Hello everyone. Today we're gonna be playing a game called Abyssm Catacombs and this will be a first impression playthrough. Thematically we can expect some Spelunky vibes - lots of underground ruins, traps and that feeling of descending to dangerous depths. But what I'm more interested in is that it's mechanically leaning towards the classic Sokoban style puzzle design. That means grid-based movement where positioning matters and often you're pushing objects like boulders to solve different environmental puzzles. We'll be navigating through deadly catacombs filled with falling rocks, strange plants, boxy carriers and monsters that each behave in specific ways we'll need to learn in order to survive. Along the way there's a mystery about why you're trapped down here and what's really going on beneath the town. It features handcrafted 16-bit style pixel art with a strong atmosphere. The sound design is pretty spot on, which tells me we're in late alpha I assume. The game is made by Arena Studios, an indie developer, and it's the first game they've developed. There's also a demo available that we'll be playing.

We are strongly encouraged to try using the controller but I'll keep using WASD since that's easier for me. Settings show a timer, effigy counter, screen shake, player light radius, ambient light effects, scaling options. Game speed can be changed interestingly, considering it's a puzzle game - curious to see what that will mean later on.

As your hands touch the effigy you hear a distant roar and experience a powerful jolt. It feels like all warmth is drained out of your head hitting the smooth stone. Pushing the effigy activates it. So we have gravity that'll pull the objects down. Let's test if it falls down - can you dodge it by moving to the right? So we gotta watch out for those.

We see a boulder. I assume it will roll onto me. Testing from the side - the boulder does not seem to fall because of the dirt. So it does follow some other rules in comparison to the statue. We gotta be careful with this one. If we dig any dirt on top, the boulder will crush us. If I move to the left the effigy will fall straight down and the boulder will fall on top of it.

Here is an obvious boulder trap - activate and move to the side. We have trapped ourselves and cannot reach the door. The boulder can be moved but the effigy cannot. Died two times but that's alright.

This stage is where we learn about pushing the boulder. Need to reach the effigy on the top and dig a hole for all the stones to fall into. Good to know you can skip chambers if you get stuck, with a limited number of skips in each episode but can always come back later.

Abominations - your mind reels at the sight. You've never seen anything like it. It looks unnatural, almost unreal, like the feverish nightmare of a demented mind. Could we test them? We gotta activate this statue. If we move downwards quickly enough, we can make it.

Changed the game speed to sixty percent in accessibility settings. Increased text size just a bit - feels better for me personally.

The statue is behind the abomination. Seems like the game is trying to tell us to crush it with this boulder. How do we time it? I'm not sure how fast boulders drop. I thought the rock would fall down here - we're learning.

Trying to bait the abomination. Pretty wide proximity - I thought I had more time there. Gives me even one space range. Does not have to touch me. We gotta be especially careful with this.

The boulder fell from another boulder. It also fell from a statue but it does not fall if there is dirt under it. I will not be crushed here because of the dirt. Nice - and it explodes too! I love it. That felt satisfying. Died seven times but mistakes is how we learn, always in game and in life as well.

Changed the scale setting from automatic to two times. This is much better - we can see more of the level. The music and ambience is top-notch, sound design as a whole. Sound effects are very crisp.

So this one is safe. Safe. Everything here is safe. This one will not be safe since it will roll over but let's see if I can dodge it if I'm fast enough. So that's where the game speed matters - luckily it can be changed in settings.

This is a square block. Assume it's same as boulder meaning it could be pushed around. Boulder will not follow back. The boulder did not roll - it does make sense, it just takes me some time to create muscle memory of it.

Very intuitive level design. Here you can see that the boulder does not roll over the square block, and the square block does not roll over the boulder. Very good way to teach the player without having to do anything - just analyzing the level you can see how each object behaves.

Symmetria meaning symmetry. You came down here as part of an investigation of a series of unsettling disappearances but will you ever be able to report your findings? Would anyone in their right mind believe them?

As we discovered, the abominations explode, so wonder if we can use it to open up a wall. That must be why this boulder is here. Wonder if the explosions can destroy the statues. Have to catch it at the exact point. We have a three by three explosion radius. Beautiful. Just remember that I could be caught in the explosion as well. This distance is safe enough for me to not get caught. Enjoyed that one. I really did. Starting to get the hang of it.

The Asthma level - your view ahead is obscured by some kind of foul-looking fog. It does not look healthy. I tried moving down and got reminded that air is necessary. It's a dead zone for me, for us the player, but solids can pass through. We need to explore the walls on the side.

You feel your sanity falter at the sight of this new monstrosity, one without any form of its own, emanating a sickly green glow. What is this place? We gotta destroy the walls. Let's check out the ooze. We can crush the abomination, destroy the wall, activate the statue and exit. Or we can try discovering what the ooze does. You gotta test.

In the town you heard rumors whispering secrets about the pale queen. You didn't pay it much heed then, thinking it was tall tales told by simple folks, but down here, having seen what you've seen, you have to wonder.

This is where the demo ends. I'll continue for sure.