Abyss Veil

[h1][i]"Every mercy you offer is a cruelty to us"[/i][/h1] [h3]- The Emberley Family[/h3] This game feels like a dream, like the one that makes you think "Man, that was a great dream...!" and feel melancholic at the same time. [h1]== TLDR; I like it very much ==[/h1] Its mechanics are simple yet crisp, and the game is ambitious with great atmosphere. The game was a lot longer than I expected (it took me 9h to finish the current build (Chapter 1)), but the story is interesting so I don't mind at all (actually it's better for me). [h1]== Gameplay: Simple yet crisp and responsive ==[/h1] [h3]Gunplay[/h3] As far as the 1st chapter goes there are [spoiler]4 (Knife, Assault Rifle, Shotgun, Rocket Launcher)[/spoiler]. Each weapon do not have reload (you can shoot all the ammo you have in one trigger press), yet the recoil, damage, and the sound was just right enough to feel satisfying to use. Additionally, there are [spoiler]Billy's dual Assault Rifle[/spoiler] and [spoiler]Billy's Dual Assault Rifle[/spoiler] (which is badass) and [spoiler]The Knight's Dual Machineguns and Missile[/spoiler], which are also satisfying to use as well. [h3]Enemy[/h3] The enemies are fast and deadly as they toss grenades, dodge, and sometimes shoot from very far away, but you have bullet-time ability and leaning to counter them. They have recognizable footstep, they bleed when shot and have Half-life-like death sound, so you will know when they notice you or you shot them down for good (Except the [spoiler]"Knights"[/spoiler], they don't have any feedback when shot or die, so it's hard to tell if you are damaging them or not (especially with the Dual Machinegun). I hope the dev will add some hit/death sound/effect) Currently there are at least 7 or 8 enemy types (including bosses), as far as I remember. [h1]== Art: Lo-Fi done right ==[/h1] [h3]Visuals[/h3] The art style is lo-fi PS1 style combined with hand-drawn character art. Some people may initially not like this style, but in my opinion, Abyss Veil did a fantastic job on staying consistence with its art style, so once you get used to the style, it will become a charm. Also, the art have that right amount fidelity and abstraction, so you know what the object is, but your brain will start filling in the small details, just like a book (which I like). Also there were a lot of scenery changes way more than I expected. [h3]Music/SFX[/h3] I assume the OST is made by the developer, aka Zorrio. Currently there are 60 soundtracks (according to the official YouTube channel). I don't know too much about music genres, but what I can tell is that the music compliments the art and the game (e.g. sci-fi, synthetic, melancholic, atmospheric, horror, grimy). I liked the intro scene with the soundtrack "AV SYSTEM" kicking in the back, which sounded heavily inspired by S.E. Lain's OST "Majixx". It perfectly captured the feeling when I watch that show. [h1]== Story ==[/h1] Abyss Veil has a lot of story to tell. The story telling is mostly done in a visual novel style text-based with hand-drawn art to go along with. I liked it. It has mystery, conspiracy/power-struggle/politics within the Mars, despair, horror, psychological horror, nostalgia, friendship/camaraderie, and so on. I don't know why, but playing as one of the squad-mates of the protagonist, it reminded me of the [i]Section 9[/i] from the [i]Ghost In The Shell[/i]. Not gonna lie, this game could be a great anime lol [h1]== Glitches ==[/h1] I haven't encountered too much of glitches, but there were some. For example: - (UI) Cannot exit the save menu when interacting with PC for saving (I tried: Esc, "x" looking-button but it does nothing) - (UI) If player tries to save/talk while walking, the player will slide away - (QOL) Some static corpses/bodies have collision, which interferes with player movement - (Game Flow) the door to exits to a wrong place, (after the trenches, in the first fixed-camera and tank-control section) - (System?) Something felt odd with the health pick up and its value. Like i had 200 hp as Ivy, or I could pick it up even my health was max. Maybe I was just tripping??? - (Ally AI) Allies getting stuck (e.g. at the slum, between a big pipe and a wall. At the jungle, where there's a small depression near a wall of trees) However, it's still in early access and the dev seems to be working hard to bug-squash, so not a big deal for me. [h1]== Other Notes ==[/h1] [h3]Map Design: sometimes confusing[/h3] I liked the overall map design, but sometimes I got lost, having no idea where to go or to do, wandering around for a while. I liked the point light being placed so I would know the objects (e.g. door, console) are interactable. [h3]USB Pickup: sometimes confusing[/h3] The floating light-emitting USB thingy was a bit confusing. First I thought it was an intel to recover, or a memory/section for the AV system, but sometimes it says nothing when I pick it up, or plays a memory/cutscene. Maybe I'm just a dumb-dumb who missed some UI pop-up text, But for me, it was confusing what it did.

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!

surprisingly good mixed-genre passion project. i was quite immersed during horror sections and several combat sections. story feels to me to be the main strength and as i realized it was building into some kind of character/political drama i got more and more excited to see where things would go. the chapter ends with several hanging threads to explore and i'm very curious how the final 3 chapters will go. dialogue style can feel immature with slang and banter that makes every character feel like the same ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ 20-something year old, but it kinda grew on me. in general, the world building, character development, and drama development are all great thus far. for gameplay i find the fixed-camera horror parts to be the highlights, good tension, and audiovisual design that put me on edge and having these quite early on and grabbed my attention for the rest of the game, the first person combat was decent enough. levels can feel too big at times, especially when you have to reboot a section, but wasn't a major issue and i feel the scale serves good aesthetic/thematic purposes at times. the pacing is well done, swapping between different gameplay styles, varied locations/themes, increasing variety and difficulty of enemy encounters, and a few varied boss fights sprinkled throughout. despite first impressions, this is a competently designed and quite enjoyable game/world, and i can't wait to dig in more when the later chapters roll out.

It's a bit rough around the edges, but Abyss Veil is easily the most interesting game I've played in a while. First person combat that feels a bit like someone someone tried to make F.E.A.R. in a Cruelty Squad level editor. A story packed with angst and melancholy. Rampage through liminal spaces and try to make peace with your best friends as you fight a never ending proxy war.

nice game!

Brillant ideas Rough, very very rough game Def needed more playtesting for it's length, too much text sometimes, overcomplicated level design or empty huge maps. Sometime it's hard to see what you need to do in order to progress. But the atmosphere is insane, the music is perfect, the writing is so cool, and the art is so unique. I recommend this game for the artistic experience, and i'm waiting for a better part 2 (especially in rythm cause my GOD this was LONG)

[b][u]I LOVE KILLING PEOPLE. I FEEL VALIDATED. I FEEL LIKE I BELONG HERE. The pay is good.[/u][/b] I am glad to be a part of frontline squads, going on adventures, killing people, and fighting [spoiler]the hellish personified mental trauma of my childhood[/spoiler] •ᴗ•

Every mercy you offer is a cruelty to us

Silly Story, Fun gun play, and worth the 6 bucks.

I LOVE KILLING PEOPLE. I FEEL VALIDATED. I FEEL LIKE I BELONG HERE. THE PAY IS GOOD.