Are you afraid of the dark? If you’ve played games like Little Nightmares, you may be at least a tad nyctophobic. Former Little Nightmares developers created Section 9, a new studio, and they’re leaning into what they do best: creepy games. End of Abyss didn’t cause me too much stress in my demo at Summer Game Fest, but the atmosphere they’ve crafted still had me on edge.
In my preview, I played as Cel, a combat technician. Cel is a part of a crew sent to a derelict facility to uncover the truth behind several messages of unknown origin. You know, something that’s 100% safe and involves fluffy bunnies and rainbows. Oh, and ponies, don’t forget ponies.
Unfortunately, no ponies are present, and everything is dark, dreary, and deadly. You can certainly tell the team has Little Nightmares experience, because the characters and movement are certainly reminiscent of their previous game experience. There’s a tension that lies beneath the surface; you really don’t know what you’re going to find around the next corner. What’s funny about that is a lot of the time, there isn’t anything. That lack of things to interact with, or the presence of enemies or friendlies, makes the unease you feel even worse.
End of Abyss’s gameplay is functionally a twin-stick shooter mixed with Metroidvania systems. As you move throughout the facility, you’ll need your thumb on the right stick, ready to push it in a foe’s direction to aim in and fire. The Metroidvania styling works well for End of Abyss as it forces you to head back through possibly dangerous areas, sometimes because the story commands it, but other times because of the allure of loot to help you in future encounters.
Speaking of encounters, the zombie-esque enemies are gross and a bit quick on their feet/paws/whatever they have. I was thrown off initially as one lunged towards me, and ended up dying because my timings were off. There’s a really good dodge roll available, and the sprint button is easily accessible, but when you’re aiming you lose a lot of agility. This forces you to either stand your ground or take off, which requires urgent decision making. Again, the atmosphere for this game is its engine, and the pacing I felt marries with it to perfection.
There are some really good decisions that have been made in regards to the combat and upgrades. One, the reload is clicking the right stick. Given the necessity of aiming with your right stick, this is ingenious. The pulse pistol that’s permanently equipped has unlimited ammo, but a cooldown that needs the reload button. Your secondary weapon – I had the shotgun – is very powerful up close, but does have limited ammo. It’s craftable, however, so it encourages you to explore to find the fragments that are needed for crafting. All of your equipment can be crafted as well, so both the grenades and flares I had were decently easy to refill.
Safe rooms give you a save spot, and the workbench needed for crafting. In this demo, it also made for a shortcut, allowing me to get back to a spot without the enemies chasing me from behind. As with many horror/thriller games, sometimes the best option is just to run. You can also scan doors or important locations to place them on your map, which makes life easier when it comes to tracking what you’ve opened or done. The same thing goes for picking up certain items, as they’re marked with a check to let you know it’s complete.
My preview ended with a boss fight, and this was as chilling as it got. There was a centipede of sorts (it seemed to have human limbs or something), and it had been popping up occasionally as I progressed through this part of the facility. In the battle, I was stuck in a room – where the final power cell needed to be loaded to light up the facility – and had to face off against this beast. It skitters past you a time or two, before attacking. Once you learn the cadence, it's not tough to avoid it, but the tight quarters and need to get in close to do the most damage can lead to an early death. I may not have made it out alive, but the enthralling nature of the fight is a testament to the capabilities of Section 9, and I get the feeling this isn’t even the grandest of their boss designs.
If you’re into the genre End of Abyss occupies, you need to take a look at it immediately. The gameplay is fantastic, but the chilling ambience the team has created is outstanding. It’s a selling point, and horror and Little Nightmares fans will be pleased with this one. End of Abyss launches October 1, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
