Review: Luna Abyss (PS5) – Don’t Skip This AA DOOM-Like Shooter

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I wasn’t immediately impressed when I began playing Luna Abyss. I tend to be critical of games that don’t have top-tier graphics and smooth gameplay, and it was clear from the start that Luna Abyss was a mid-range, or ‘AA’, title.

After playing for over ten hours, I gradually became a fan of this game. It’s not only a thrilling, fast-paced shooter, but it also features a deeply unsettling and captivating science fiction setting.

You play as Fawkes, a prisoner on the Red Moon orbiting Earth, facing a long sentence. But you’ve been chosen for a special task: explore the dangerous underground labyrinth called The Abyss. Successfully mapping The Abyss could earn you a reduced sentence.

I first noticed the talent of developer Kwalee Labs with the game Exploring the Abyss. While Luna Abyss isn’t the most visually stunning game on PS5, its clever use of scale and lighting immediately immerses you in its dark and atmospheric sci-fi setting.

Deep cracks disappear into the shadows, huge pipes twist and turn like tree roots, and you experience terrifying falls from great heights. I was constantly struck by the unsettling scenery, the disturbing sight of abandoned corpses, and the stark, dramatic lighting.

Okay, so if you really look closely, things get a little messy, but honestly, I was really struck by the atmosphere Kwalee Labs created. It’s genuinely spooky, and it feels like it’s hinting at something huge and terrifying – like cosmic horror. Plus, the spaces they designed just feel…off, like everything’s way too big!

The game starts a bit slowly. Early combat feels repetitive because weapons automatically aim with a simple button press, and there aren’t many ways to dodge or move around during fights.

The game keeps adding new abilities and weapons – like a shotgun to destroy blue shields, a dash for quick movement, and a rifle for purple shields. Plus, once you defeat a boss, they reappear as regular enemies in later fights.

Throughout the game, you can find improvements for your health and weapons, which makes you feel increasingly powerful. By the end of my game, my favorite rifle was incredibly strong, but I never upgraded my shotgun, so it stayed pretty basic.

These upgrades are hidden in small, easily overlooked areas, which made me carefully search each level before finishing the game.

Okay, so at first, Luna Abyss felt like one game, but as I got further in, it really changed up. By the time I was facing the final boss, it felt like a completely different experience altogether! It was awesome how much it evolved as I played.

Luna Abyss doesn’t have a ton of weapons or a complex skill system, but the developers cleverly pace the introduction of new items and challenges. This creates a really satisfying sense of progress, and the gameplay feels focused and intentional as a result.

The game began a bit slow, but quickly became incredibly engaging, similar to the fast-paced action of DOOM. I found myself constantly moving, quickly changing weapons, and dodging energy blasts, much like in Returnal.

It doesn’t quite feel as good as playing a game like DOOM: The Dark Ages, but the fact that it’s even comparable shows Kwalee has done a really impressive job. It’s better than you’d expect for what it is.

You won’t be constantly shooting throughout the game. Luna Abyss includes enjoyable platforming segments that become more complex as you play. Later on, the game cleverly uses everything you’ve learned, and while it wasn’t overly difficult, I had a great time jumping, dashing, grappling, possessing enemies, and manipulating platforms. It actually felt similar to the platforming sections in Destiny 2.

Honestly, I started to lose interest in Luna Abyss because of the story. It does build up a pretty cool, mysterious history that stretches back centuries, and the whole weird, otherworldly vibe really adds to the feeling that The Abyss is something truly unknown. But it just didn’t quite grab me after a while.

As you explore, you’ll meet a lot of different characters and have opportunities to choose what your character says. However, it doesn’t seem like these dialogue choices actually change the story’s ending.

The voice acting is okay, but the game’s mysterious and strange world made it hard to connect with any of the characters, including Fawkes and the quest-giver, Aylin. Plus, the story’s ending was pretty predictable.

Luna Abyss has a few odd quirks. For example, you revisit Fawkes’ prison cell at the end of every chapter, where you can sleep or read text logs in the library. It’s a bit strange, though, because you can access those logs through the menu at any time.

It felt like some parts of these cell sequences were originally meant to be more complex, but were unfinished during development. Whenever you tell Aylin you want to return to The Abyss, she’ll double-check if you’re certain, but there’s nothing left to do if you’ve already read all the text logs. This might be a small detail, but those sequences always seemed awkward and poorly executed to me.

I played Luna Abyss on both the standard PS5 and the PS5 Pro, and I couldn’t notice any difference in performance between the two. While the game’s simple vibrations don’t fully showcase the DualSense controller’s capabilities, the consistently smooth gameplay makes the fast-paced action really shine.

This game isn’t a visual masterpiece, and sometimes it even looks a bit outdated. However, it occasionally features moments of breathtaking grandeur and atmosphere.

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2026-05-21 19:38