Luna Abyss is a compact shooter with serious arcade energy

2026 is shaping up to be an unusually strong year for shooters. Pragmata experiments with hacking and gunplay, Marathon brings its extraction-shooter formula, Mouse: P.I. for Hire leans into cartoon style, and Saros delivers intense bullet-hell action reminiscent of Returnal. Joining that group is Luna Abyss, a focused indie shooter that deserves attention from Xbox players.

Made by Kwalee Labs, Luna Abyss is available on PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X, including through Game Pass. It combines first-person shooting inspired by Doom with ideas from Returnal and Metroid Prime. The result is not as lavish as Saros or as conceptually adventurous as Pragmata, but its responsive combat and platforming make it one of 2026’s most appealing shooters.

For more gaming and arcade news, visit the RETROCADE Arcade Blog.

A prison beneath the moon

The game casts you as a prisoner confined inside a foreboding megastructure built on a moon. A robotic prison warden offers a way to reduce your decades-long sentence: recover lost technology hidden beneath the facility’s miles of pipes, rusting metal and industrial wreckage. The assignment sounds straightforward until you discover that the prison is packed with hostile creatures.

The narrative leans heavily on mysterious science-fiction lore, sometimes at the expense of clarity. Even so, its unanswered questions help carry a grim adventure lasting roughly six hours. Blazing red lights, decaying corridors and the scale of the prison create a striking atmosphere throughout.

Shield-breaking firefights

Luna Abyss’s combat places you in enclosed arenas where movement and weapon selection matter. The early scout rifle rewards accurate shots, while later additions include a shotgun and a long-range rifle. Each weapon can break a different colour of enemy shield, encouraging you to switch equipment before following up with heavier damage.

The shooting system is relatively simple, but the guns have satisfying impact. New abilities gradually broaden the formula with explosive finishers and bubble shields, arriving at the right moments to keep the combat fresh. It is a straightforward loop, yet it gives each encounter a clean, readable rhythm.

The game also uses a lock-on mechanic influenced by Metroid Prime. Rather than demanding constant manual aiming, it lets you concentrate on strafing, jumping and avoiding incoming attacks while keeping pressure on your target. Weapons can overheat temporarily, so reckless firing still carries a cost.

Enemies add another layer by launching waves of coloured orbs. Surviving means weaving between projectiles while maintaining your attack, with boss encounters pushing that idea further. One particularly tense pattern surrounds you with lasers and orbs from a huge hostile sphere. Lock-on makes these battles approachable, but success still depends on controlled movement.

Fans of on-rails and precision shooting can explore RETROCADE’s selection of arcade light guns, while anyone planning a dedicated setup can compare arcade machines.

Platforming that builds momentum

The movement design becomes more ambitious as the campaign progresses. What begins with simple jumps across metal platforms soon introduces air dashes through pink gates and the ability to take control of machines before launching them away.

These powers complement one another rather than arriving as isolated gimmicks. Double jumps flow into air dashes, which lead into machine possession and further traversal. The pace recalls Ghostrunner’s fast first-person movement, while the level design remains as approachable as the exploration in Metroid Prime.

A shooter built around impact

Luna Abyss is at its best when it stops trying to overcomplicate the experience. Its central pleasure is direct: enter a hostile space, choose the right weapon, dodge a screen full of danger and watch an alien creature burst apart under the force of your attack.

That uncomplicated satisfaction is part of the shooter’s long-running appeal, from Space Invaders onwards. The game understands that its monster-blasting foundation does not need an apology. The science-fiction lore offers extra texture, and the twisted prison provides a memorable maze to explore, but the strongest feedback comes from the oversized weapons and their immediate response.

For readers interested in building a more hands-on gaming space, the arcade machine buying guide covers the key decisions, while arcade parts can help with controls and repairs.