Brigandine Abyss Review Roundup: Tactical Depth Meets Technical and Narrative Flaws

Strategy RPG fans have a new entry to explore with the release of Brigandine Abyss, a standalone follow-up to the 2020 PlayStation release Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia. Developed by Adglobe, the title continues the franchise's tradition of continental conquest and hex-grid tactical combat, though critics note that it brings a mix of engaging gameplay systems and significant technical and narrative drawbacks.

The game kicks off when an empire's general, Chaossolus, steals an arcane suit of armor known as the Brigandine, assassinates the king, and declares the return of the Abyssloa Empire. Players can dive into two primary modes: Story Mode and Mission Mode. Story Mode follows six different factions dealing with the continental upheaval, such as the Scarlet Will campaign starring Garnet. Meanwhile, Mission Mode gives players free rein to select from twenty-four different factions, each with unique objectives ranging from base domination to debt repayment within a limited timeframe.

Gameplay is split between an Organization Phase and an Invasion Phase. During the Organization Phase, players manage forces, deploy leaders on quests to harvest rare materials, and handle class upgrades. Units can change classes at level 10, while level 20 upgrades require special items earned via expeditions. Faction leaders, however, bypass the need for these special items. Critics point out that resurrection items are much easier to obtain and restocked every season compared to the previous game, and story-related units are prevented from dying upon defeat, making management more forgiving.

During the Invasion Phase, players assign up to three leaders and their monster armies to invade opposing territories. Combat takes place on hex-grid maps tied to specific locations. The tactical layer features a new Rally system allowing leaders to absorb monster traits on the battlefield, though some traits—like the Lizard race ability granting two consecutive turns—can heavily break balance. Reviewers also noted frustrating AI design on higher difficulties, which relies on hidden status modifiers to boost defense and evasion rather than smarter tactical decision-making.

Visually and technically, Brigandine Abyss has received mixed commentary. Reviewers pointed out a downgrade in art direction compared to its predecessor, citing uninspired anime-style character portraits, dated gradient-circle menus, and generic battlefield sprites for non-leader characters. Built on Unreal Engine 5, the game reportedly suffers from optimization hiccups, with PC versions experiencing noticeable hardware throttling even on lower settings.