After the manga, then the animated series and finally the films, here comes the video game adaptation of Made in Abyss on September 2 with the delicious extension title: Made in Abyss – Binary Star Falling into Darkness.
The game is presented as an action RPG divided into two parts. The first part in which we will play Riko, the main character of the manga, will make us live the story of the manga. The second part will have an original story in which we will have to prove ourselves to become White Whistle.
A scenario that ends in 3 hours
1900 years ago, on an island in the BO Ruska sea, a huge sinkhole was discovered. Measuring approximately 1 km in diameter and of a depth still unknown today, it is filled with animals as unique as they are dangerous and contains a multitude of relics whose value is inestimable.
The abyss, nicknamed Abyss, has attracted so many adventurers dreaming of wealth that a huge city has been created around it: Orse.
The adventurers who then descended into the chasm are called caverns. They were defined ranks for their profession, symbolized by whistle colors: the red whistles being the novices allowed to descend to a hundred meters and the white whistles being the heroes among the adventurers. The white whistles are revered and they are the ones who have descended the farthest into the Abyss and discovered the most beautiful relics.
We play Riko, a young orphan who dreams with her friends of becoming a white whistle. Riko’s mom was one of the best White Whistles in her class, but she disappeared, long ago. Riko is currently only a Red Whistle, but with the help of Reg, the robot who saved her life from a huge monster, she will go deep into the abyss.
Here is in a few words and roughly the summary of the first part of the game. After a lot of blabla in English in Visual novel style, our heroine and her robot friend will go to the depths of the abyss when normally they do not have the level . And that’s regarding it.
This part only serves as a tutorial without even transcribing the emotions of the series. We end up going through the blabla phases, they are so long, then we find ourselves browsing the Abyss without being able to go back to the city. In short this part is really sloppy and uninteresting for the player. But unfortunately it is mandatory to move on to the second part of the game.
The Real Game, Part Two: Deep in Abyss
After a very frustrating obligatory first part, the real game unfolds before our eyes. We can create our avatar and go on an adventure with the aim of becoming White Whistle.
The game then takes on a whole new dimension with several trips to the Abyss to answer various quests in order to earn our living, improve our equipment and unlock new skills. Which should have been the case for the first part of the game.
Let’s see together how a journey into the abyss unfolds. The Abyss is a sort of open-air cave that no one has reached the bottom of. Your goal as a caveman is to descend as deep as possible in order to unearth the rarest relics. But the further down you go, the greater the danger: monsters, airsickness…
Indeed, you should know that the air contained in the Abyss is not pure: from the first meters, the evil is felt, whatever your rank. Your character will become nauseous and the symptoms will get worse the deeper you go.
This airsickness is manifested by tentacles that appear on the edges of the screen. The only thing to do is to wait without moving for the evil to pass. If you ever decide to continue to advance anyway: in the first levels, your character will vomit, but he might die in the lower levels.
In addition, you will have to watch over three bars: a standard life bar, a satiety bar which if empty will reduce your life bar and a stamina bar for running and climbing. These three bars are vital for you! Stopping moving will raise your stamina bar fairly quickly, eating will fill your satiety bar and sometimes your life bar finally, some plants will restore your HP like potions would. A nice system that works well. The stamina limits you on the move, forcing you to think regarding the best path, the life bar will lead you or not to face the monsters and finally your satiety bar will force you to stock up before going on an expedition.
Of course, in order to collect greater wealth, your goal will be to descend ever deeper into the abyss. And therefore to leave well equipped. Each getaway will be an opportunity to bring back your loot and exchange it for money to buy equipment or increase your skills.
So as you go, your character will be able to descend further and further and find more and more interesting relics.
Here we find a fairly addictive gameplay loop despite the heaviness of the fights and the controls that might have been improved.
Art direction level
Made in Abyss offers us quite cute characters, but maps without charms. The environments lack detail and only the small cutscenes offer the manga and pretty side specific to the animation series. Monsters are cool, but lack in-game detail.
In terms of the soundtrack, it’s okay without being memorable and the English dubbing of the first part is very heavy during the game phase with Red constantly asking you if you’re okay or if you’re ready.
Gameplay level is very average and yet the second part of the game has plenty of advantages: crafting, expeditions, quests, equipment and skill improvements… Even if we take pleasure in exploring the environments hoping to find good relics, the general gameplay is a little feeble for a game sold for 60 euros. Your character can only jump, aim to kick and run…
Conclusion
MOST
- An interesting second part
- An addictive second part
- A worked scenario (but which comes from the manga)
- Graphically cute characters
THE LESSERS
- The obligation to play the first part of the game before the second
- In English or Japanese only
- An unbalanced and frustrating first part
- Graphics that lack detail
- Gameplay that might have been a little more worked
- There’s better in india
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