Luna Abyss is a sci-fi FPS that blends Destiny’s ambient, claustrophobic level design with Returnal’s vibrant bullet-hell mayhem.
The result is a satisfying gameplay loop with smart, continuously evolving platforming sections and intense first-person shootouts, backed up by solid gunplay and tight controls. The same can’t be said about its story, characters, and even the themes it tackles, all of which are embarrassingly half-baked.
This isn’t an issue, however, as Luna Abyss’s compelling gameplay loop effortlessly carries the weight of the game’s 8-10 hour-long campaign.
Luna Abyss’s story is shallow, its world too serious for its own good
Luna Abyss takes place in the dark, foreboding reaches of an abandoned colony, sunken deep within the surface of the moon Luna. You play as Fawkes, a prisoner in this unruly place tasked by the enigmatic All-Father to explore the desolate megastructures of the long-lost city of the Greymont, overseen by a similarly enigmatic yet chirpy artificial prison guard, Alyn.
The opening hour of Luna Abyss is arguably its weakest section, with a setting-the-stage moment that neither establishes Alyn nor the world around them as anything worth paying attention to. It doesn’t help that the exchanges between Alyn and Fawkes, the only character dynamic Luna Abyss focuses on, lack friction.
I didn’t find myself drawn to any of the game’s characters or their motives and had a strong urge to skip through their interactions, not just because of weak writing and stiff voice acting, but also because of their hideous design, that are completely devoid of any contextual identity. It’s an issue that plagues the entirety of Luna Abyss’s 8-10 hour campaign.
That isn’t to say its narrative is completely purposeless. It’s multi-directional, dabbling frequently in melancholy and grief, war implications, human conscience, and even nuanced subjects like individuality and existentialism.
But all these issues are merely mentioned and never explored, as if the game’s trying to earn brownie points for touching themes that are objectively mandatory for an ambient sci-fi story such as this.
That said, occasionally, its bloom and gloom characters do spew something revelatory, for instance, in a late-game section when Ellie, the only character with a hint of personality in Luna Abyss, calmly tells what their definition of love is.
Combine this with the game’s ambient, melancholic piano score, and a few of these moments did garner my attention. The majority of the time, however, Luna Abyss’s overly serious world doesn’t have enough substance to be taken seriously.
Solid gameplay loop is how Luna Abyss thrives
In Luna Abyss, gameplay is king. Once the initial story exposition is over, you’ll quickly find yourself traversing the dark corners of the abyss, mostly abandoned except for the unwelcoming, red, piercing lights of the unknown, climbing narrow vents, jumping over pipelines, and shooting (similarly hideous) alien creatures.
Occasionally, you’ll encounter some gorgeous architecture, but it’s mostly just long stretches of pyramid expeditions.
It’s blatantly obvious how much Luna Abyss takes inspiration from Bungie’s now on-its-way-to-grave looter-shooter. From similarly claustrophobic environments and platforming puzzles to boss fights’ patterns, they all carry Destiny’s DNA to an extent I wouldn’t have imagined before booting up Luna Abyss. It even has those games’ bizarre loading screens that pop up in-game as if you’re experiencing a server lag.
It’s all good, however, as while there have been a few self-proclaimed Destiny killers, there hasn’t been a game that idolizes that series as Luna Abyss does. This isn’t a looter-shooter, though; it’s a bullet-hell gunning-and-running game, with a lot of shot spamming and side dodging as colored projectiles float towards you.
This combination works surprisingly well and paces out the campaign perfectly, providing adequate breathing room between harrowing platforming sections and sweat-inducing shootouts. As such, Luna Abyss never feels like a drag when you’re playing it, something that I didn’t feel while playing through another recently released good but poorly paced indie FPS, Mouse P.I. for Hire.
You start the game with a Scout Rifle, a high-fire-rate laser rifle of sorts, but quickly unlock Shieldbreaker (shotgun) and Monarch’s Lance (sniper). Each weapon has a distinct weight and feel to it, and is useful in different scenarios.
Shooting in itself isn’t state-of-the-art, and might not do much for you if you are a veteran Destiny player like me. That said, what it lacks in impact, it makes up for in sound design. There’s something cathartic about exploding death candles (an enemy type) and breaking shields (think breaking glasses in The Last of Us 2) with your shotgun.
There’s also a brief delay in your action after you execute an enemy, which is made more satisfying thanks to the game’s impeccable sound effects
Coming back to the weapons, Shieldbreaker is also partly a traversal tool, as it can destroy blue shields along the way. Certain enemies also possess such blue shields, and you’ll have to destroy them using the Shieldbreaker before dealing any damage. Likewise, some enemies possess a purple shield, which can only be broken with the Monarch’s Lance.
Having such obstacles in both traversal and combat adds a strategic layer to gameplay and demands constant attention to your every move. It didn’t take long for me to fall into this pattern of analyzing the situation and reacting accordingly in the blink of an eye, both of which consistently kept the tension high.
As with any good bullet-hell shooter, timing is key to surviving encounters in Luna Abyss, be it in combat or traversal. Since weapons can overheat, knowing when to swap to your Scout Rifle so that your Shieldbreaker can recharge and get ready to break down the Eyes of the Warden’s shield is important.
Equally important is learning when to dodge those deathly projectiles or an enemy’s glowing red laser beam that can melt Fawkes instantly, or when to put up your shield to avoid any and every obstacle and breathe for a second or two.
As you progress, encounters will become increasingly challenging with waves of enemies targeting you from every corner of the screen. They never get tedious, though, not just because these are deligently choreographed, but also because there’s almost always a new ability or tool to try in almost every major encounter.
The game paces these new additions perfectly. You even unlock a completely new weapon (easily my favourite of the four) and a new traversal mechanic in the final chapter of the game.
It’s how Luna Abyss keeps gameplay fresh throughout the campaign. Bosses in particular are a highlight, with each subsequent encounter becoming increasingly challenging. Unlike recently released bullet-hell shooters such as Returnal and Saros, Luna Abyss’ bosses don’t have multiple health bars, but they keep the tension high throughout their 5-7 minutes of runtime and feel incredibly satisfying to beat.
The final boss of the game is the longest, nail-biting encounter, where a single misjudged dodge could push you back to the retry screen. It’s a worthy undertaking, even if the story cutscene after that isn’t anything to gawk at.
Furthermore, the arena in which this fight takes place is greatly reminiscent of the location structure where you encounter the Witness in Destiny 2’s Iconoclasm mission. It’s another reminder of how much Luna Abyss looks up to Bungie’s looter-shooter, and it’s a better, more distinct single-player FPS because of it.
Luna Abyss verdict
I really enjoyed my time with Luna Abyss. Its world might not be captivating enough to remember for weeks and months to come, but its gameplay more than makes up for what it lacks in the storytelling department. Additionally, between this and Mouse P.I. for Hire, it’s exciting to see linear, single-player FPS make a return, albeit on a small scale.
