E3 2014: Abyss Odyssey Hands On

I will never figure out ACE Team. Just when I think they've built a franchise off Zenoclash, they go and make Rock of Ages. Now after Zenoclash 2 what do they go make? Abyss Odyssey, a side scrolling rogue-like RPG based off Chilean mythology, featuring a water sprite, a creature made up of the souls of fallen warriors, and a red-headed heroine who has lived her whole life inside of the great chasm that has now opened up holes on the surface.

The water sprite carries a halberd, perfect, I like some distance between me and my enemies. Upon selecting one of the three starting points of the abyss, each offering a different difficulty, I dove right in, and saw the world ACE Team had created. It is a game with a very distinct look, from the character portraits to the models themselves, this game also boasts some impressive animations.

Gameplay was a little bit of a mixed bag to be honest. The combat felt a little stilted, but this was only after about ten minutes of gameplay. I got a chance to try out the skills I had assigned to my character, and the ability to chain those skills together made for some interesting character builds. The water sprite is able to summon a jellyfish to deal damage, couple it with her lightning attack and the range of the jellyfish suddenly grows, and while the enemy reeled, I was able to launch into a horizontal attack for the killing blow. This stuff was great, but the standard combat left a little to be desired.

Abyss Odyssey is only a few short weeks from release on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. ACE Team's esoteric take on game design is on full display here, hopefully the final product realizes their vision.