Revision 1

Overview

At some point in the story, you venture into the Abyss itself -- the floating realm above Pywel that has been raining fragments onto the continent. The Abyss dungeons are set on a series of floating islands suspended in the sky, connected by magical pathways.

Fragment-alignment puzzles

The main mechanic inside the Abyss is an object-manipulation tool that multiple previews have compared to Ultrahand from Tears of the Kingdom. You grab floating fragments and physically reposition them to build bridges, activate mechanisms, and open sealed chambers. The puzzles start simple (align two fragments to form a path) and reportedly get more involved as you go deeper.

GamingBolt's preview describes it as "scouring these floating islands and using an Ultrahand-like tool to align fragments, with a fair amount of puzzle-solving to unravel its mysteries."

Diving back to Pywel

Preview footage shows players diving from the Abyss floating islands back down into the surface world below. It is unclear whether this is a fast-travel mechanic or a one-way shortcut, but the visual of dropping through the clouds is apparently something Pearl Abyss is proud of.

Enemies

The Abyss has its own set of enemies that do not appear on the surface. Information is sparse, but press materials mention Abyss-touched creatures and teleporting assassins who draw power from the realm. These enemies are positioned as late-game challenges.

Rewards

Abyss dungeons contain the most valuable Abyss Artifacts in the game, including sealed variants that provide stronger ability upgrades than anything found on the surface. Given that Abyss Fragments are the primary progression resource (used to raise health, stamina, and enhance skills), the dungeons are where the best character growth happens.

Story role

The Abyss is central to the overarching plot. Its growing instability is what sends fragments crashing into Pywel, and various factions are trying to exploit its power. Pearl Abyss has described the Abyss threat as something that "threatens to harm the rest of the world if Kliff can't put a stop to it."