Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness

Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness is an ambitious but uneven adaptation of the beloved anime and manga series, developed by Chime Corporation and published by Spike Chunsoft. Attempting to translate the rich, mysterious world of the Abyss into an interactive experience, the game blends survival mechanics, light RPG elements, and story-driven progression in a structure that both mirrors the source material and tries to expand on it. Unfortunately, while the game captures some of the source’s darker thematic undercurrents, it stumbles in execution, struggling to balance narrative fidelity with satisfying gameplay. The game is split into two distinct modes. The first, "Hello Abyss," serves as a heavily guided retelling of the anime's early events, placing players in the role of Riko as she meets Reg and embarks on the initial descent. This mode functions more like an extended tutorial than a full-fledged campaign, offering limited freedom and pacing that quickly wears thin. While it’s a faithful adaptation in terms of dialogue and plot beats, it’s largely devoid of challenge or meaningful interaction. Players familiar with the anime will likely find it redundant, and newcomers may struggle to stay engaged due to the sluggish flow and shallow mechanics at this stage. Things shift significantly in "Deep in Abyss," the game’s main attraction and the reason most players stick around. Here, players create their own custom Cave Raider and begin their own journey into the Abyss. This mode ditches the hand-holding and leans fully into survival mechanics, with stamina management, inventory control, crafting, cooking, and an unforgiving climbing system that reflects the physical toll of descending—and more importantly, ascending—the Abyss. The infamous “Curse of the Abyss” is present as a core mechanic, introducing escalating physical and mental effects when climbing upward, from simple nausea to hallucinations and internal bleeding. It’s a well-realized idea in concept and thematically appropriate, but its implementation can feel more punishing than fun, often slowing progress to a crawl and adding frustration to backtracking. Exploration in the Abyss is, at times, atmospheric and immersive. Descending through its many layers, from lush forests to eerie ruins, the game attempts to mirror the vertical scale and ecological variety of the source material. However, graphical limitations undermine this ambition. Environments lack the surreal, dangerous beauty of the anime, with flat textures, low-fidelity foliage, and a general emptiness that makes each area feel more like a game level than a living, breathing world. Creature design fares slightly better, with recognizable monsters from the series appearing as deadly threats. Still, many encounters rely on clunky, imprecise combat that highlights the game’s lack of polish. Mechanically, the game is complex, but not always in a good way. The survival systems are thorough—perhaps overly so. Hunger, fatigue, durability, weather conditions, weight limits, and health states all require constant attention, making each trip into the Abyss a balancing act between preparation and risk. While this is fitting for the brutal nature of the world, it often borders on tedious micromanagement. Crafting and inventory organization lack streamlining, and the interface is cluttered, especially with keyboard and mouse controls. Combat is simplistic and often unsatisfying, relying on basic weapon swings or ranged attacks with stiff animations and unresponsive controls. It feels less like a core feature and more like an afterthought, with little feedback or depth to keep it engaging. From a technical perspective, the game performs adequately but lacks the polish expected from a title with such a recognizable license. Load times are reasonable, and bugs are relatively minor, but frame rate drops and occasional soft locks can still occur, particularly during complex environmental interactions. The character models are more faithful to the anime’s art style and generally well-animated, although they often feel disconnected from the flat and static world around them. Voice acting—featuring both Japanese and English audio options—is competent, though repetitive in some dialogue scenes. The soundtrack, while not particularly memorable, does a decent job of maintaining tension during exploration and combat. One of the game’s most polarizing aspects is its adherence to realism within its world’s own rules. In theory, this should elevate immersion, but in practice, it frequently hinders player enjoyment. The curse mechanics, for instance, do effectively create tension when trying to return to the surface, but they also encourage overly cautious play that slows pacing to a crawl. The same goes for its insistence on weight limits and hunger—mechanics that are narratively justified, but not always well-integrated into the overall gameplay loop. These systems could have benefited from more flexible difficulty settings or quality-of-life improvements to ensure they enhance rather than obstruct the experience. Despite its flaws, Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness does offer something rare: a survival RPG that doesn’t shy away from darkness or dread. It leans heavily into the danger and mystery of its world, portraying the Abyss not as a dungeon to conquer, but as a force to fear. This respect for the source material is commendable, and fans of the franchise will find value in the lore, cameos, and fidelity to the tone of the original. There’s a palpable sense of discovery as you reach deeper layers, uncover new creatures, and unlock fragments of world-building through journal entries and quests. However, much of this is buried beneath layers of grind and mechanical roughness that casual players or genre newcomers may find overwhelming. In the end, the game is a classic example of a project with a strong concept and passionate foundation, held back by limitations in budget, polish, and user experience design. It’s a title made primarily for fans—those willing to endure frustration for the sake of immersion in a fictional world they love. For others, it will likely feel uninviting, cumbersome, and poorly paced. There is a worthwhile game hidden within Binary Star Falling into Darkness, but uncovering it takes patience, commitment, and a willingness to descend into a very flawed, but occasionally fascinating, abyss. Rating: 8/10