End of Abyss Patch Fixes Map Issues One Day After Launch

Section 9 Interactive released a patch for End of Abyss just a day after launch, fixing map problems and other bugs that plagued early players and reviewers.

Did you jump into End of Abyss on day one and run into map troubles? Well, you're not alone. Section 9 Interactive's creepy metroidvania launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via the Epic Games Store just yesterday, and already a new patch has arrived to fix most of the issues that players and reviewers complained about.

In our review, we noted that the in-game map would sometimes give incorrect information, like showing a door as locked when you'd already unlocked it, or failing to indicate when you'd found the key to a particular door. In a game all about exploration and backtracking through roundabout paths, a faulty map can be incredibly frustrating. You plan a long trek based on what the map tells you, only to find out too late that you've been misled. But the patch has addressed that, along with other problems.

The timing here is unusual. Our review went live just two days ago, and the game launched yesterday. Now, much of what we wrote is already outdated. In the world of live-service games and post-launch updates, it's common for titles to evolve over time, but for a patch to fix many of the game's lesser parts essentially right after the review embargo isn't the norm.

Usually, big changes happen in one of two ways: either a game gets patched during the pre-release review period, often with critics told about bugs and their fixes ahead of time, or a game changes shape much later in its lifespan, sometimes over several updates. Games like Sea of Thieves, Overwatch, and Fallout 76 fall into the latter category, and even single-player games like Starfield, Mass Effect 3, and Cyberpunk 2077 have seen major overhauls that warranted re-reviews. But End of Abyss is a rarer case.

During our review period, we encountered a few bugs, and the worst one—where a boss failed to drop a quest item—was patched just hours before we had to submit our review. That allowed us to finish the game on time, so it didn't make it into the review. If the public wasn't going to experience it, we didn't see the need to call it out. But the map issue was different: it affected our entire playthrough and was a major point in our critique.

Now, only those who jumped in on day one—likely a small number compared to the many who will play over the coming years—experienced the map problem. No one else will have to deal with it. That's great for players and for the studio, even if it leaves reviews like ours feeling swiftly outdated. It's a weird gray area where important fixes came neither early enough for the review nor late enough for the review to reflect the launch experience.

So, what do you think? Is it better for games to get quick post-launch fixes, even if it makes reviews feel obsolete? Will you be picking up End of Abyss now that it's patched? Let us know in the comments!