So much potential ultimately unfulfilled.
What They Say:
The story begins with Riko and Reg’s meeting in the first episode of season one. This marks the start of their great adventure, and together they travel to Seeker Camp in the second layer of the Abyss. Experience the awesome power of the Curse of the Abyss, as well as the astonishing, legendary entities known as primeval creatures. Prepare to glimpse the world of Riko and her friends.
Content:
Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness on Nintendo Switch will go down in history as one of the most bizarre and unforgettable games I’ve ever played. Not because I loved it, either, but because of the strange design choices that were made.
In this adaptation of my one of my favorite manga and anime series lately, you get to experience the titular Abyss yourself in an action-RPG format. The problem is that the developer decided to divide the game into two main game modes.
One follows the storyline of the actual series and acts as a tutorial while the other follows an original plot of your own custom character. The problem is that you have to beat Riko and Reg’s storyline before you can ever touch the other one, which is where the bulk of this game is.
That wouldn’t be an issue on its own if the adaptation was done well but I would honestly tell everyone to skip Riko’s story here and just watch the anime if I could. Unfortunately, it’s entirely required. The problem is that the characterization, plot, and much of the writing is absent in favor of a long-winded tutorial.
It even does the story a disservice of ending right when it gets to the amazing part of the story in the first season. To make matters worse, this glorified tutorial has the action-based simplistic combat and exploration, but not much else.
There is no real progression except the linear objectives, no reason to gather items, and none of the leveling found in the other game mode. Fortunately, you can breeze right through by just running and jumping from point A to point B but it still takes a few hours.
It’s a shame, too, because the gameplay shines through much better in the original storyline. Though the plot here is, ironically, throwaway itself, the gameplay is surprisingly fun at times. It feels like a 3D rogue lite how you go into the Abyss, complete some tasks, gather some items, go a little deeper, and then get better over time.
The leveling and progression is available in this mode, making it a lot more fun to play. While the combat is still as mediocre as before, there is something to be said about the fun of exploring the Abyss. Sure, the movement is obnoxiously slow at times but there is such terror in exploring the Abyss that truly captures the feel of the main series.
I couldn’t tell you how many times I died randomly because I got careless and ran out of stamina while climbing the walls or running into a trap. And then there is the Abyss sickness that you get from going up too fast after climbing down.
The horrors of the Abyss are on full display here with graphics that looked surprisingly beautiful on Switch. The art style and character designs of the anime translated quite well to 3D, even if the frame rate and overall performance could have used a bit more work.
By no means is it a great game, but it is a serviceable one once you reach the original storyline. The unfortunate part is it is hard to say who this is for. I wouldn’t dare recommend this to newcomers so only existing fans who like action RPGs, roguelites, and don’t mind a lengthy forced tutorial to get to the real deal.
In Summary:
Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness is both worse and better than I expected. Visually and exploration-wise, it captured the look and feel of the terrifying Abyss in a way I didn’t expect. This is unfortunate then that it is bogged down by a forced adaptation of the main story that is rushed, severely incomplete, and devoid of any of the main mechanics.
If you can get past it, though, there is much more fun to be had in the progression and exploration systems of the second game mode where you can fully enjoy diving into the depths of the Abyss.
Grade: C-
Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Publisher: Chime Corporation
Age Rating: 17+
Release Date: September 3, 2022
MSRP: $59.99
Platform: Switch (reviewed), PC, PS4
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
