Stirring Abyss

Stirring Abyss is an indie tactical squad-based game with strong RPG elements in which you uncover the ancient mysteries of the depths depicted in the classic vein of Lovecraftian horror.

Stirring Abyss is a lovecraftian, underwater and rpg game developed by Sleepy Sentry and K-Project and published by Slitherine Ltd..
Released on October 29th 2020 is available only on Windows in 6 languages: English, German, Spanish - Spain, Russian, Simplified Chinese and French.

It has received 398 reviews of which 354 were positive and 44 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.3 out of 10. 😎

The game is currently priced at 24.50€ on Steam.


The Steam community has classified Stirring Abyss into these genres:

Media & Screenshots

Get an in-depth look at Stirring Abyss through various videos and screenshots.

Requirements

These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.

Windows
  • OS *: Windows 8
  • Processor: 2 GHz Processor or Equivalent
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: OpenGL 4.5-compatible, 512 MB video memory
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 1 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX compatible

Reviews

Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.

Sept. 2024
Overall: 8/10 Stirring Abyss is a tactical game ambient in a Lovecraftian nightmare where you accompany stranded divers trying to survive the depths of the sea and return to their families. Music: 7/10 I really enjoyed the music and sound effects, plus the VA of the introduction and ending are great. A shame that there aren’t more moments like that. Visuals: 7.5/10 It won’t get any prizes here, but it is good. Visually, the divers are the most distinguishing of all, and when they get some mutations, they visually change to match them (though I wished this would have applied to all mutations). Monsters are different, but their character art is probably more stunning than the game designs in itself. The maps are very similar, with small changes as you go deeper and deeper. This is probably one of the weakest points. And your ship, as you make upgrades and repurpose rooms, I did enjoy seeing the changes that occurred. Gameplay: 8/10 I would say this is a lite-tactical game. The game itself isn’t long, and the gameplay is repetitive like X-Com. Go into a mission, kill enemies, find something, get back to base, improve/upgrade, repeat. What makes it interesting is that there is a lot of variety for the amount of missions in the game, and that the skills you can choose from when leveling up are random even in the same classes. The enigma board, which would be the equivalent of a technology tree/research, is interesting, though a bit more information about what to expect at the different levels might have made it easier to know where to risk the clues you get to unlock the rewards. Story: 9/10 Trapped beneath the sea, just looking to get back home, the divers find themself drawn into the maws of hell. Now, how deep will they go to try and save the world. That’s basically the premise, and it works really well. Most of the main missions expand on the world, and you can even find notes of other divers trapped there (russians for example). I did enjoy the story a lot, and my only gripe is that I wished for more to explore.
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Aug. 2024
+Immersive survival experience with progression +Sounds great +Lovecraft-aesthetics +Player choice plays a huge role on progression and character development -> feels emergent -No VO in the game -Gets too easy towards the end -Psychiatry-skill is overpowered; charmed enemies should instead target random targets over only enemies (granted few enemies are immune to it) =It's essentially a survival version of XCOM 8/10.
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April 2024
A hidden gem if the many facets of this game are appealing. - Lovecraftian to the max. The devs nailed the dread, fear, and mental toll that typifies the genre in addition to the ever-present fear of suffocating. The artwork, unpleasant organic sound effects, and music all play into the unnaturally creepy ambiance. - Procedurally-generated maps are utilized, although there can be a sort of sameness of blocks of maps, which still feels overall fresh in each mission. - Three different character archetypes based on abilities, with ranged, melee, and utility emphases, but characters can still effectively perform roles of other classes if spec'd properly. - A slow plotting/plodding push-your-luck tactical system that, in most turns has one reluctant to take just one more step, balancing timers whether intrinsic (running out of air) versus specific countdown missions. Maximizing efficient execution is vital for success. Movement economy is tight, with every step possibly impacting mission success, and yet when out of combat the movement allowance relative to map size feels appropriate and not too slow. The tension of moving, which may expose enemies within the fog of war, and activate them if they can also see you, is heightened by a two-phase movement system, where the initial higher movement point phase still allows for a one-point action, but the second only allows for movement. You will find yourself having unsuccessfully pushed your luck with your last character to move activating 3-4 enemies regretting that you got greedy and wanted to expose just a few more spaces to set up your next turn. - It has a robust combat system of melee, ranged, and qualitative utility abilities, adding to your tactical decision options. - Character leveling-up systems are exciting, especially the mutation mechanisms which feel like a twisted birthday present every time you harvest the weird transmogrifiable material (which can be used during a mission). General party skill tree advancement is present covering offensive, defensive, and utility factors. Objects in the environment also provide skill checks to change character and world states. - There is limited, but crucial, base building enacted by repairing the rooms in your damaged submarine. - Health, sanity, and buffs/debuffs systems affect character performance. - Mission types vary offering different loot, perks, and new characters. - Crafting is present. offering useful items that meaningfully affect missions. In some games picking up a flare is trash loot, but here such items can mean the difference between mission success or a wash. Stirring Abyss is a masterclass in Lovecraftian, as well as general game, design principles. The only criticism I have is Salvage-type missions are too luck-dependent, where one mission allocates the recoverable objectives close by, whereas others have them spread out throughout the map, basically ensuring mission failure. I usually try to avoid such missions, or if put into an unfair mission design, scum-save by hard closing the game which resets it back to start, and then try to more efficiently collect the items. As much as I adore this game, some gamers might not fit well into this slow tactical style of playing, and fast run-and-gun tactics will likely lead to a mission wipe. Also, it can be a tough unforgiving game, and if literal/virtual step-by-step planning feels dull or too time-consuming, then this game will likely not be appealing. This certainly is on my hidden gem list and if my description is mostly appealing it may soon be on yours! ...and yes there are tentacles, just not the Hentai-kind.
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March 2024
Pretty cool if you're into turn based rpgs and lovecraftian stuff! First attempt consider it a learning experience, second attempt kick some ass. You spend your time searching the ocean floor and fighting horrors, once done you can call in your anchor and go to your submarine where you can rest and build things to help you along the way, definitely recommend if you like a chill lovecraftian experience.
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Feb. 2024
Quite a well done X-COM inspired game. It is well written, the core gameplay loop is solid and even on easy is not a guaranteed succes. There a couple fo tiny niggles, but it hardly scuffs the surface of this quite good game.
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Last Updates

Steam data 22 November 2024 14:02
SteamSpy data 20 January 2025 01:22
Steam price 22 January 2025 20:26
Steam reviews 21 January 2025 18:03
Stirring Abyss
8.3
354
44
Online players
2
Developer
Sleepy Sentry, K-Project
Publisher
Slitherine Ltd.
Release 29 Oct 2020
Platforms
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