Phantom Abyss combines battle royal, asynchronous multiplayer, and procedural generation

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Phantom Abyss blends the best of single-survival battle royales with a unique focus on surviving the dangerous environment rather than threats from other players. Each procedurally generated ruin is packed with traps, curses, and a lone prize. A player only has one chance to beat a ruin and once it’s beaten, it’s gone for everyone forever. Finally, the asynchronous take on the multiplayer game populates the ruins with the ghosts of others who have tried and failed, offering potential hints at how to win.

It should be no surprise that the unique title, with its neon temples and severe dangers, has taken the streaming world by storm, and garnered a “very positive” reception on Steam where it’s in early access.

We spoke with game designer Ben Marrinan about the inspiration behind the clever title, what is still to come as Phantom Abyss makes its way toward full launch, the hidden narrative of the game, and how a game with such a hand-crafted aesthetic used procedural generation to give players an endless supply of seemingly unbeatable temples to explore.

To read the rest of this feature, which first ran on Aug. 25, 2021, visit UnrealEngine.