Indiana Jones meets Mirror’s Edge in Phantom Abyss

Devolver Digital is bringing us a unique mashup with Phantom Abyss, a — deep breath — 1st-person roguelite platformer with asynchronous multiplayer. Releasing in Early Access on Steam in June, Phantom Abyss has you using a whip to traverse the traps of temples, while trying to be the first one to reach its end and claim the Relic, destroying the temple forever. Along the way, you’ll collect lesser relics, claim new whips, and offer treasure to altars to gain temporary blessings from the gods.

Phantom Abyss has a pretty clever mechanic in play with its eponymous phantoms: as you run through one of the procedurally generated temples, you’ll be able to see the ghosts of other players who tried (and failed) to survive its perils. While it will certainly be a useful tool in figuring out the best path forward, it also seems like it’ll just be good fun to watch fellow adventurers fall to their death.

You can’t just stand around and watch the phantoms, however. Sometimes, a guardian will spawn, and chase you through the level. Learning to use your whip effectively, and making learning how to best utilize the various blessings you’ll find, will be key to success.

In a neat take on achievements, only one player can complete any given temple: once someone grabs the final relic, that temple is destroyed, and that player can add the temple’s relic to their trophy chest. You’ll be able to share temple codes with friends, allowing them to try and beat a temple you’ve previously attempted.

As is becoming industry standard, there’s already stuff you can unlock for the game by watching streamers play it on Twitch. If purple is your color, you can earn a whip for your collection by heading to this page and linking your Twitch account, then watching some Phantom of Abyss streams. There’s no info on how much you have to watch, but you should be able to track your progress in your Drops inventory on Twitch. See you in the temples!