Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss
Review
A Beautiful Mystery Beneath The Waves
by Quinn Levandoski
reviewed on PC
The Beauty and the Terror
Thalassa: the ancient Greek word for the sea and the divine being that personifies it. The progenitor of life on our planet. The timeless muse for those determined to seek out adventure or fortune. However, as the sea gives, so does it take away. Thalassa may inspire images of beauty, but it also provides the root for thalassophobia - the intense, humbling fear of the overwhelming abyss under the waves. This dichotomy between beauty and terror, adventure and danger, is mirrored in Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss, a beautifully haunting experience largely set in the belly of Poseidon's domain.
Sarepta Studio's nautical mystery takes players back to the turn of the century in 1905, an age of great strides in maritime expansion, invention, and exploration. It was also a time of danger and embracing the unknown, as myth and discovery met in the middle with the help of new technological advances. It's in these years just past the end of the Gilded Age and prior to lucky numbers bet that players are put into the pressure suit of Cam, a diver for hire working to unearth the wreckage of a ship captained by Cam's wealthy employer, Elizabeth.
The game's opening half hour or so does a wonderful job of introducing a core set of characters, some of which remain constants through the game and others who simply remain relevant via the impact of their actions, and establishing a palpable atmosphere that sets the tone for Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss. The visuals are highly stylized, yet high-quality voice acting grouds what could be a cartoonish world in a realistic cocktail of hope, despair, love, and loathing.
Light Gameplay, Heavy Story
Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss is largely a "walking simulator" - a somewhat passive experience that gently guides the player through a story and emotional journey. As always with these types of games, how much you enjoy the game is going to depend on understanding what it is and not hoping for it to be something it isn't. That is in no way a knock - I myself deeply enjoy these types of games, and Thalassa is among the more enjoyable ones that I've experienced.
That isn't to say there's no gameplay, because there certainly is. After a brief preamble that establishes a central tragedy for the story, Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss acts as an enjoyable mystery title that tasks the players with uncovering clues and evidence concerning the mysteriously sunken ship, the Thalassa. The majority of playtime is spent walking through the sunken ship, finding ways around the wreckage, and piecing together information to answer a series of questions about the who, what, when, and why of the whole thing. Oh, and there's also the ghost-like remnants of those who populated the ship.
The mysteries of Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss are presented in an interesting style. A vast menu page presents dozens of questions that need to be answered. Those currently open can be clicked on, and selections from an evidence menu can be placed in slots that combine to answer the questions. These pieces of evidence are found by exploring the Thalassa, often coming in the form of found photographs, notes, physical objects, voice recordings, and more. While the mystery board can look overwhelming, the game keeps things pretty simple by not throwing too many questions out at once and giving the player an indication of when they have the required pieces of evidence to solve something. Furthermore, evidence is divided into categories, and each mystery specifies what category of clues are needed for completion.
Moreover, the in-game map does a nice job of telling players which rooms have critical evidence that needs to be found. As such, while finding clues and piecing together puzzles isn't automatic, it's much more about the experience of progressing through the story than the need to put significant brain power into complex queries or gameplay mechanics. This is aided by a dossier page that presents a web of every important character, explaining their relationships with other crew members and constantly updating with uncovered information.
Perfect For The Right Players
While the game is beautiful, I did experience a few small hiccups, though they were more annoyances than significant causes for concern. The sound design - an eerie mix of watery creeks and groans with the distant voice of Cam's above-sea guide - does a lot of heavy lifting with establishing atmosphere, but there were some issues with the directional audio (sounds moving between headphones to indicate where something is). At times, someone would be speaking, or something would be making noise off-camera; it would correctly play in one ear at an appropriate volume, but when looked at directly, it would get oddly quiet and bounce back and forth between ears instead of playing through both. Moreover, a few odd animation snafus would snap the camera around before a brief first-person cutscene.
Those are really my only bad things to say about Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss, which should be taken as high praise. However, as noted, this kind of experience isn't going to be for everyone. If you're looking for a more hands-on title with a more significant level of challenge, you may be best served elsewhere. If you enjoy a more narrative experience built around exploration without combat or demanding mechanics, you'll find a lot to love. As someone firmly in the latter camp, it's easy for me to recommend Thalassa: Edge of the Abyss as a welcome and high-quality addition to its genre.
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9.0
fun score
Pros
A Well-written mystery, beautiful environments to explore, high-quality voice acting that sells the script.
Cons
Some minor audio and animation glitches, some players will want more challenge from the puzzles/mystery.
