End of Abyss Review: A Brutal Mix of Little Nightmares and Resident Evil

End of Abyss delivers atmospheric survival horror with tense combat and rewarding exploration, but frustrating boss fights, bugs, and backtracking hold it back from greatness.

Ever played a game that's brilliant one minute and infuriating the next? That's End of Abyss in a nutshell. From developer Section 9 Interactive—made up of former Tarsier Studios devs—and published by Epic Games, this survival horror romp channels classic Resident Evil with a dash of Little Nightmares. When it works, it's a tense, atmospheric ride. When it doesn't, it's a masterclass in frustration.

The game drops you into gloomy, monster-infested environments where every corner could hide a nightmare. The monster design is a highlight—think abominations that would feel right at home in Resident Evil or The Last of Us. You'll need to respect uncharted territory because enemies can wipe out huge chunks of your health in one hit. Your scanner helps with exploration, revealing notes and keycard requirements, but it's mostly a slower alternative to a simple button tap. The one neat trick? Following power lines through walls to find nodes you can shoot.

Combat is intentionally awkward, just like the classics. You can sprint, and controls are tighter than old-school Resident Evil, but you'll still need to upgrade your weapons to stand a chance. Safe rooms exist, but saving works differently: when you die, you keep items and opened doors, but all enemies—except bosses and ambush setpieces—respawn. Expended ammo does not. It's a harsh system that forces careful resource management.

Unfortunately, End of Abyss often creates fake difficulty by shoving you into tiny arenas, especially during boss fights. Most bosses are awful, leading to silly Benny Hill-style chases where you circle enemies taking potshots. Bugs make things worse: enemies hitting through walls, an elevator that doesn't load, and a soft lock that cost the reviewer progress in the final area. Gloomy visuals are great for atmosphere but make levers and destructible floors hard to spot—one crucial floor section was missed entirely because it blended into the background.

The worst offender is a radiated area that constantly damages you without a specific suit mod. The mod is missable and requires four energy points, but your suit only has three. Cue hours of aimless wandering until you stumble upon the solution deep in the area you needed it for. While there's a touch of Metroidvania with doors you can't open yet, there's only one traversal gear—a grappling hook—bringing it back to Resident Evil territory.

That said, straying off the main path rewards you with crafting materials, lore, weapons, and even entire boss fights you can miss. There's even a way to soften the final boss by finding certain items, but by then you might be too exhausted to bother. The backtracking gets old fast, especially when you run out of crafting materials for ammo and have to revisit areas to kill respawned enemies. It was bad in Bloodborne, and it's bad here.

End of Abyss launches October 1, 2026, on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. It's a game with high highs and low lows. If you can tolerate the frustration, there's a solid survival horror experience buried underneath. But will you have the patience? Let us know in the comments!