I’ve played many a creepy throwback game inspired by the always inappropriately named “Golden” (Grimy and Diseased? Cadaverous, perhaps) Age of survival horror on PS1, but it’s rare to play one that evokes the N64 , and even less often that you’ll stumble upon something horror-adjacent that riffs on Star Fox 64. Ah, Star Fox! The natural companion piece for Eternal Darkness or The Suffering, for example. To be honest, I always found those Pez dispenser dialogue animations quite creepy.
The work of Norwegian developer Agelvik, Death in Abyss (Steam link) is a third-person ‘submarine action game’ in which you explore a noxious ocean full of angry, bioluminescent brains and, I hope, ravenous tadpoles, although other possibilities arise as well. You are of course here to photograph everything in cold blood, but along the way there is also room for some whimsy in the form of your vehicle’s movements. Put it in reverse and it does a cute little backstroke. Seriously, check out this trailer. I can not get enough of it. If I’m ever rich and stupid enough to buy a submarine, I want one that moves like that.
Death In Abyss is also inspired by the blood-curdling Devil Daggers and the anime Made In Abyss, which I haven’t seen yet but understand as quite unpleasant and potentially problematic. from Agelvik earlier works include Gun Devil, God Damn The Garden, Apple Slash and Lulu’s Temple, all of which channel a special mix of cheerful and macabre that I find very appealing.
There will be a Death In Abyss demo in July, which is all going according to plan. If this is your cup of mutant herring gizzards, the recently launched Underspace might grab you too. It also abounds in oceanic monstrosities, though it’s a sprawling Freelancer-esque rather than a level-based action experience, and, as far as I know, doesn’t feature any spacecraft capable of backstroke.