Abyss Attack Review
PROS
- Excellent visuals.
- Atmospheric soundtrack.
CONS
- Shooting is repetitive, and becomes tedious too quickly.
- Power-ups are too expensive.
VERDICT
Abyss Attack is an attractive level based shoot-'em-up, that is marred by its grafted-on endless-runner trappings.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
Abyss Attack is an endless-runner in the garb of a shmup. Here are your instructions: shoot everything, play till you die, use the currency to upgrade your craft, and try to overcome the temptation to spend real money on upgrades.
To control your underwater craft, you simply drag your finger around the screen. You fire automatically, while picking up packages will change your weapon. These packages usually contain equippable power-ups like blades and bombs. Each stage ends with a boss fight, before moving onto deeper and darker waters.
The difficulty level ramps up pretty quickly. To make things even more frustrating, you're kicked back to the start of level one after every game over screen. In your constant quest to gather enough gems to upgrade your craft, you'll find yourself treading the same ground over and over again.
There is a small amount of satisfaction in seeing how quickly you can defeat the first boss, but not enough to sustain multiple attempts. One upgrade lets you jump to a later stage of the game, but its price tag puts it well out of reach. By the time you've collected enough gems to afford it, you're likely to be a bit sick of the grind.
This is a shame, because many of Abyss Attack's individual components are worthy of praise. The visuals and music combine to create a moody atmosphere. The touch controls are as smooth as you could ask them to be, and the flourescent enemies are agreeably striking.
If you have the patience to grind out your upgrades or don't mind dropping some money, Abyss Attack will offer a fairly enjoyable - if streamlined - shoot-'em-up experience. However, we can't help thinking that it would have worked a lot better without its endless-runner trappings.
Screenshots
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