End of Abyss, a sci-fi action adventure game from Section 9 Interactive, launches October 1 for Xbox Series X|S. Players step into the role of Cel, a young combat technician. Cel and her crew venture down into a large broken down facility underground.
From top-down shooter to atmospheric exploration
Section 9 Interactive co-founder Marcus Ottvall wrote that development began as an action-based top-down shooter. As the studio grew more interested in exploration and a stronger sense of tension, the game became a slower, more dynamic and atmospheric experience. Few top-down metroidvania games with action horror elements existed, so the studio made that mix the driving force behind the project.
Early builds already had the character’s basic movement and equipment, some enemies with basic destruction, and small levels, but the game lacked a clear visual identity. Once the studio pursued an atmospheric and eerie experience, it discussed references, sketched ideas, and developed updated prototype enemies and environments to find the look it wanted.
Inside the broken down facility, players face lurking threats, upgrade Cel’s gear, and find the tools needed to go further. The studio was founded by three former Tarsier Studios members, and Epic Games Publishing is handling the release.
Building a weathered underground facility
Ottvall said the art and atmosphere draw from the films, games, comic books, and anime the studio grew up with, especially 1980s and 1990s media that carried a weathered look and feel. That direction makes the facility feel worn down and slightly awkward, leaving the player uneasy about the environment.
The studio balanced realism with a slightly stylized sense of scale and shapes in the world and the creatures that reside in it, so the space still reads as a brand new world.
Enemies and a decaying world
For enemies, the team starts with gameplay functions it wants to try, then finds a creature design to emphasize those ideas. Rough animation mockups and enemy prototypes were built in Unreal. The team sometimes settled on its own versions of familiar video game tropes and sometimes tried more original creations from start to finish.
The world and its characters have been decaying deep underground for a long time, with some areas almost frozen in time. The game was already listed in the Next Week on Xbox roundup covering new Xbox releases from September 28 to October 2, and it joins Faraday Blues among the sci-fi adventures headed to Xbox ahead of its October 1 release.
