The Catacomb Abyss

aka: Catacomb Abyss 3D
Moby ID: 410

Description official description

You play the role of a magician, who is called upon by the townspeople to defeat his ancient archrival Nemesis again. After having defeated Nemesis in the past, his minions have erected a huge museleum in his honour, and as a result the townspeople are forced to live under a rule of horror. You must once again venture into the catacombs, defeat Nemesis and free the townspeople.

Catacomb Abyss is a fantasy first-person shooter game. Similarly to the previous game in the series, it casts you as a mage who can fight enemies and destroy whole sections of walls thanks to the use of fireballs. You can find bolts and nukes, which make for more effective weapons but are one-use, healing potions, scrolls with hints, and keys.

However, unlike in Catacomb 3-D, where you spent the whole game inside a dungeon, here you'll explore various environments, both indoors and outdoors. There are new enemies to face, such as zombies that come from under the ground or skeletons that come out of walls.

New to the game is a radar which shows you the location of foes. However, you have to find gems of various colours to use it effectively; each gem allows you to see a specific type of enemy on the radar. There isn't a compass in the game, but various areas of the maps still have specific names.

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (DOS version)

12 People

Design
Programming
Engine Programmer
Engine Tools Programmer
Graphics / Artwork
Art Director
Producer
Quality Assurance

Reviews

Critics

Players

Average score: 3.3 out of 5 (based on 23 ratings with 0 reviews)

Be the first to review this game!

Trivia

Catacomb

The game is an update of an earlier Softdisk title called Catacomb 3-D - the gameplay and graphics are almost identical.

Engine

Uses an early version of the Wolfenstein 3D raycasting engine, which set the grounds for the next generation of first person shooters - namely, DOOM.

Music

One of the songs featured in this game was later reused for the pyramid levels in Commander Keen's chapter "Goodbye Galaxy", contained in the episode "Secret Of The Oracle".

Shareware

This game is the first of a three part series - the other two games, Catacomb Armageddon and Catacomb Apocalypse were only available for registered users.

Information also contributed by Mad Griffith and Retron

Related Games

Catacomb II
Released 1991 on DOS
Catacomb 3-D
Released 1991 on DOS
Fatal Abyss
Released 1998 on Windows
Catacomb
Released 1990 on DOS, 1991 on Apple IIgs, Apple II
Catacomb
Released 1983 on TRS-80 CoCo
Catacomb
Released 1988 on DOS
Abyss Odyssey
Released 2014 on Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360...
The Endless Abyss
Released 2010 on Xbox 360
Catacomb Kitties
Released 2022 on Linux, Windows, Macintosh

Related Sites +

  • Catacomb Crypt
    Anything and everything you need to know about the Catacomb series.
  • Crapshoot
    A short, humorous review on PC Gamer

Identifiers +

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history!

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Tomer Gabel.

Additional contributors: Kartanym, Frenkel, Patrick Bregger.

Game added November 10th, 1999. Last modified August 14th, 2023.