Devolver's new game has you temple-diving for treasure with ghosts
Sort of like a mashup between Temple Run and Fall Guys
Devolver Digital have announced Phantom Abyss, a first-person platformer where you'll run through treacherous temples in bold attempts to claim their treasure. And to aid you, you'll see the phantoms of other players who've gone before you and met their demise. As someone who liked racing against ghosts of other players in Gran Turismo, I'm already on board with this game that replaces cars with humans, and the race track with a terribly dangerous lair filled with traps. Oh, and you've only got one shot at each temple! Yeah, sorry about that.
Developers Team WIBY have placed a lot of importance on learning from other players' mishaps in Phantom Abyss. During each run you'll be joined by up to 20 ghosts of those who've gone before you, so if a massive spear suddenly shanks them from out of nowhere, you'll know to avoid that bit. I bet it gets intense when all the phantoms die off and you become aware that you're navigating unexplored territory.
The whip also looks like a cool addition, letting you fling yourself up onto ledges or across gaps. Phantom Abyss's temples are all procedurally generated too, which should keep them fresh. Let's just hope it doesn't fall into that procedurally generated trap (heh) where it could string together a host of dud sections.
If you manage to worm your way through a temple in Phantom Abyss, you can collect keys from chests to unlock deeper, deadlier sections. Of course, they'll contain even rarer relics, but likely lead to more pain. However, if you make it to the end and collect the Legendary Relic, you'll claim the temple for yourself and it'll be gone forever - like a trophy no-one else is allowed to touch.
And you'll absolutely deserve the bragging rights too. You only get one run at each temple, ever, so if you do manage to make it out alive and with some relics in hand, then sure, you deserve a pat on the back. Or a swanky new whip. They'll be blessed with buffs of some sort, but they'll also carry a curse that might make things a bit trickier in your next run.
Phantom Abyss is releasing on Steam Early Access in June 2021, with the expectation it'll remain in early access for "at least a year". New rooms, traps, whips, zones, and more are planned for its full release.