Product Info

Platform

Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PC

Publisher

NIS America

Developer

Adglobe

Series

Brigandine

Genre

RPG, Strategy/Tactics

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

6.7 GB

Release Date (NA)

Aug 26, 2026

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Steam

Home » Brigandine Abyss (Review)

Brigandine Abyss is the fourth entry in the Brigandine series that carries deep strategic planning and loads of content but could use some improvement with its visual presentation.

Story of Conquering

Abyss takes place on the continent of Meltitea, where the rise of a new Abyssola Empire, thanks to an ambitious general named Chaossolus, starts a massive campaign for world domination. In Story Mode, players assume the role of the leader of one of the six factions, each with its narrative that allows you to decide how to address the unfolding events and battle against the Empire’s quest for global conquest.

Each leader and their companions carry unique storylines that differ from one another while sharing similar goals. For example, Largo, a young dragon tamer, emerges as a hero, determined to rescue the dragons that have been captured and brainwashed by the nation of Gran Dragnica. Within the Greatwood, a human girl named Alysbelle lives among the faeries, but as the New Empire invasion grows, the human girl and her companions search for a place of refuge. As you play, you’ll encounter other factions that also look to spread their domination before the Empire does. Players will need to grow their domain if they want to survive in this dog-eat-dog world.

Stories are played in cutscenes with minimal illustrated animations but carry intriguing dialogue about how each faction plays out. How does Largo overcome the pressure from enemies regarding how dragons are handled? Does Saya from the samurai village succeed in uncovering the truth of her comrades’ connection to the Empire? Many questions await answers, and I’m ready to explore them.

After completing one faction’s storyline, I wanted to jump into a new story to see how another faction plays out and the interactions differ, making it feel like you’re playing in a different dimension. This certainly enhances the replay value of the tactical game.

While taking over a vast number of bases, the amount of work to prepare my troops each season did become overwhelming. I found myself taking more breaks to collect my thoughts and decompress but still enjoyed conquering. I also found that attacking bases feels more controlling and easier than defending them. With defense, if a single enemy lands on a designated area that’s located behind my army, you lose the battle.

Man on a Mission

If you wish to try any of the available 24 factions, Mission Mode allows players to take on more specific goals without the long-narrative dialogues and cutscenes. Instead, you’re given specific goals such as collecting specific monsters, repaying debts, or defending your base within a tight time limit. You’ll see that some of these missions share similarities with the Story Mode regarding total map domination. It offers a new and challenging experience for players who are becoming less motivated by the game’s story.

There are also restrictions and limitations that’ll challenge players, but if you are new to the series, starting off in Story Mode will ease you into the game’s mechanics and understanding the world-building. This mode adds value to the game’s content, providing players with more to engage with.

A Season of Activities

In Abyss, you’ll play in a set of phases within a season. Players will start in the Organization Phase to organize their troops, assign and move them to certain bases, and send them off to quests or training. You can also consider it a preparation phase. Troops sent to new bases or on quests cannot participate in the activities for the rest of the season. Next, you’ll start the Attack Phase. Choose to invade enemy bases or stay put to defend your own. There are fewer activities in this phase compared to the previous one. Next, you’ll jump into the Invasion Phase, where you’ll see other factions taking on others for land or building up their domains. You won’t watch their battles in-depth, but you’ll watch cutscenes if available. The only battles you’ll have more detail in are the ones you are defending or invading. Whether you partake in battles or not, you’ll notice enemy forces will level up. Be sure that everyone is doing something if you want to partake in the leveling up. If you have a base surrounded by your own forces, take advantage of everyone in your base doing a quest or training. If you have an enemy base nearby, it’s advised to keep three leaders and their troops available for a possible invasion.

Seasons are used as a countdown for an Event Battle. When you reach a certain amount, you aren’t given an option but to engage in this special event. This is where the additional time is taken away when compared to the Mission Mode where you can go up to 99 seasons. Honestly, having a deadline before story events provides guidance on how I should prepare my army.

Onward to Battle

You’ll have a selected team of units, up to three, to place on the battlefield. Units are automatically placed on a grid of hexagons where you move your units across the battlefield. Terrains also have an effect on gameplay, including their heights and types. Going across certain terrain heights can take away movement spaces for your troops. Flying units like the dragons and griffins can ignore a lot of these issues. Terrain types can alter defenses when in areas such as forests and mountains, or going through water areas can slow down ground troops. There are tactical thoughts on how to navigate through the battle.

While the battlefields give enough visuals for players to navigate through, the overall appeal feels lackluster. For example, the grass fields feel dull, and since the character illustrations are colorful, I believe that changing the design of the grass fields to align more closely with the illustrations would make the overall visual experience more pleasing.

The game offers ways to speed it up by increasing the speed to 2x and setting the battle to auto. Even with these turned on, battles tend to last longer than they should. The CPU controls the enemies, but their tactics often feel inconsistent. Letting the CPU control your army also feels the same way, as I noticed my troops were going after monsters first, not the actual leader first. Eliminating the leader will simultaneously remove all troops associated with that leader from the board.

Still, preparing for battles involves a significant amount of strategy, and the tactical involvement during the actual battles feels deeper than in many traditional strategy RPGs. It’s as if you’re playing a heavier, interactive board game of RISK.

More Human Than a Human

I found myself generating armies with at least one flying beast, one for healing, and a couple for heavy damage. You can only recruit humans as leaders, and you can acquire some skilled ones by conquering specific locations. If your bases (strongholds) have a certain level, you can boost your army’s stats and more. Upgrading requires certain materials, which can be gathered mostly from quests. There’s a variety of monsters, and some are only available at specific locations, such as dragons. Once your army of monsters and your human leader reach a certain level, you can increase their skills by evolving them.

The variety of monsters and the option to evolve them adds a positive experience, along with the option to equip them, which feels much like equipping humans while increasing their stats for a better outcome in battle. It makes customizing your army well worth the time. While you won’t see a griffin carrying a weapon, the concept that it increases your power is enough, though it would be amusing to see one taking a swing at enemies.

Character illustrations are excellent, and that’s one of the best visual features of the game. Their 3D models, like the battlefields, feel underwhelming. Almost every human character looks almost exactly the same, and I think the development team had the opportunity to make them resemble their original illustrations more. Let’s take an example of the Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics games, as all their main characters resemble their illustrations closer. Applying the same concept could enhance the 3D models on the battlefield, making them more distinct and less likely to be overlooked.

The soundtrack captures the conflicts through its orchestrated scores, which prominently feature brass and percussion instruments. Giving a sense of importance. Some factions also carry dedicated themes that give them their identity rather than just a generic tune. Additionally, during moments when the score should be quieter, the game provides softer themes to enhance those specific instances. Even the menu score feels whimsical and charming. It’s a wonderful soundtrack that’s one of the highlights of the game.

The Final Battle

Brigandine Abyss is a pawsitively deep strategy RPG with plenty of content, fantastic music, and deep army customization. Its dated visuals, lengthy battles, and questionable battle decisions make the road to conquest a bit bumpy, but there’s still plenty of strategic fun to sink your claws into.

A PlayStation 5 review code provided by the publisher. Brigandine Abyss arrives on the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, on August 27, and on August 26 for PC. Fans can visit the game’s official website for more information and purchasing options.