Phantom Abyss is a first-person temple raid with Dark Souls style ghosts

Phantom Abyss is a first-person platformer about hazarding the trap-filled depths of ancient temples and experiencing massively multiplayer death, and now we know when it's headed to Steam early access.

The new trailer for Phantom Abyss shows its unique approach to temple delving: it's all about moving fast and putting the ghosts of those who have gone before to use. Every player who dies while attempting a run on a temple leaves behind a ghost, and you can see up to 20 of these at once while you're trying the temple yourself. Learn from their fatal mistakes and you'll have a better chance of making it all the way to the end.

That really is the end, by the way. Each procedurally generated temple has one Legendary Relic waiting at its heart, and once any player claims it, the prize will be theirs for keeps and the temple will be gone for good - for everybody. Granted, there are smaller prizes to claim along the way if you just want to get a little treasure and get the heck out of there. Either way, you'll only ever have one shot at each temple; think of it like an entire game made out of the Daily Run from Spelunky, but you'll always have a new temple to try no matter how quickly you fall to your death (or are crushed, or are impaled, or so on).

You'll be able to share codes to challenge your friends to take on your favorite, or maybe least favorite, temples, and you can unlock a selection of whips which each come with their own minor blessings and curses to help you navigate the temple grounds. The developers plan to keep Phantom Abyss in early access for at least a year, so you'll have plenty of time to jump in before it hits 1.0.

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