Launching Day One on Xbox Game Pass, Abyssus is one of those games that seemingly appears out of nowhere before completely stealing your attention. Developed by DoubleMoose Games and published by The Arcade Crew, this co-op FPS roguelite blends the relentless combat of DOOM, the atmosphere of BioShock and the addictive progression found in games like Roboquest and Gunfire Reborn.

After spending around 15 hours with Abyssus across solo and multiplayer sessions, it became increasingly difficult to stop playing. Every run unlocks something new, every weapon feels unique and the satisfying progression loop constantly tempts you into saying, “just one more run.”

While a handful of balancing issues and a lack of environmental variety prevent it from reaching the very top of the genre, Abyssus is still one of the biggest surprises to arrive on Xbox Game Pass this year.

Let’s get one thing out of the way immediately. You’re not playing Abyssus because of its story.

You take on the role of a Brinehunter sent into the depths of the ocean to locate a mysterious resource known as Brine. Before long, your expedition uncovers an ancient civilisation that has somehow survived beneath the sea forcing you to battle through corrupted creatures while discovering what happened to this forgotten kingdom.

Most of the narrative is delivered through environmental storytelling, collectible notes and occasional dialogue. While it successfully creates intrigue it rarely develops beyond that initial mystery.

Ironically, that’s what makes the world so compelling. Every biome hints at a much larger history, but the game never quite explores it deeply enough. A more substantial campaign or additional story moments between runs would have elevated the experience considerably.

Thankfully, the lack of narrative depth hardly impacts the overall enjoyment because the gameplay quickly becomes the star of the show.

Gameplay is where Abyssus absolutely shines and the easiest way to describe it is DOOM’s relentless combat mixed with the progression of Gunfire Reborn, the movement of Roboquest and the atmosphere of BioShock. Somehow it blends all of those ideas together into something that feels fresh while still feeling instantly familiar. 

Combat is incredibly satisfying from the moment you start. You’re constantly dashing, double-jumping and weaving between enemies while unloading powerful weapons into huge groups of monsters. It never slows down, and that’s exactly why it’s so much fun.

Speaking of weapons, every single one feels unique. Instead of simply giving you another rifle with slightly different stats, every weapon completely changes how you approach combat. Whether it’s the Engine Rifle, Shotgun or the Harpoon Gun, they all have their own personality and each comes with powerful secondary attacks that open up even more possibilities.

There are certainly some weapons that work better than others and I guess the balancing can feel a little off but ultimately you do unlock these weapons the more you progress so it would make sense for the later game weapons to be more powerful.

Then before I forget, you throw abilities into the mix alongside blessings that completely transform your build throughout a run. One of my favourite runs ended with the anchor ability and with the upgrades I was able to make it have 5 charges, stack electric attacks with massive Area of effect damage thanks to its arcing and I could defeat any enemy with ease and it was completely deleting anything unfortunate enough to stand nearby.

That’s where Abyssus is at its best. Every run eventually turns you into an absolute monster, and experimenting with different builds never really gets old and it shines within this area compared to other roguelikes. 

The progression loop is arguably Abyssus’ greatest achievement.

Even failed runs never feel like wasted time because you’re constantly unlocking permanent upgrades that carry into future attempts. New weapons, abilities, cosmetics and Soul Wheel upgrades continually reward your time, ensuring every session contributes towards meaningful long-term progression.

The Soul Wheel deserves particular praise. Rather than making the game dramatically easier, it provides carefully balanced permanent upgrades that smooth progression without removing the challenge. Additional healing syringes, cheaper vendor prices and increased team damage all provide noticeable improvements while still demanding player skill.

Perhaps the most refreshing aspect is how progression is handled. There are no premium currencies, battle passes or intrusive microtransactions interrupting the experience. Everything is earned simply by playing the game.

It’s an increasingly rare approach within modern gaming and one that deserves recognition. Even better, every update released since launch has been completely free, showing a genuine commitment from the developers to continue supporting the game without asking players to repeatedly open their wallets.

The Deep Water Tank also adds welcome replayability too. These optional modifiers increase the overall difficulty by strengthening enemies or handicapping your own abilities, but the increased challenge comes with significantly better rewards, including exclusive cosmetic outfits that showcase your accomplishments to other players.

It’s an excellent system that gives experienced players another reason to keep pushing themselves.

I want to touch on the visuals and I do have to say, Abyssus is stunning but in its own way. The Brinepunk art style immediately reminded me of BioShock, but it still manages to carve out its own identity through its ancient underwater civilization, creepy sea creatures and gorgeous handcrafted environments.

Each biome introduces new colours, enemies and architecture that make descending deeper into the abyss genuinely exciting. I only wish there were a few more unique environments because after enough runs you’ll inevitably start recognising the same locations again.

Audio is solid across the board too. The soundtrack does its job without stealing the spotlight, but the weapons sound fantastic. Every gun feels powerful, every explosion lands with impact and the overall sound design really helps sell the chaos during combat.

While you can absolutely play Abyssus solo, I honestly think this game is built for co-op. Four-player runs are where everything comes together. I managed to get 3 of us together on some runs during the absolutely horrid heatwave we are currently going through and It was so much fun. 

Working together through increasingly difficult arenas, combining different builds and somehow surviving the absolutely brilliant boss fights creates some genuinely memorable moments. I expect this will work well with randoms as you dont need to have loads of teamwork to progress and there is a nice ping system to make it easier to communicate. I also love the fact you can trigger sea shanties and you all sing together. Its bloody brilliant.

Touching on it lightly as I dont want to spoil it much but the boss battles deserve a special mention because they’re easily some of the highlights of the game. They aren’t just giant health bars. Each one introduces mechanics that force your whole team to stay engaged, making every victory feel genuinely earned and some can get insanely difficult. I will say one or two have some absolutely egregious difficulty jumps but you can overcome them with persistence.

Now in terms of Peformance on Xbox its a pretty solid affair. On the Xbox Series Consoles you do get a solid 60fps on both devices and there is no toggle for any graphical or performance mode. Right out the gate you wil have a solid experience and thats just so great to hear.

Frame rate wise, both consoles had moments where it dipped and that was due to so much happening on screen but it didnt go down to much, im talking 3-4 frames max and it only ever lasted for 2 seconds.

I will say, there are some graphical glitches on the jungle area specifically which is pretty bad and I hope the devs get around to addressing it. Basically the environment is popping in and out of existence and it gives this sort of fuzzy effect. It’s similar to what you see when games are using FSR or Frame Gen and it can look awful. When in motion its not terrible but yeah its a very noticeable element when diving in. 

My only other /complaint is that the main way to get really powerful builds seems to be going all in on a single blessing and ignoring the rest (unless you’re in endless mode where you later get to invest in your other blessings). I wish distributing your blessings more evenly felt more competitive, like you could actually feel the impact across your primary, secondary, and ability, but at higher brine levels, stacking one blessing is pretty much the only way to keep up.

It’s a fine way to play, but once you realize that’s how you maximize damage, the gameplay starts to feel a little narrow and I wish it was a little bit more expanded. I know this is only the 1.3 update so there will no doubt be more to come but it is something to keep in mind!

Overall though, I had an absolute blast with Abyssus. The gunplay is exceptional, the progression is incredibly addictive, the co-op is fantastic and the boss fights are genuinely memorable. It’s one of those games that’s very easy to recommend, especially because it’s launching Day One on Xbox Game Pass. 

If you’re looking for your next co-op obsession or you simply love fast-paced FPS games with endless replayability, I think Abyssus is absolutely worth checking out. With a few balancing tweaks and some additional content down the road, this could become one of the best roguelite shooters available on Xbox.

For me, Abyssus gets an 8 out of 10.

But what do you think? Will you be diving into Abyssus on Xbox Game Pass? Let me know down below, and if you enjoyed this review, don’t forget to leave a like, subscribe if you’re new, and I’ll catch you all in the next one.

• Excellent fast-paced FPS combat
• Fantastic progression loop that constantly rewards players
• Every weapon feels genuinely unique
• Excellent performance across Xbox Series X and Series S

• Some environments become repetitive
• High-level builds encourage focusing on a single Blessing
• Minor graphical issues in specific areas

Abyssus is one of Xbox Game Pass’ biggest hidden gems. Its addictive gameplay loop, satisfying combat and excellent co-op make it an easy recommendation for FPS and roguelite fans alike.