Fawke’n Awesome.
I'll be honest, while Luna Abyss was announced back in 2022, I only knew of the title just a few short weeks ago. This is the debut game from Bonsai Collective Limited, who was acquired by Kwalee Labs just last year. Regardless, this partnership has crafted one of my favorite games this year as Luna Abyss was a riot from start to finish.
Luna Abyss, despite sounding like the latest talent signing to WWE, is a first-person narrative bullet-hell, which will certainly draw comparisons to the likes of Returnal or Saros. However, the gameplay is more of a Doom meets Nier Automata meets Metroid Prime mix with unique robotic doll-like characters, fast and impactful combat, and the lock-on system from Metroid Prime.
However, Luna Abyss isn't content with just combat, as platforming plays a huge factor into the abundance of variety on display here. From piloting mechs to various teleporting and grapple swinging, Luna Abyss is constantly fresh, offering something new around almost every corner.
You play as Fawkes, a woman sentenced to prison for 10,000 years. However, to reduce her sentence, she will pilot a construct called a Warden in the deepest reaches of a hellscape called the Abyss, a dangerous place far beneath the surface of Luna Moon. You, as a Scout, are tasked with harvesting ancient technology, but this premise is only the start of things to come.
When you begin, you'll meet your handler, Aylin, who is a giant head with a snake-like body. She'll explain your situation, give you your new name, as Fawkes is not your true identity, and then cast your consciousness into your Warden to explore the Abyss and gather any important technologies you stumble upon. She explains that each successful mission will reduce your sentence, as 10,000 years is quite a lot of time.
The story is what really sets Luna Abyss apart from most bullet-hell shooters as few even have any sort of narrative, apart from the likes of what Housemarque has built with Returnal and Saros. We are not really told too much of who Fawkes was prior to her incarceration, apart from her having special red eyes that had her shunned and cast out. And yet, once she begins to find her footing in the Abyss, and meeting a collective of bizarre characters, I was fully invested in her story, especially with the almost Alice in Wonderland approach here.
The prison concept works for why Fawkes is pushed into doing this as she doesn't have much of a choice. However, the reduction of prison time doesn't really feel attached to the gameplay in a way that makes it feel important or truly part of the narrative. Sure, you'll see ten days or week reduced as you progress, or chunks of it after specific bosses, but there isn't much payoff here to really feel like this mechanic is something to cling to.
At best, it is a prompt that appears and illustrates some aspect of her progress as a Scout. It's a shame there were no special quests or collectibles that greatly reduced it, causing a secret ending to play if your sentence was reduced to a certain number. This didn't sour the experience in any significant way, but it did feel like a mechanic the team just didn't know how to make feel impactful.
The story has plenty of meat on the bone with journal entries of past Wardens, and revelations that really put a lot of what you've been told in perspective. Each day that you are forced to explore the Abyss and tackle the missions given to you, allows Fawkes to discover more about her current situation, and the truths behind the lies that are fed to her. While I won't attempt to even discuss the game's resolution, I will say that the ending may not satisfy everyone, but it is nonetheless intriguing.
The other Wardens you encounter have all sorts of crazy designs, personalities, and stories, and many of them are so fun to talk to. Fawkes can make dialogue choices that affect how they see you, even if a few choices don't really seem that different. Still, the cast here is so fun, especially when you get certain voices out of certain characters that don't line up to their Warden. But, as they say, the Abyss chooses your Warden, and not the other way around.
What also helps sell this narrative is a solid performance by Fawkes herself. This is honestly some “best of the year” material. Safiyya Ingar is fantastic here, in a standout performance. Her dialogue is spoken to where you can hear the doubt or confusion in her tone, and every line read is perfectly delivered. When she is exhausted, annoyed, or sympathetic, you feel it. Honestly, there isn't a bad performance across the entire cast.
During her first venture into the Abyss, she meets Urien, a creature who resembles a cat with an axe head, who mentions her handler by name. However, before much can be explained, her construct is almost purged by a nearby signal and her body reforms into a new entity, one with incredible power. While her Warden is gone, which adds a few years to her sentence, she is instead in control of a powerful being.
Luna Abyss is a bullet-hell shooter in the style of something like Doom meets Returnal, as you dodge incoming fire patterns and kill your enemies before they kill you. However, it is also a competent platformer as you double jump or grapple hook across wide gaps, dash through portals, or possess objects to pass through locked gates or across bottomless pits.
From piloting a mech and laying waste with your rockets, to navigating a swirl of platforms as a giant spider, clinging upside down as you climb massive towers, Luna Abyss has a great mixture of these moments and the fast paced action that arrives at just the right time.
These diversions and your traversal systems are spaced out across the game to keep things fresh. You'll go from double jumping, to dashing, to creating platforms out of floating blue orbs. Eventually, you'll get a grappling arm that slingshots you forward and while this isn't a Metroidvania, there is one location you return to that unlocks more as you gain new abilities.
The platforming is absolutely a riot, with enough to keep you on your toes. New abilities freshen up how you navigate each space, and the environments start to open as well, giving you ample room to master your new skills. However, what really sells me on the platforming is how so much of the experience feels like a series of Destiny Raids, with how the level design favors its hallways and gaps, and finding a small hole to slide under, with lasers and various dangers set up like an obstacle course. There were countless times where it felt like I was back playing Destiny, as I would find various secrets when going off the beaten path.
Throughout the game, you'll gain access to four weapons. An assault rifle, shotgun, rifle, and rocket launcher. While there are no skill trees or leveling systems, you can find upgrades to make your guns more powerful, provided you explore off the beaten path. While you'll start with the assault rifle, each following gun has a unique place in combat and exploration.
Your shotgun can diffuse blue shields, which block certain pathways or enemies. Your rifle is used to shatter purple shields, and your rocket launcher can track multiple switches or enemies, and fires them off in quick succession. The weapons all feel meaty and thoroughly enjoyable to use.
Combat feels very much like Doom. There is a franticness to the whole dance that has you balancing a lot on your plate as you dash away from incoming fire, often from multiple enemies at once. You do have a dome shield that helps, but it is stationary.
Still, you'll run around, dashing to avoid said hellish bullets, and there are some later instances where you are grappling up to avoid fire rings on the ground, a feat used to perfection in one of the game's final battles.
And to that point, bosses are a delight. As much of the game can feel like one long Destiny Raid. The bosses here, at least most of them, have added gameplay elements, such as shooting connector switches to diffuse their invulnerability. These little additives make the fights more than just depleting a health bar. One battle removes platforms as you must use one of your abilities to conjure up crystalized platforms as the previous holographic platforms disappear during that phase.
Simply put, combat is intense as you swap to different weapons to break shields, or to swarm large groups with your rockets. However, among the chaos, you'll need to heal. This is done by taking an enemy down to its last bit of health and staggering it. You then will have two options. You can tap RB to heal, or hold it to ignite your foe and have them explode, causing neighbouring damage to their allies. It's a great balance and allows a mechanic to still be useful when you are at full health.
Now, if you find the game too hard, there are several difficulty settings to adjust, from lowering damage to negating it altogether, should you only be in it for the story. That setting also allows you to skip any challenging platforming as well. Playing on normal felt just challenging enough, but each will find a setting that works for them.
If there is one thing that allows Luna Abyss to stand out, it is the game's stunning art direction. There are some areas that put its competition to shame. There certainly are some strong Destiny vibes here with the sense of scale in certain locations, but ultimately, this team has gone above and beyond to produce a visual masterpiece that while isn't the highest of graphical fidelity, is aesthetically fantastic.
While there are several outdoor areas, a good chunk of the game takes place deep into the Abyss, surrounded by deep blacks and grays and strong red lights. This gives Luna Abyss a strong visual identity despite the strong efforts it makes to offer more than this. Outdoor locations have immense scale, as do the reactors, that are intimidating in their size.
Luna Abyss’ strength may not be its originality, but it weaves multiple genres and shooters together to craft one of the most engaging titles this year. Fawkes and the collective stories that are presented here come to life with strong writing and brilliant performances, with twists and turns that are genuinely pulled off to sheer perfection. I adored Luna Abyss, and simply want more.
Developer - Bonsai Collective Limited, Kwalee Labs.
Publisher - Kwalee Labs.
Released - May 21st, 2026.
Available On - Xbox Series X/S, PC, PS5.
Rated - (M) - Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence.
Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X
Review Access - A review code for The Tag-Along Obsession was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.