Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy review for PS Vita

Platform: PS Vita
Publisher: NIS America
Developer: Experience Inc.
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: M

The fact that Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy is made by the same people who created Demon Gaze may just be the least surprising thing ever. They are, broadly speaking, basically the same game: both are first-person dungeon crawlers in which you take on enemies in turn-based battles. Yes, in Operation Abyss you do so with a team of Japanese students instead of with a single student. And yes, Operation Abyss finds you battling monsters instead of demons. But at their core, theyโ€™re more or less the same game.

Good thing, then, that thereโ€™s more to Operation Abyss than just its core.

Operation Abyss New Tokyo Legacy 2

See, where Demon Gaze was the very definition of mediocre and uninspiring, Operation Abyss is actually pretty decent. Part of this, Iโ€™ll admit, comes down to personal tolerance for fanservice: where Demon Gaze had its fair share of the stuff, thereโ€™s not a whole lot of it here. While there are certainly your usual trope characters, Operation Abyss generally refrains from all the worst stereotypes, and in doing so doesnโ€™t leave you with the same kind of dirty feeling you had (okay, I had) after playing Demon Gaze.

I think, though, that Operation Abyss is better for reasons other than simply personal preference, however. I think itโ€™s better becauseโ€ฆwell, because every aspect is better in every way. The controls are easier, the fights go more smoothly, the story is easier to follow. In every respect, itโ€™s clear that developers Experience Inc. took the lessons learned from Demon Gaze, and put them to good use here.

Operation Abyss New Tokyo Legacy 1

The end result is far from perfect, of course. Operation Abyss still isnโ€™t going to appeal to people who have zero interest in ever playing a DRPG. But itโ€™s enough of an improvement over its predecessor that Iโ€™d you have even a slight interest in the genre, youโ€™ll find yourself enjoying it.

Grade: B+
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