Path of the Abyss

Path of the Abyss is a single-player grid-based dungeon RPG drawn entirely in black-and-white pen art. The visual style is closer to a sketchbook than a typical first-person crawler, with all environments and enemies hand-drawn in line work.

Combat runs in real time but can be paused at any moment. The pause-and-plan loop is central — read what enemies intend, choose skills to counter, unpause, repeat. Skills are placed on a 9-slot Formation Panel shared by the entire party, so loadout planning includes both which skills to bring and where to position them on the grid for synergy.

Character customisation runs through 8 abilities, 5 base stats, skills, and gear, with party composition shaped by how Formation Panel slots split between members. Skills can interact and synergise based on adjacency.

The setting is a small ruin in East Weltden that has begun spawning monsters and swallowing adventurers. A noble's investigation team was wiped out; rumour pulled in skilled adventurers from far afield, and you're one of them. A single giant dungeon plus several smaller ones make up the explorable map. Indie-scale, deliberate, and aimed at fans of the Etrian Odyssey / Wizardry lineage.