A new action RPG announced for PC is drawing players into a brutal, faith-based world of ancient hunters and biblical monstrosities. The Abased, developed by an independent studio, places players in the role of Elyhias, a former ‘Executor of the Faith’ now marked by exile, leprosy, and a progressive loss of vision. His mission is singular and monumental: to hunt the Giants of the Old Testament, known in-game as the Mighty Ones, using sling and sword while balancing spiritual devotion against a consuming inner savagery.
A World Forged From Biblical Lore
The universe of The Abased is explicitly inspired by biblical narratives, creating a setting where myth and survival horror intersect. The game’s lore establishes that the Mighty Ones, giants of superhuman strength, once erected a great ziggurat in their pride. Following a cataclysm and a war against humanity, they were expelled to remote regions. With the old balance forgotten, many have regained their power and begun encroaching once more on human cities and settlements. This resurgence is complicated by a grim mechanic: the fewer of them that remain, the stronger the survivors become.
This creates a dynamic, escalating threat level for the player, turning each successful hunt into a step toward an even greater challenge. The world players will explore is a blend of desolate cities, monumental ruins, and vast desert expanses, all bearing the scars of this ancient conflict. At the narrative center, a sovereign offers Elyhias a chance at expiation and potential healing in exchange for him taking up the nearly forgotten duty of containing the Mighty Ones.
Strategic Combat Against Unscripted Behemoths
The combat system in The Abased is being pitched as strategic and deliberate, demanding patience and precision rather than reflexive button-mashing. The sling serves as the central weapon, used to unbalance the giants, target specific joints, and create openings in their defenses. This ranged harassment is a critical prelude to closing in for melee combat with blades. The developers emphasize that these enemies are not traditional, telegraphed boss fights; they behave as intelligent, unscripted adversaries, making each encounter unpredictable and demanding constant tactical adaptation.
Managing Physical and Spiritual Deterioration
Beyond the external threat of the giants, players must manage the internal deterioration of Elyhias himself. This goes beyond a simple health bar. Injuries worsen progressively if not purified, adding a layer of resource and wound management to the survival loop. The core tension of the gameplay, however, revolves around a spiritual meter balancing two opposing states: Devotion and Instinct.
Devotion offers discipline and clarity, likely influencing accuracy, perception, or defensive capabilities. Instinct, in contrast, grants temporary bursts of raw strength but at a lasting cost, threatening to consume the character from within. This mechanic appears to be the central axis of the entire experience, intimately tying narrative theme to gameplay consequence. The player’s choices in managing this balance will directly affect both survival and the character’s descent or redemption.
The Last of the Humiliators and a Mysterious Instigator
The narrative context deepens the player’s isolation and urgency. The ancient order of the Humiliators, tasked with keeping the giants in check, is practically extinct. Elyhias may be one of the last. Complicating his mission is a mysterious figure known only as the Instigator, who is actively inciting the Mighty Ones, accelerating their aggression and making Elyhias’s task not just a duty but a race against time.
This setup creates a rich, lonely atmosphere where the player character is a deteriorating weapon, pushed into a conflict that most of the world has forgotten, against enemies who grow stronger with each victory. The story explores themes of faith, sacrifice, corruption, and the cost of wielding brutal power for a divine—or seemingly divine—purpose.
Visual Tone and Development Status
The announcement trailer showcases a cinematic, semi-realistic visual style, emphasizing the scale of the giants, the desolation of the landscapes, and the grim, weathered appearance of the protagonist. The tone is stark and heavy, leaning into the physical and spiritual weight of the narrative. As of the announcement, The Abased does not have a confirmed release date. The game is currently in development for PC, with its unveiling generating significant interest for its unique premise and ambitious fusion of methodical combat with deep character-state management.
A New Frontier in Faith-Based and Hardcore Action Gaming
The Abased enters a niche but growing space of games that draw directly from religious texts and mythology, not for proselytizing, but as a foundation for dark, complex worlds. It distinguishes itself by focusing not on the heroic prophets or kings, but on a flawed, suffering outcast operating in the grim margins of those stories. Its commitment to a punishing, strategic combat loop against intelligent, powerful foes places it in conversation with titles known for their difficulty and satisfaction, while its internal corruption mechanic offers a persistent, role-playing layer that affects moment-to-moment decisions.
The game promises an experience where success is measured not just in slain giants, but in the fragile preservation of a character’s soul and body. Every decision to tap into the feral Instinct for power, or to maintain disciplined Devotion despite the cost, will shape both the gameplay and the narrative outcome. It presents a world where faith is not a passive belief but an active, perilous tool for survival, constantly at war with a more primal and destructive force within.
For players weary of fantasy staples, The Abased offers a starkly different mythological playground, one where the monsters are drawn from some of humanity’s oldest stories and the hero is as broken as the world he seeks to save. Its success will hinge on the execution of its demanding combat, the depth of its spiritual management system, and its ability to sustain a compelling, lonely journey across a beautifully desolate biblical apocalypse. The announcement has set a high bar, promising a thoughtful, brutal, and visually striking take on the action RPG genre, where every victory is tempered by physical and spiritual decay.
