Introducing Operation Abyss, the new JRPG from the Demon Gaze team

Gosh, I feel like it was just yesterday that I finished up Demon Gaze from Experience, Inc. and now their next game for PlayStation Vita, Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy, has been making me neglect my poor Furby again! I know, I know, you guys can’t get your mitts on it until 5th June, but I thought you’d appreciate a little insight into my experience with the game along with a brand spankin’ new trailer!

So everybody who knows anything about dungeon crawlers knows that there are three important things in them: a cool setting, challenging gameplay, and customisation. And let me tell you, Operation Abyss has all three in spades.

A cool setting

Demon Gaze was good. Hell, it was great, but rollin’ around the forest with my elf crew a la Robin Hood (the fox, not the person) felt a touch… normal. With Operation Abyss, Experience throws the forest and little woodland critters out the window, and really challenges the genre by replacing them with the towering skyscrapers of near future Tokyo, and the dark, dank depths of an abyss that’s threatening to swallow it whole.

Every step in this sci-fi game gives me the creeps. The art makes each baddie beautifully revolting, and pairs perfectly with the haunting tunes that drift through my headphones as I stalk the hallways of the abyss.

Challenging gameplay

Of course, the prettiest lass in class becomes boring if she can’t challenge your mind, and so far, Experience has been doing just that with their expertly designed dungeons and enemies. The baddies here are Variants who have been threatening to crunch the bones of every Tokyo-ite ever since they started spawning deep in the abyss.

Every time I venture into a dungeon, I’ve had to hold my breath a bit and occasionally dine-and-dash to avoid getting smashed by a powerful Wanted Variant. These foul beasts pop up if you overstay your welcome trying to snag some hot sci-fi style loot in a dungeon. It’s a dangerous game that’s encouraged by the Rise and Drop system. The longer you stay down in the abyss, the tougher enemies get, but they also have sweeter drops too. Sometimes I wish I was more of a gambler…

Customisation station

Oh dear, golly me is the customisation sick in Operation Abyss. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but each member of your squad, the Xth, has the awesome ability to Code Rise which lets them access the Genome of a great person from history to unleash powerful skills, and guide their development to become a slick ninja warrior, or a rough-and-tumble bruiser.

So far, my favourite strategy has been assigning my favourite character the Xuanzang Blood Code, placing him in the front row with the sweet Psycho Knuckles I found, and letting him pummel the Variants to pieces. But that’s just one of the myriad of strategies you can use with the Blood Code system. I know my pal Tiffany prefers rockin’ a team with Jeanne d’Arc – you’ll have to figure out your own favourite in June!

And since we have a couple months, we’ve even managed to squeeze some awesome DLC into our production schedule! You’ll be able to snag our awesome Swim Team Xth Squad Portraits for free any time in the first month after release! We’ll also be bringing out some devilish Dark Hero Portraits for just €0.99, because you can never have enough options.

 
Alrighty now, I could literally go on for days about the features and awesomeness that is Operation Abyss (I’m pretty verbose), but the boss says I need to leave some for later. So with that, I’m going to get back to work!

If this is the first you’ve heard of Operation Abyss, make sure you check out our website for more details on this PlayStation Vita exclusive, and if you just can’t wait until June, I recommend picking up Demon Gaze for a taste of what you’ll be in for! You know what, I think Experience, Inc. just might be the best RPG developer in Japan right now. What do you think?