Omega Force splices roguelite runs into 1‑vs‑1,000 carnage. It mostly works—until the bosses and purple floor patterns steal the show.
There are two kinds of Warriors fans: the ones who want a comfy, combo‑drunk power trip, and the ones who want to see the formula stretched until it squeaks. Warriors: Abyss is very much the latter: a budget‑priced, digital‑only spinoff that shadow‑dropped in February 2025 and drags the Musou series straight to Hell—literally—then laces it with roguelite structure. You’re summoned by Enma, king of the underworld, to topple the demon Gouma, recruiting a revolving party of heroes from Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors as you carve through infernal hordes. It’s an idea that sounds like marketing soup (“Hades meets Musou!”), yet for a good chunk of its runtime, it’s undeniably moreish.
The pitch: Hades‑ish meta, Musou‑ish mayhem
On paper, the loop is irresistible. Runs are self‑contained gauntlets through Hell, your loadout morphing as you collect allies and perks. The headline trick—“Summoning Heroes”—lets you bolt other officers’ special moves onto your own combo strings, then detonate the entire crew at once with an Assemble super. The underlying progression sits in a web of menus back at base: unlock heroes with Karma Embers in the Hall of Bonded Souls, chase “Unique Tactics” synergies, and nudge up cumulative levels to make the next run a touch easier. It’s Musou’s big‑numbers dopamine, reorganized into bite‑sized runs and meaningful meta.
How a run actually flows
Structurally, a complete push is a tour through four distinct biomes, each with multiple stages and its own boss at the end. After each floor, you pick from rewards (treasure, a new ally, etc.), slowly massaging your build until it coheres. It’s a clear, digestible setup—one that typically keeps a full run under a couple of hours, especially once the systems click. The downside is that, as with any roguelite, sameness can creep in if the encounter palette isn’t varied enough.
Buildcrafting: the good kind of homework
Where Abyss sinks its hooks is in buildcrafting. Heroes carry keywords and emblems; formations bend your stats and change how summons fire; Unique Tactics can supercharge particular archetypes (the “Wu,” “Ruler,” or “Brave General” emblems, say) and, crucially, many benefits only apply if a hero actually sits in your six‑slot formation. You’ll feel the difference between a haphazard pile of allies and a tuned machine that cycles cooldowns, layers elements, and abuses the right formation passive. The game even lets you auto‑optimize if you’d rather get back to the mashing. It’s not Path of Exile, but there’s enough to chew on that theory‑crafters will trade spreadsheets.
A roster that keeps growing (and some welcome surprises)
You start with a couple dozen faces and eventually assemble a pool of 100+ heroes across both Dynasty and Samurai rosters. Post‑launch, Koei Tecmo has treated Abyss like a living arcade cabinet, rolling out free character updates (Jin first), then Atelier guest stars (Ryza, Sophie, Yumia), and—chef’s kiss—a July update that drops Team Ninja’s ninjas (Ryu Hayabusa, Ayane, Rachel, Momiji). That same July patch added new ways to play—Training Hall for boss rematches under conditions, Void of Empathy as a timed challenge—and a Transcendence system for long‑term hero upgrades; April’s update introduced the high‑difficulty Depths of Torment mode for post‑credit climbers. It’s generous where it counts, even if the paid DLC leans heavily on costume packs.
The good: snackable, satisfying, and properly Musou
At its best, Abyss is classic Omega Force catharsis in a roguelite wrapper. You’ll hammer out square‑triangle strings (or the platform’s equivalent), weave in Summoning Heroes to extend strings into fireworks, then pop Assemble to evaporate half the screen. The cadence of “one more room, one more ally” marries shockingly well to Warriors’ habit‑forming flow; more so, I’d argue, than certain story‑heavy Musou spinoffs that keep you reading instead of reaming through mobs. Steam’s user sentiment backs that up—the game sits in Very Positive territory with a notably upbeat recent‑review slice—proof that the budget price and brisk cadence land for a lot of players.
The not‑so‑good: bosses, biomes, and purple panic
The cracks show up in three places:
- Boss design. Several fights gate damage behind a shield‑break window. In theory, that’s about timing burst; in practice, it can feel like you’re battering a brick until the brief vulnerability opens—and if you whiff, the whole thing slogs on. Critiques from across the spectrum have honed in on this “burst or bust” dynamic, and it does sap the fun from late‑run duels.
- Visual readability. Abyss loves an AoE telegraph. Combine that with hundreds of enemies, handfuls of summons, and particle confetti, and a lot of the arena becomes “don’t stand in the purple.” When you’re piloting characters with longer charge strings, maintaining combos amid the dodge‑spam can be clumsy. The spectacle is loud; the clarity, less so.
- Stage flavor. The runs are solid; the maps, less so. Outdoor arenas and corridors blur together—brown, black, blasted—making many runs feel similar regardless of who you pick. It’s the most common refrain in otherwise‑positive reviews: the core loop slaps; the biome art and objective variety are just okay.
Performance & platform notes
On PS5, expect a few minor hitches when the screen hits peak clutter. It’s never ruinous, but it’s noticeable given the minimalist visuals. On Switch, the frame rate holds better than you might fear (an upside of simple assets), but the look is undeniably plain. And if you’re a Steam Deck regular, good news: it runs well portably (watch the battery). None of this is a deal‑breaker, yet it underscores the game’s “budget spinoff” vibe.
Value, editions & monetization
At $24.99 USD for the base game, the value proposition is easy to parse: a lean roguelite Musou that you’ll dip into for frantic runs. There are Hack’n’Dash editions—adding big costume sets and Karma Embers unlock currency—and a parade of paid costume DLCs. Character updates have been free, and the biggest gameplay additions (modes, balance passes) have arrived in patches; the paid stuff is largely fan‑service threads and nostalgia throwbacks. If you’re allergic to cosmetics, you won’t miss content; if you love outfitting the cast, your wallet will feel seen.
What the patches changed (and why that matters)
Beyond adding new heroes, Omega Force has quietly sanded rough edges. The July 4, 2025 update didn’t just introduce Team Ninja’s ninjas—it layered in Training Hall, Void of Empathy, and Transcendence, plus multiple balance tweaks. August’s v1.4.2 brought further adjustments, and earlier updates tweaked mission rewards, danger‑zone hazards, and formation/treasure behavior. If you bounced off in week one, the structure today is firmer, and late‑game pursuits (post‑clear modes like Depths of Torment) give the meta more spine.
So…is it any good?
Yes, with caveats. Warriors: Abyss is a 7/10‑ish comfort‑food brawler that smartly borrows roguelite scaffolding to make Musou more replayable, portable, and snackable. Critics have landed roughly there as well, with aggregate scores circling “fair to good,” which feels about right. The people who’ll love it most are:
- Warriors lifers who want a new way to mash (without devoting 40 hours to a story campaign).
- Roguelite dippers who prefer quick runs and visible power growth to dense, lore‑heavy hubs.
- Build tinkerers who enjoy watching synergies snap into place as their Assemble nukes go from “cute” to “goodbye, health bar.”
The people who’ll bounce:
- Encounter snobs, who need elegant boss mechanics (not shield‑gated bursts).
- Aesthetics hounds, who can’t abide drab biomes and reused assets.
- Readers of the floor, who hate when VFX obscure danger telegraphs.
Buy, wait, or skip?
- Buy if you already love Musou and you’re roguelite‑curious; the $25 price lands squarely in the “worth it for a weekend and beyond” zone.
- Wait for a sale if varied stages and boss nuance matter to you; as patches keep coming, the game is aging in the right direction.
- Skip if you bounced off Hades and Vampire Survivors—this leans into run‑based repetition and “one more try” psychology.
The bottom line
Warriors: Abyss feels like the most honest Warriors experiment in years: not a grand reinvention, just a snappier context for the thing Musou does best—turning you into a kinetic lawnmower. When the balance hits and your formation sings, it’s a fireworks show of crowd control and combo glue that’s hard to put down. When the purple carpets roll out and a boss refuses to die until you rupture another shield, you’ll sigh and queue another run anyway. In Hell as on Earth, sometimes the grind is the point.
