Xbox Game Pass Just Quietly Added One of the Year’s Best Shooters

As the late-summer rush begins to settle, one reality stands out: 2026 has been an exceptional year for shooter enthusiasts. Between Pragmata’s inventive blend of melee and ballistic mechanics, Marathon’s tense extraction loops, the vintage hand-drawn charm of Mouse: P.I. for Hire, and the relentless bullet-hell intensity of Saros (a spiritual successor to 2021’s magnificent Returnal), the genre has flourished. Joining this distinguished vanguard is another standout experience: Luna Abyss.

Crafted by Kwalee Labs and available across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S (including Xbox Game Pass), and PC, Luna Abyss operates as a high-octane synthesis of Returnal, Doom, and Metroid Prime. Its tight combat loops and intricate navigational sequences transform a streamlined indie production into one of the most exhilarating releases of the year. While it may not possess the sprawling scope of Saros or the experimental audacity of Pragmata, it easily holds its ground alongside the genre’s heavyweights.

The campaign casts you as a convict entombed inside an ominous lunar megastructure. To reduce a crushing multi-decade sentence, your artificial overseer orders you into the depths of a decaying industrial labyrinth to recover forgotten relics. The premise is straightforward, though the derelict corridors are overrun by hostile biological anomalies. While the overarching narrative leans heavily into cryptic mythos and arcane terminology, its sheer atmospheric dread—accentuated by harsh crimson lighting and suffocating architecture—anchors a gripping six-hour descent.

These desolate environments serve as claustrophobic arenas for encounters reminiscent of modern Doom. Early encounters rely on a precision scout rifle suited for picking off basic monstrosities, but the armory soon expands to include devastating shotguns and high-caliber precision rifles designed to dismantle color-coded kinetic shields. Although the weapon sandbox is concise, every firearm delivers substantial tactile feedback. Switching weapons dynamically to strip defenses and unleash lethal follow-ups establishes an engaging rhythm, enriched over time with explosive finishers and protective energy barriers that keep combat fresh.

Recommended For You

The core gameplay divergence lies in its targeting model: direct reticle tracking takes a back seat to an intuitive, Metroid Prime-style lock-on mechanic. By automating target acquisition, the game shifts your primary cognitive load toward spatial agility—strafing around threats, managing weapon thermal limits, and navigating dense swarms of chromatic projectiles. Clashes with monolithic boss constructs elevate this dynamic into a lethal dance through screens filled with radiating laser matrices and projectile clouds, where fluid movement and split-second spatial awareness are paramount.

This traversal ethos seamlessly permeates the platforming segments, which also honor the exploratory spirit of the Metroid Prime legacy. Initial sections require fundamental jumping between metal catwalks, but the traversal vocabulary rapidly expands. Within a couple of hours, you are chaining mid-air dashes through barrier conduits and remotely overriding automated apparatuses to propel across abyssal drops. The progression loop continually rewards mastery, reaching an intoxicating flow state comparable to the velocity of Ghostrunner, tempered with deliberate, readable level geometry.

Ultimately, Luna Abyss stands out because of its absolute mechanical confidence. It never second-guesses its identity as an unapologetic, adrenaline-fueled arcade shooter. Decimating alien hostiles with punchy, oversized armaments is an enduring cornerstone of interactive entertainment, tracing back to the dawn of the medium. In many ways, an execution this focused functions as interactive formalism—celebrating the foundational thrill of kinetic gunplay and environmental rhythm without unnecessary bloat. Backed by monumental brutalist architecture and responsive combat loops, it delivers pure kinetic artistry.

Why nostalgic affection cannot salvage these dated first-person shooters.

Source: Polygon