Abyss Veil

[b] A mess that's actually really fun to play. [h1] Review in Progress [/h1] [h2] Story [/h2] A mess that's actually really fun to play. A weird war happening between Mars and Earth. You play initially as Ivy and Mel. Ivy is a soldier recruited, she is looking for her older brother. There's so much creativity poured into this project, and the game carries a surreal sense of dread, with something happening almost constantly. [h2] Review [/h2] The story is intriguing enough. Sometimes it feels like playing an old Medal of Honor, sometimes like Resident Evil, yet it stays consistent, with the graphics and overall weirdness tying everything together. The gameplay style keeps shifting. Most cutscenes are hand-drawn, while the gameplay uses a PSX-style look that adds a lot of charm. The dialogues are long but still interesting and entertaining, and the soundtrack is beautiful, especially in the calmer moments. It honestly feels like playing Metal Gear Solid 2 inside the universe of Neon Genesis Evangelion, or like a blend of whatever the creator enjoys. [h2] Cons [/h2] The stamina meter drops to zero as soon as you stop using it, even if only a small portion was spent. Sometimes you get lost due to the PSX-style limited vision, repeated textures (mostly at the beginning), and the lack of a map. Enemies are repetitive. There's no crouch or run option. It might feel a bit longer than it should be. [/b] [code][b]---- Check out my curator page to discover more horror games: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45837348/] The Horror Archives [/url] [/b][/code]

I started crying during the penultimate mission of chapter 1

billy is cool he smokes cigarettes and wears tank tops

This game is certainly not for everyone but if you are an enjoyer of Chris-chan style aesthetics and Life is Strange-esque cornball writing as I am, this game will be kino. The gameplay is a combination of FPS, visual novel and survival horror. The FPS segments are gory fun, clearly inspired by FEAR. The survival horror elements are present only at the beginning and end of the game and serve only to advance the story, but they completely switch up the gameplay, being a copy of early REs with tank controls and jank cam. The story/visual novel is pretty good, though probably not for everyone. The story is convoluted, much like an esoteric anime or fanfic. The lore is quite deep for a game of this caliber and the implications surprisingly dark contrasting against the whimsical art style. While it is unabashedly an indie project, it is clear the dev put a massive amount of thought and passion into the game and that makes it very interesting, certainly one of the more interesting titles I picked up during the spring sale. I would say definitely worth $6 tbh.

A very unique, strange and kinda uneven experience, that's so far (having just finished ch. 1) leaving me really curious to see what else this creator makes. ive been kinda describing it as like, "shoegaze / late soundcloud rap Cruelty Squad" to my friends, which isn't 1:1 exactly but kinda gets you there (mostly in terms of being much more lethal than you'd expect given the stripped-back presentation), you can really see the f.e.a.r. influence on the fps portion's sleeve. The writing is....clunky, especially in the first ~1/3 of ch.1, but deeply charming, especially as both a solo project and a first game. You can kinda see the dev work through "how do i write this" in real time as you make your way through the back half of the game, and I'd say it ultimately lands on its feet! even if, admittedly, the characters all have very similar "character voice" in terms of affects and general personality (although again, you see this improve as the game goes on!) Also, mech portions were fun! Kinda samey, but once you get the rhythm of them they Are pretty rad. Trailer theme drop during one of the later segments was genuinely awesome. (the music and backing, in general in this game, are also pretty good, and hits a really particular and specific vibe Really well) Overall I very much recommend checking this game out, I guarantee that it'll have something that will pleasantly surprise you.

when i saw the art It caught my eye instantly.

This Game Is Really Interesting With Some Issues **EDIT** After playing through the game again I think to understand the story you really need a second playthrough. There are a lot of story beats and REALLY important information that is subtly sprinked in the beginning missions or it is in the first exposition dump. For instance, It is really important to pay attention to the context that the game is through a neural forensics device - that doesnt tell the truth unlike Cyberpunk 2077s braindances. I didnt catch this at first since i, and I assume many others, will gloss over a lengthy exposition dump in a game they are not yet invested in. I dont know what to think about this games story and writing wise now since I can see a lot of forshadowing and sprinkles of information both in text and through visual representation now that I have context for from a first time playthrough and really paying attention and taking notes about timelines and character realationships. Its honestly really cool stuff and has some plot points that I am excited to see expanded on in the future. That being said even though I have become more accustomed to the edgy dialogue after spending so much time with it, it generally hurts the experience of the well crafted environments with great atmosphere. An instance of this is in the Dream where the soldiers dont act like you would expect soldiers to. This could just be a design choice but its inconsistant to the overall tone of the game, soldiers and other encounters dont always act like this so when you see it occasionally its jarring. The dad also has some moments that make him seem childish and less imposing such as "Heritic" - gave me 40k vibes out of nowhere, and "I want a puppy" which infantalizes what is generally an imposing character. Later on there are also some deaths that I wont spoil but the dialogue and paseing of these scenes deter from what should be a vulnerable moment for the characters or potentially emotional for the player. There is a lot more I can point to and to the credit of the developer this game is a lot more interesting and complex than I originally thought but when writing the for later chapters I recommend having clear distinctions of goofy interactions with the group in low stakes situations and more serious mature take for when there are dark/emotional moments. Also dont be afraid to let some scenes that are emotional or shocking breath a bit. Some of the deaths where abrupt and I honestly didnt know how they happened even after a second playthrough. I still recommend players to check this game out and I encourage a second playthrough if you enjoyed the game but may not have understood everything that well at first. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **Original** I was pleasantly surprised by this game from how good it feels to play, from the direction of the story, and the mixed media format which is really fun and interesting. The FPS gameplay, though limited, is solid and I enjoyed these parts of the game the most. Some of the issues I have is the story clarity and the dialogue. The story is very complex and by the end of it I felt like I only had a base understanding of what was going on and the relationship between Ivy and the many many other characters. It seems to bounce around in time which is difficult to pull off effectively but it was interesting enough to stick around and continue. The dialogue is a mixed bag. At times its well written and interesting and in others it completely derails the tension with snarky, edgy tumblr blurbs and quips with gen alpha lingo mixed in. At times it's charming for the characters in lighter hearted scenes and others cringe inducing while contrasting the tone of horror and complexity that the game seems to be trying to get across. Overall I recommend it to anyone looking to support some ambitious new devs and experience something outside usual game conventions. I am looking forward for chapter 2!