As an explorer with a trusty whip, players race through procedurally generated temples in Phantom Abyss, discovering relics and other treasures while avoiding traps. The catch is that you only get one attempt at a temple. If you die, it’s gone for good. Fortunately, the phantoms of other players can be seen and offer some guidance on what to do.

Version 1.0 changes Adventure Mode, providing a choice of temples with a fixed whip, relic and challenges. Classic Mode is now Abyss Mode, with players attempting to clear all four areas to reach the end. However, you’re on the timer since only one player is allowed to complete it. If that weren’t enough, the whip has also changed and won’t carry curses. There are also various skins available to unlock via challenges.

Team WIBY and Devolver Digital have announced that Phantom Abyss will be exiting early access later this month, on January 25. The roguelike title’s 1.0 version will bring an overhauled Adventure Mode, which will let players choose between multiple temples to explore, each coming with their own unique whips, relics, and challenges.

Classic Mode is also being overhauled. Now called Abyss Mode, it will task multiplayer players with entering a temple, clearing all of its challenges and obstacles, and collecting its relic, with only one player emerging victorious. Beyond that, the 1.0 version will also make some changes to how whips will work, with whip skills now being unlocked through player opt-in challenges, and whips themselves no longer carrying curses and now being unlocked through Adventure Mode.

Phantom Abyss is currently available on PC and Xbox Series X/S. There’s no concrete word yet on whether we can expect a PS5 version in the near future.

Another interesting feature is that players only get one attempt at a temple. The one who find the legendary relic will be immortalized and the sole holder of it. At present, Phantom Abyss has three out of five zones that are fully developed. Each contains a unique number of traps, rooms and other twists to keep players coming back.

More rooms, traps, whips, gameplay features and so on will be added over time though. The title will be in early access for at least a year with the developer listening to fan feedback so it should be interesting to see how it evolves over time. Stay tuned for more details until then.

Phantom Abyss will throw players into procedurally generated temple maps in each match, tasking you to retrieve relics hidden inside of their chambers. Traps, various different kinds of enemies, environmental challenges, and more will be hurdles along your way, while phantom attempts from failed attempts of previous players will also come into play. It sounds interesting, to say the least.

Phantom Abyss is currently only announced for PC, and there’s no word on when the game will launch in full- but its early access reveal is right around the corner, so there’s that.

Developer Team WIBY and publisher Developer Digital have announced Phantom Abyss, a massive asynchronous multiplayer title that drops boot into the boots of adventurers exploring procedural generated temples and retrieving their sacred relics. Phantom Abyss will launch in Early Access in June. The game will be updated with new chambers, traps, whips, zones, and additional gameplay features as time goes on.

According to the official description, “Intrepid adventurers will dodge scores of hidden traps, leap treacherous chasms, and flee relentless guardians through branching paths until one of the relics are claimed or the devices of death overwhelm them. Be warned, you only get one attempt at each temple and failure or settling for a lesser relic means you will never see that temple again…”

That doesn’t mean you’ll be going in completely unprepared, though. “The cleverest players will use the phantom runs of failed attempts from other players to their advantage and avoid the missteps and mistakes that led to their doom. Once the legendary relic at the bottom of each temple is found, the temple goes away forever and becomes the priceless trophy of the skilled adventurer.”

Players will also be able to offer their collected treasures to the gods to claim a double jump, glide jump, extended slide, damage protection, and other abilities. They will also be able to upgrade their whip and share “Temple Codes for their failed runs allowing friends to attempt the same temple or share their Adventure Code which yields a playlist of temples that player has attempted in the past.”

Honestly, the whole thing looks and sounds very cool, and I’ll definitely be checking it out when the game comes to Early Access next month. You can watch a trailer for the game, complete with some gameplay, below:

Among all the publishers hosting showcases in the Summer, Devolver Digital is perhaps the most infamous due to the antics of the fictional Nina Struthers. Whether there will be a Devolver Direct or not, the publisher has confirmed the reveal of four new titles for the Summer Game Fest. The event is currently slated to kick off on June 10th.

Along with the new reveals will be updates on Death’s Door, Shadow Warrior 3 and the recently revealed Phantom Abyss. With Phantom Abyss having a June release date for Steam Early Access, it’s highly likely that it launches on the day of the event. Death’s Door is slated for release this Summer on PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S so perhaps a release date will be revealed.

As for Shadow Warrior 3, it’s received numerous trailers and sneak peeks showcasing its arena kills and weapons. It’s currently in development for Xbox One, PS4 and PC so that’s one more title that could see a release date announced. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Shaping up to reveal four new games during #SummerGameFest this year along with updates on Phantom Abyss, Death’s Door, and Shadow Warrior 3! pic.twitter.com/FZQgPzqDfU

— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) May 21, 2021