Relic Abyss Review Summary

Charming and fun gameplay with a diverse cast of unique characters and great music, though persistent bugs, balance issues, and screen clutter that hampers visibility hold it back.

Game is fun and charming: Players consistently describe the game as fun, charming, and enjoyable, highlighting its humor and simple gameplay. This sentiment is supported by multiple clusters, indicating a strong overall positive reception.

Diverse and unique characters: Many reviews praise the large variety of characters, each with distinct abilities and personalities. This variety is a key strength, making the game feel fresh and replayable.

Chaotic bullet hell gameplay: The game is described as a chaotic, fast-paced bullet hell with satisfying progression and a solid mix of RPG elements. This genre fusion is a major appeal for players.

Great music and sound: Players praise the visual and musical quality, noting that the sound and visuals are satisfying and enhance the game. The audio-visual experience is highly regarded.

Cute characters and models: Players find the characters and their models cute and funny, contributing to the game's charm. The visual appeal of characters is a notable positive aspect.

Screen clutter hinders visibility: Excessive on-screen effects, enemies, and skills obscure the player and incoming damage, making it hard to play. This issue worsens at high skill levels and later difficulties.

Bugs persist since early access: Several clusters report unresolved bugs from early access, including game-breaking issues like softlocks and negative HP states. These bugs remain despite expectations for early access.

Balancing and fairness need work: Multiple reviews highlight imbalances in stats, weapons, and character viability, with some characters being noticeably weaker. Difficulty is often perceived as artificial due to poor design rather than genuine challenge.

Story progression and quests confusing: Story progression is unclear, tied to loading screens, and quest hints have defects like blank displays. Players find the story dragging and filler-heavy.

Lack of invincibility frames causes frustration: No i-frames after hits or during dashes lead to rapid damage and unavoidable deaths when surrounded. Picking up items also lacks i-frames, causing health loss.

Vampire Survivors-like gameplay: Many reviews compare the game to Vampire Survivors, noting similar gameplay style, progression elements, and overall feel. This strong association suggests the game belongs to the popular survivor-like subgenre.

Many characters and upgrades: The game offers a wide selection of characters with unique abilities and a robust upgrade system, including equipment upgrades and skill enhancements. This variety supports diverse playstyles and replayability.

Roguelite genre: The game is frequently described as a roguelite with run-based structure, permadeath, and procedural elements. This genre classification is a common theme across many reviews.

Run-based structure with variety: Each run is structured with a start at level 1, featuring random upgrades, relics, and skill combinations that make runs feel unique. This variety is appreciated for maintaining replayability.

Difficulty levels and stages: Reviews indicate multiple stages with adjustable difficulty options, though some note that the first level on the first difficulty can be very hard. The variety in difficulty caters to different player skill levels.

Game feels unfinished or raw: Several players express that the game is in a very early or unpolished state, lacking refinement in certain areas.

Performance praised on Steam Deck: Players report the game runs smoothly on the Steam Deck, highlighting good optimization for the handheld device.

General performance satisfactory: Multiple reviews note that the game runs well overall, indicating a positive experience in terms of stability and speed.

No FPS cap leads to high rates: The absence of a frame rate limit results in extremely high FPS, which some players find beneficial or noteworthy.

Recommended for genre fans: Multiple reviewers recommend the game to fans of the survivor-like genre, anime aesthetics, and action RPGs. The game appeals to both genre veterans and newcomers.

Good value for price: Several reviews highlight the game as being worth its price, especially considering its early access status and future content. Some suggest grabbing it before a price increase.

Enjoyable character building and builds: Reviewers appreciate the wide variety of character builds and the ability to customize extensively. This appeals to players who enjoy deep progression systems.

High recommendation and enthusiasm: Positive reviews express strong enthusiasm and very high recommendations, with some calling it a must-play. The game is praised for its potential and current enjoyment.

Negative personal experiences: Some reviews are strongly negative, calling the game a waste of money and time, and advising against picking it up. These are based on personal experiences.

Community fair range: $9.99 - $14.99.

Game completion: 13.0h.

Session length: 0.4h.

Relic Abyss is fun right away, praised for its addictive gameplay, progression, and atmosphere, with only minor early frictions like manual loot pickup and loading-screen story progression.

Friction: Manual chest loot pickup; Story progression based on loading screens instead of missions.

Frustrated Genre Veteran: Plays many survivor-like and loot games, expecting fair difficulty and generous progression. Motivation: Seeking a polished and rewarding survivor-like game, but current issues cause frustration. Stance: no buy.

Casual Genre Enjoyer: Short sessions, casual difficulty, experimenting with builds and characters. Motivation: Relaxation and light-hearted fun with survivor-like gameplay. Stance: buy.

Progression Seeker: Focuses on meta progression, optimizing builds, and pushing to harder content. Motivation: Achieving meaningful progression and tackling increasing difficulty. Stance: buy.

Early access with frequent updates: The game is in Early Access with substantial content and receives constant updates every few months. Reviewers note it is still being refined and improved.

Developer responsive to feedback: Developers are open to feedback and continuously improve the game, fixing bugs quickly and providing constant updates. They are also active on Discord, gathering and responding to community input.

Promising roadmap and future content: The developer's roadmap looks promising, with plans to add more content, quests, and features. Reviewers are optimistic about the game's future despite its Early Access status.

Unique twist on survivor genre: While not entirely reinventing the survivor genre, the game offers originality through hub management, build options, and world-building. It is compared to Vampire Survivors and Brotato but with more character and story depth.

Limited content currently available: Currently, only 3 of 6 intended chapters are available, and the game has only 2 maps with limited difficulty levels. Some promised content is missing at release.