LUNA ABYSS
This moon certainly has a dark side
Developer/publisher
Bonsai Collective
Format
PC, consoles TBA
Origin
UK
Release
TBA
The sci-fi horror genre is currently enjoying a major resurgence. Alongside the likes of Returnal, The Callisto Protocol and Signalis, a host of forthcoming games are exploring the more sinister side of the cosmos – and there’s even a Dead Space remake among them. As such, it would be easy for any game to get lost amid the tentacle-filled crowd. Good thing, then, that Luna Abyss has plenty to catch the eye. The debut game of UK studio Bonsai Collective, it’s a curious mix of firstperson platforming and bullet-hell combat. Yet the focus is also on vibrant worldbuilding, with an intriguing storyline enticing players to venture farther into its depths.
Playing as protagonist Fawkes – aprisoner serving a life sentence on a lunar penal colony – you are sent below the surface of an alien moon, tasked with surveying the remains of a lost civilisation. The exact nature of this moon, and the true machinations of those controlling you, are revealed gradually – but only once you’ve made it past the local residents. These include enemies called the Adrift: malformed beings that are more than happy to pepper you with energy orbs. “There aren’t too many 3D bullet-hell games out there, and the ones that are in that genre usually focus around the mechanics of gameplay,” production director Hollie Emery says. “So having one that is interspersed with a story is something that really sets it apart.”