First thoughts

[Desavenencia]

What do you think about this game? Plot, script, soundtrack, graphics, set of movements... and everything you want to highlight.

 

The original intention of the mangaka who created this work, Akihito Tsukushi, was to create a videogame. Taking this into account, in addition to the enormous potential of the Made in Abyss universe to build a perfectly solid videogame, how do you think they have adapted this side story from the original manga/anime?

 

A special mention goes to the talented composer of the original soundtrack, Kevin Penkin, who made the anime an even greater work of art. I would like someone to confirm who finally got the musical section for what I hope will be the first video game in a saga.

[Anxiety]

I didn't even know there was a game coming, Made In Abyss is one of my favourite anime, I haven't read much of the manga but I’ll get around to it. 

The trophy list looks doable but I’ll wait until to see what happens if there is any DLC or not. I really can't wait to play this now, I really look forward to hearing other people thoughts. 

 

I wonder if it's going to follow the manga or he it's own separate game.

If I think of anything else to say I will, thanks for creating this topic! Also, I have to watch the trailer. 

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Anxiety

[Blackmist_FFXI]

My copy is waiting for me at home, so the first thing I'm going to do is dive into this once I'm off the clock.

 

I asked my friend who has been playing this all day and his critiques were that the movement is a little janky and a lock on controls are kind of subpar.

 

There is a skill tree unlocked later on to the story according to them and hopefully this would correct the jankiness and lock on issues it's possible that they made it to where you're an adventure you're not perfect at the start, you need these skills to make things 'easyer' or maybe it needs a patch to smooth out bumps.

 

You can't make a custom character until you've beaten the game.

 

I'll add to this after I put some hours into the game.

 

[sanctusLight]

My wife started her playthrough, so far it looks okay. Its a game for fans but because I am one, i will have a lot of fun with it.

The only thing thats bugs me is that you'll need at least 2 playthroughs to get the platin.

[turniplord]

31 minutes ago, sanctusLight said:

you'll need at least 2 playthroughs to get the platin.

Technically not true. You begin with a story that follows the anime, playing s the protagonist (I've not seen the anime). Then, you unlock a new story that takes place shortly after the show, where you now play as a custom character that's trying to become a White Whistle. The first section only lets you go a few levels down, but the second one lets you go all the way.

I'm enjoying the game so far - I'm on PS5 and have not found the movements or lock-on to be 'janky', but it does spike in difficulty quite fast. You really have to manage your backpack space and durable weapons as they break frequently and can lead to you being stuck in the depths quite easily. Many times I've run out of stamina, meaning I couldn't climb or attack anymore, yet had no food so I couldn't do anything but load a previous save or literally give up and return to the surface - losing everything I've just spent hours trying to do.

I have just got back from the fourth floor - I was stuck on floor 3-4 for about 10-15 hours as it wouldn't auto-return me to the surface after completing my quest and I kept running out of weapons and food. That's the hardest run I've had so far, I even had to leave it alone for a few hours as it was stressing me out too much.


There is a fast travel button - pushing square on the map - but it doesn't work. Every time I try it, it says you can't use it - and I can't see a skill to unlock that enables it. If I could return without literally spending hours trying to climb the abyss, it would be much more forgiving and less frustrating.


The main negative I have is that it's very easy to find yourself lost and/or stuck with no option but to give up and lose all your progress. Once you hit level 3, with the dark caves and maze-like caverns, it gets very confusing. Plus, if you don't do things in a certain order on that level - find the mission trigger, kill a giant snake, then complete the side mission, it makes it practically impossible to return to the surface - something I spent many, many hours figuring out. Also, the minimap is crap, it doesn't show levels so a marker could be at any altitude - further adding to the confusing nature and making it even easier to get lost when trying to find your way back.

But, I do enjoy it.

[Blackmist_FFXI]

It is a fun game!

 I enjoy that it's following the anime and was wondering how far it would follow. I assume half of session 1.

 

 I have to agree I don't see any of this janky movement my friend told me about and I haven't used the lock on.

 

 Back-pack space is insane,  im finding my self having to drop materials just so I can climb a cliff.  Dieing from fall damage oh boy. 

 

I've only made it to the 2nd layer. And I'm enjoying it. And getting lost as fuck!

 

 Hopefully there's some dlc down the road to add in the movie and second session 

[sirendragonri]

I try to love it because of my absolute addiction for the anime, but I have issues with a lot of things that ruins my enjoyment (infinitely respawning annying critters, visibility issues in the Great Fault's caves, etc.). It has awesome elements as well, but could have been better.

Until 2nd layer it was fun, but now I'm at the point I just want to plat it. Currently reached the 4th layer and as I ran through the trophy list I have one question:

Are Reg's and Riko's episode missable or they will come with the story? Anything else seems pretty possible but these two are a mysteries for me (yet). Thanks.

[sirendragonri]

1 hour ago, sirendragonri said:

I try to love it because of my absolute addiction for the anime, but I have issues with a lot of things that ruins my enjoyment (infinitely respawning annying critters, visibility issues in the Great Fault's caves, etc.). It has awesome elements as well, but could have been better.

Until 2nd layer it was fun, but now I'm at the point I just want to plat it. Currently reached the 4th layer and as I ran through the trophy list I have one question:

Are Reg's and Riko's episode missable or they will come with the story? Anything else seems pretty possible but these two are a mysteries for me (yet). Thanks.

 

...okay, Riko's questline automatically started but oh god, I rarely raged this hard. I know, git gud, but I went to the 3rd layer with FIVE weapons, 15 food items - which was barely enough for the main questline + boss, but managed it. Thats okay, but when I touched the 4th layer and it started Riko's story, the game simply didn't let me leave. I had to go through the side quest with multiple encounters and explorations just to leave with 0. Zero. Nothing. And no fast travel back to the surface. Thanks, game, 3 hours progress to the trash.

Edited October 4, 2022 by sirendragonri

[TheStark700]

Is there any trophy guide for this? Might think about getting the game later this year.

[sirendragonri]

15 hours ago, TheStark700 said:

Is there any trophy guide for this? Might think about getting the game later this year.

Absolutely nothing missable, most of them come with the story / without any hardcore grinding. The game is not easy though. Feel free to ask anything.

[TheStark700]

15 hours ago, sirendragonri said:

Absolutely nothing missable, most of them come with the story / without any hardcore grinding. The game is not easy though. Feel free to ask anything.

 

Is the "collect 200 relics" a grind or a collectible? Meaning like is it earned from killing monsters, or finding them in the world?

[sirendragonri]

On 2022. 10. 30. at 2:30 AM, TheStark700 said:

 

Is the "collect 200 relics" a grind or a collectible? Meaning like is it earned from killing monsters, or finding them in the world?

 

It seems much but it's not at all. You can mine them from walls, there are pretty much respawnable ores; the normal ones give you a material OR a low grade relic, the shining (and tinkling) ones 100% give you a higher grade relic depending on the layer. Because it is a good XP/gold source material, I did the 200 in the 1st layer without heavy grinding, within some side quest runs. Monsters only drop materials or sometimes quest items.

[Kratos7X_]

 

I really liked the anime and plan to start this soon. But I just know season 1 and I don't want the game to spoil me about season 2. So my question: which season's story does the story mode include?

 

 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by Kratos7X_

[Totterbart93]

Really liked the game despite its clunkyness but the punishment for getting stuck and giving up after several hours of diving in an absolute labyrinth and losing basically everything is waaay too harsh... unforgivable, so now i have to try and give a 1/10 or 1/5 star rating everywhere possible since i can't accept such piece of sh.... game design.

One of the worst games i've ever played solely due to the punishing game design.

[Garamoth]

It's been a while since I played this, but I wanted to write about a game I really, really liked. I’m writing this from memory, so some stuff might be wrong. Anyway, here goes.

 

This game is deliciously cruel.

 

Made in Abyss is a survival sim/JRPG where enemies respawn all over the place, it has ridiculous equipment durability and you can easily screw up your current run by running out of equipment. And you know what, I don’t care, I even like it!

 

I respect a game that gives you enough rope to hang yourself with. In this case, it’s literally untrue, because you have to bring your own rope and running out of it is one of the mistakes you can make. (Oh boy, let's see how many times I can use the word literally in this review in its proper, well, literal meaning!)

 

Survival sims tend to be extremely light on the actual survival and extremely heavy on the crafting. Tons of survival sims tend to be both too mundane and too far-fatched, i.e. you always start smashing a rock against a tree to get wood, but you somehow end up crafting an assault rifle. Oftentimes, you have no real goal, no real sense of where you fit in the larger world. You do you, I guess? I get it, it’s one of the appeals of the genre. Made in Abyss, however, has incredible worldbuilding, a tone, a sense of place, which gives the game an enormous amount of structure.

 

You are part of a society literally living on the brink of the void. The Abyss is a mix between the Stalker exclusion zone, deep sea diving and tomb raiding. Who you are is a random orphan that has to earn its keep by going down there and not getting eaten by monsters or falling to death. Oliver Twist had it pretty good in my mind. He didn't get any more gruel, but at least they didn't send him to fight against flesh eating squirrels. What you are is a spelunker, what you do is hunt relics, what you craft is rope, cook food etc. It's the essentials, not a fricking nuclear reactor.

 

 

The visuals are childish: stocky characters with round faces and bright colors, in a simplistic anime style. The subject matter, however, is very grim. The disconnect is intentional. Something about the world you live in is deeply wrong. It’s like those “gotcha” horror games that start with a cute setting, except here Made in Abyss never takes off the mask.

 

 

For example, a few kids are introduced at the same time as you. One disappears without a trace suddenly. You’d think, “Oh he's going to show up safe and sound later”. But nope he really is dead. And furthermore, it’s not some great tragic event His death isn't even important. Life is cheap in this world, especially young life.

 

 

Everyone is your world is obsessed about whistle colors, which are basically your position in the pecking order of this spelunking society. They function somewhere between a karate belt and a scout badge. Pretty much all everyone talks about is moving up the ranks, with white whistles being top dogs. Everyone wants a white whistle, despite countless people dying trying to get one. To top it off, they all seem gleefully oblivious to the fact that all the actual white whistles have gone certifiably insane, each in their own way.

 

 

The game even makes you care about the stupid whistle colors because the gameplay consequences are enormous. The skill tree is tied to your whistle color, as is fast travel. And believe me, fast travel is a big deal. But it isn't given to you, it is earned. Fast travel is literally a badge of merit.

 

 

What you travel through is the usual locales, (cave, forest, etc.) but getting anywhere is a grueling journey. My God, here a cliff is a fricking cliff.

 

 

The going down is one thing, but coming back up to town is even worse. That’s where the Curse comes in, which is the game’s own version of the bends when diving underwater. In practice, it’s a bit annoying, all you need to do is take little breaks every few steps or get hit with a debuff. But it is a massive part of the game’s theme. Don't bite off more than you can chew. The game makes it easy to go down, but hard to come back up, lulling you into a false sense of security. Hubris. The game is giving you the rope to hang yourself with (figuratively this time). The coming back is an enormously important part of exploring the unknown. Is it time to go back? Am I going too far? Made in Abyss “gets” this part of a survival sim. Many people have seen the summit of Mount Everest, but have died on the way back. They ran out of strength.

 

 

The game is relentless. Weapons break constantly. Combat is awful. To be fair, enemies don't give XP, selling artifacts or completing quests does, which is a brilliant idea. Combat isn't the point. Still, creatures don’t seem to know about this because they spawn constantly. The game doesn't even have the decency to spawn enemies where you aren't looking, it just plops flesh-eating squirrels right in your field of vision, endlessly. Butterflies keep showing up when you're climbing, making you waste precious stamina. They're literally nagging you to death. However, I hear the spawning was toned down in a patch. The player deaths are all pretty gruesome too. Hat tip to the bird that mimics the sounds of people it kills (i.e., you) to lure more prey to it.

 

 

To be fair, the game is much more lenient than people make it out to be. The game autosaves when you enter a new area. You can manually save when the sky isn't blocked by sending a mail balloon (a clever idea). There's even an emergency save that brings you back to the last time you were in town. It might mean hours of lost progress, but at least you can't "break" your save file.

 

 

Inventory management is a big part of the game. It’s managing weight, being prepared for anything, while streamlining your kit enough to maximize your looting. This is to me, the best kind of min-maxing. It's "How much should I put in my suit case and how much room should I leave for souvenirs”? How much rope is enough? Spare weapons? How about food? Do I really need that curling iron?

 

 

I’ll leave you with my favorite part of the game: the Orb Piercer. When the game tells you this creature is deadly, you must absolutely believe it. It will fuck you up. In a split second. It’s something like a poisonous porcupine polar bear with psychic powers. You can kill one, but you must absolutely be ready for it. It's not even a unique monster or anything; it's just a species of animal that happens to be impossibly dangerous. In a nice touch, the lore even states that the animal is a herbivore, so it's not trying to eat you, it's just sick of little assholes like you showing up on its turf. Just like how the hippopotamus looks like a big dumb fat herbivore, but is actually much more dangerous than a lion. Hippopotamuses are just violent jerks. A lesser universe would have given this job to some big creature with teeth, something stupid like a dragon.

Edited April 28 by Garamoth