Warriors: Abyss Review

Going rogue, safely.

As a surprise drop, Warriors: Abyss ambushed fans with a trailer and release on the same day as the Playstation State of Play it was revealed in. Coming off the success of Dynasty Warriors: Origins, it seems it’s time to cash in on the brand while it’s hot again. But is this mix of roguelite and musou a match made in heaven or hell?

Publisher: Koei Tecmo

Developer: Omega Force

Platform: Played on PC

Availability: Released on February 12, 2025 for PC, PS4/5, and Xbox Series X/S; Released on February 14, 2025 for Nintendo Switch.

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The game starts off in an all too familiar way — the player has been whisked away to another world by a powerful entity (Enma) to serve as their champion and defeat their Nemesis (Gouma). To complete this task, you’ll choose a character to play as from a somewhat limited (but still rather large) roster of characters. More characters to choose from are unlocked as you play the game and earn Karma, a currency you earn and keep through your runs. Each of the 100 characters has a unique moveset (lifted from Dynasty Warriors 8 or Samurai Warriors 4, depending on the character), so trying to find the right one for your playstyle or comfort might be a task unto itself.

In many respects, the core gameplay feels closer to the classic warriors experience than any sort of notable roguelite/roguelike. Hundreds of enemies appear on screen for you to decimate, and your moves follow the same light attack/heavy attack structure that the series is best known for. There are major differences, though, with enemies frequently bombarding the field with AOEs and boss monsters lighting you up (while they remain impervious) until you break a stagger gauge. Perhaps the most interesting addition to the standard formula comes in the form of the summons and Assembly mechanics. As you advance through the floors, you can form an alliance with other characters from the Warriors games, allowing you to summon them after your combos to unleash a special move. Assembly is a mechanic whereby you fill another gauge and unleash all of your summons at once, at the end of which you may use a special assembly musou — if you have the meter for it.

This is all fun enough for a few runs, and the large cast does help, but the actual game never really evolves or changes as you advance. More enemies appear and they more frequently unleash massive area attacks that you must dodge or interrupt, but enemy types are limited, and the few boss battles that exist are a major slog, spending most of your time ineffectually whacking away at a bar just for the opportunity to do some damage to the boss. There are no unique ways to build your characters, and no changes to the loop, even as you advance in difficulty levels. The difficulty levels really only change how frequently enemies attack and how much punishment they can take — something extremely detrimental to the overall experience.

Visual clarity is a real problem, but it is manageable in the long run.

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More AOE attacks from enemies means even more visual clutter, something the game was not lacking in even on early runs. This problem can be further exacerbated by the fact that one of the major element types of your characters/summons shares the exact same coloration as the enemies’ frequent death zones. It would normally be prudent to just dash out of the way to avoid these in moments where there’s not much clarity, but dashing is on a cooldown AND can only be upgraded to include more dashes mid-run. In some respects, it feels as if the game expects you to take some of these hits, as the lack of clarity, infrequent dodging, and relatively low damage from the attacks don’t lend themselves to or necessitate frame-perfect gameplay.

In reality, the game is quite easy and requires very little thinking or planning on the player’s part. The best summon option at any given crystal is generally the one who makes your battle power number go up the most. Formations are another way to increase your combat power and offer their own unique benefits, like attack power or defense, but much like every other choice, the automated option is most likely the best. There are some decision points for the player that can’t really be left to the computer, however. It becomes very clear as you play that a few stat type upgrades are nearly mandatory. Emblems like skill and speed are essential for unlocking baseline competency for your avatar, increasing your combo attacks available and dodge effectiveness, respectively. Additionally, if you’re going for specific elemental synergies, it can often be beneficial to take characters that add less benefit now, and provide a larger boost down the line.

The game has a massive roster to choose from, but little in the way of activities to do with them.

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In spite of all of its problems, the battles are still relatively fun and remain the best part of the game. That is not true of any other aspect of Warriors: Abyss. The story is stick-thin, and consists of nothing more than some little anime guy talking at you for a few lines between floors. Occasionally you get to choose a response to whatever he’s yapping about, but it is entirely inconsequential. There is no other character interaction — no hub or story to unfold. Just a single unlock screen where you spend your currency (karma) to unlock characters and formations for use in the game proper.

While Warriors: Abyss has more valleys than peaks, I did enjoy most of my 30-ish hours with the game. I like these characters, and I enjoy the Warriors brand of combat of mowing down thousands of enemies at a time with flashy attacks. It is by no means an exemplar of either genre it attempts to mash together, but it’s a good time all-around. Warriors: Abyss plays it safe in just about every aspect, with Omega Force taking no big swings — in gameplay or otherwise. If you like roguelikes/roguelites, or are already a big fan of Omega Force’s Warriors games, this one is worth a closer look.

Verdict

Warriors: Abyss is light on story and gameplay systems, but succeeds in delivering a somewhat fun loop. While there is little variety in the enemy types or overall gameplay systems, the massive roster of 100 different characters helps alleviate some of the monotony. The lack of visual clarity and the limited dodging do not lend themselves to the fast-paced, engaging gameplay that it is attempting to ape, but the game is easy enough to avoid derailing because of it. If you enjoy the Warriors games, or otherwise like roguelikes, it may be worth a look.

Image Credits: Taylor Rioux and Koei Tecmo