fans.

With End of Abyss, Section 9 Interactive takes what they learnt from Little Nightmares and creates a new beast that blends their trademark unsettling atmosphere with Metroidvania exploration. The interconnected world is a thrill to explore; however, it can be difficult to determine how to reach your destination due to the lack of guidance. Vile enemies lurk in the corridors, ready to strike, requiring thoughtful combat, which increases the tension. Despite some navigational frustrations, it’s a compelling adventure that delivers a haunting experience.

It’s hard not to be frustrated with End of Abyss because of how it constantly gets in its own way. The stages, while not scary, are appropriately moody, yet are often confusingly designed and brought down by a buggy map. The amount of bugs elsewhere can deflate the atmosphere, as getting kicked to the dashboard and having to replay large sections is irksome. Its gunplay controls well and can sometimes be exciting, but the befuddling upgrade and ammo economy stifles its potential. Despite these faults, End of Abyss broadly succeeds because of the novel way it blends together key parts of the cinematic platformer and classic survival horror genres. The future in End of Abyss is rife with ruin and rot, but the game’s future, if it is able to live on and fully realize its potential in another form, is rather promising.

End of Abyss has you tensely exploring a mysterious underground complex one minute, then wearily jogging over well-worn ground the next. At its best, it's a ferociously atmospheric and gripping survival horror; at its worst, an exercise in frustration that burns away all tension.