Abyss from Spanish studio EnjoyUp Games is now available on the Nintendo Switch. Learn more about this minimalist release in our Abyss review!
Abyss from EnjoyUp Games started its life way back in 2012 for the Nintendo DSi as a DSiWare download-only game. For those of you who never heard of the Nintendo DSi, it was a step up from the regular Nintendo DS in that it offered a bit more processing power (like the difference between the Nintendo 3DS and the New Nintendo 3DS), as well as the chance to access the DSiWare online store to download apps and games not available at retail, either to its onboard storage memory or to an SD card – and it added cameras while removing backward compatibility with the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. There are plenty of gems in the DSiWare range, and I did like what EnjoyUp Games did with its budget releases, available for $2 or $5 depending on the game. For reference, here’s a screen of what the game looked like on DSiware:
Big difference between that and how Abyss looks on Nintendo Switch, right? The game was ported to the Nintendo Wii U back in 2014, and it was then taken to the Nintendo Switch at the end of 2018. The game includes 12 missions to complete, and once you do that you will be able to take on eight missions in Dark Mode. You can play Abyss either on your own or with a friend and in the Nintendo Switch version, your performance can be compared to players around the world thanks to its online leaderboards.
As for the game’s story and setup, it’s now the year 3024. Natural resources in Earth have become incredibly scarce, and the entire human race is very much in danger of becoming extinct. In their desperate search for new potential sources of energy, a biomechanical robot, the Nep2no, is created to be able to withstand the extreme conditions of the depths of the planet to search for one energy source in particular: Gaia. These glowing spheres of energy are humanity’s last hope, so you must do everything you can to collect them.
The gameplay on Nintendo Switch is very easy to get the hang of. You can turn around the Nep2No with the left analog stick, pointing the glowing tip of the vessel in the direction you want to propel it. Press and hold down the A or B buttons, and the ship will travel that way, gaining more and more momentum the longer you hold down the button. If you want to change directions, you’ll need to consider momentum to change your trajectory – and probably to counter it so that you don’t hit a wall! When you hit an obstacle, you have a split second to change course before you hit something else again, and if you’re not fast enough then the Nep2No will be no more, and you’ll have to start the stage over.
Each stage is a few minutes long at most, and it tasks you with collecting the pieces of Gaia spread around every nook and cranny of the depths of the level you’re taking on. Once you have collected all pieces, you’ll be able to set course for the final glowing sphere of a different color that acts as the stage’s exit. As you collect each of the Gaia spheres, the Nep2No will gain some extra energy, allowing its glowing tip to increase its range so that you can more clearly see the available paths before you.
Abyss is a short and minimalist experience that EnjoyUp Games has brought to Nintendo Switch so that those that played it before on the Nintendo DSi or the Nintendo Wii U can have another go either at home or on the go. The instant multiplayer nature of the Nintendo Switch makes it very easy to just take the console into Tabletop mode, have each player take a Joy-Con, and then just blast away. Abyss is available for only $2.99, and it’s a short experience I definitely recommend.
Disclaimer
This Abyss review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by EnjoyUp Games.
