I don't usually review mobile games but I just had to make an exception in this case. One of the top mobile games of 2016, Abyssrium has remained a hidden gem, largely overshadowed by other popular apps like Pokemon Go. Developed by SangHeon Kim, Abyssrium is a peaceful clicker game that revolves around a coral reef at the bottom of the sea. It is simple in terms of gameplay, yet incredibly addictive!
Your journey begins with the Lonely Corallite, a living stone entity residing at the bottom of the ocean, who has the power to generate vitality with each tap. Leveling up the Corallite allows you to generate more vitality per tap. Vitality will serve as the life force for your reef, and great quantities are required to begin growing! Your Corallite is also imbued with several magical skills which can be used periodically to increase the productivity of vitality!
As you gain vitality, you must begin growing various species of corals and leveling them up. Corals will automatically generate vitality without tapping, and will continue producing even when the game is closed (once you start building corals, you can choose to keep up your frantic tapping, or sit back and just let the vitality build on its own). With the increased vitality production, you can now look to start making friends for the Lonely Corallite.
The Corallite can create life, including a huge variety of fish, turtles, sharks, jellyfish, whales, sea slugs, and many more (and there are many hidden fish that can be unlocked through secret objectives!). Tough they cost quite a bit of vitality to create, each friend doubles the current production of vitality by the entire reef, in addition to occasionally producing a little vitality when tapped. As the vitality adds up, the player can now spend it upgrading the Corallite itself, upgrading corals or purchasing new fish species.
There is quite a bit of opportunity for customization; each player's reef houses different fish and themes....you can even dress up your (now not so lonely) Corallite! Holiday events offer special event fish that are only available for a limited time (Christmas offers walruses, penguins, and several others!) that can be obtained by collecting candies in addition to vitality (only downside is that this does require tapping and isn't automatically generated). As your reef grows, you can photograph your unique reef and participate in photo contests with players around the world!
I don't think I can adequately express how much I enjoyed this game, but here are just a few reasons why you should check out Abyssrium:
1. It's free. It's free to download and it's not pay to win. There are in game packages you can purchase if you want, but these really only give you a couple fish and some vitality bonuses; if you choose not to purchase them, you really don't miss out on much (I think it's just like 4 or 5 fish you won't be able to get).
2. You can play at your pace. You can frantically tap the day away to get your vitality or you can take a laid back approach and let the corals automatically generate vitality. The game can easily be played for hours on end or you can log in once a day to make your purchases and upgrades if you aren't looking for a major time waster.
3. Advertising done right. I hate when games are constantly ruined by advertisements or a banner is permanently onscreen. Abyssrium does have ads, but you can choose whether or not you watch the videos. Watching these videos can give you a small lump sum of vitality, gems, or even refresh the cooldown on your Corallite's abilities, however nothing is really lost if you choose to ignore the ads.
4. The "special money" is easily obtainable. All games have their basic currency (in this case vitality) and their special currency (here it's gems). Many games make you pay for the latter; while you can purchase gem packs, gems are easily obtained in huge quantities by meeting achievement goals or watching short advertising videos (and I'm not talking like one or two gems...you can earn more than 100 at a time in some cases!).
5. It's just a really peaceful and fun game. Whether you choose to tap your fingers to stumps or relax a little more, Abyssrium is essentially a little pocket sized aquarium. It doesn't come with the intense franticness that you find with most clicker games, and it is really easy on the brain. Not a whole lot of strategy is involved (perhaps a downside for some), but it is still an addictive game nonetheless.
This is easily one of my favorite mobile games to date (and @ellepdub can confirm that I have played my fair share of them!) and I have yet to grow tired of it (also just got my cousins addicted to it last night)! I don't think I can write a review that does justice to all the aspects of this game; you just have to try it out for yourself! For me, Abyssrium is a 10/10!
Thanks for sharing, looks like a nice game!
Yes, looks good :)
Very well detailed review, congratulations!