Abzu, developed by Giant Squid Studios, is one of the most beautiful indie games you will play this year.
If you’re a fan of non-traditional gaming that has a bit of an indie feel to it, however, you’ll want to dive into Abzu. Dive into this gorgeous underwater exploration game. Folks who prefer traditional gaming mechanics and storytelling might consider the overall gameplay to be barebones and lacking purpose.
Its deep, undersea world is absolutely gorgeous and its metaphysical take on “show-don’t-tell” storytelling evokes thoughts of the excellent game INSIDE. This one does and developer Giant Squid deserves credit for serving up something different in a sea of me-too gaming.Ībzu is one of those pleasantly surprising titles that feels likes it’s on the cusp of being a great game with just a bit more fleshing out. Some games are new but don’t feel like it. Whether it be swimming with the fishes, observing ancient ruins or simply sitting around and meditating, Abzu excels in delivering a kind of soothing, almost therapeutic underwater ambiance with a sense of newness that I haven’t felt since the first time I saw Ecco the Dolphin when it came out. Instead, it’s designed to be more of an experience, one where the journey is more important than the destination. Then again, Abzu obviously was not designed as a normal game. Even after finishing the game, you’ll likely still be scratching your head as the story is quite vague. I have a feeling this was done to encourage folks to look around and explore Abzu’s underwater world but it also makes the game feel directionless and lacking purpose through half of its adventure. Although INSIDE gives you an inkling that something’s going on right off the bat, Abzu takes its sweet time to get into its story. The artwork itself is realistic enough but with a gentle painterly quality not unlike an underwater version of. It’s a “show me, don’t tell me” approach that doesn’t use any words or voices but embeds the story within the action that unfolds before you. is a peaceful adventure for the most part, the only real danger being posed by the remnants of mankind (or whatever poses for humanity in this world). Story, meanwhile, takes the approach used by games such as INSIDE where you’re pretty much dumped smack in the middle of the plot with no handholding and requires players to fill in many of the blanks themselves. From swimming in the middle of a whirling school of fish to just sitting down and watch time go by, players who want to kick back and have a virtual mind-and-body experience can do so should they choose, which adds to the charm of Abzu. Want to grab hold of a sunfish and just swim with it for a while? You can do that, too. Want to sit atop an underwater statue and meditate? You can do that. While most games shuttle you from one corridor or event to the next, Abzu encourages you to stay a while and listen so you can fully immerse yourself in a beautiful world akin to a moving painting. “Oh wow, did you actually do that yourself?” Commanding my character to grab onto a whale, a cousin watching me expressed surprise. Later in the game, slow-moving whales suddenly appearing from above like massive moving islands as you venture deeper into the abyss. Sharks can switch from lazily moving around to suddenly swimming with aggressive purpose. Schools of fish swirl and move in concert like virtual whirlpools teeming with life. Rather than having huge swaths of the ocean to wander, each of its levels are large rooms connected with tunnels or halls, and there’s little in them except for fish swimming around and (usually) one simple task like activating a gate, or opening a door.
Ross from The Daily Jaws has played the game and shares his thoughts in a video review.Abzu’s magic starts with its portrayal of the sea and its various denizens. Reaching high positions in sales charts, Abzû was praised by journalists: the majority of praise went to its art style, with some critics comparing it to Journey. The setting and story drew from Sumerian mythology and the cosmic ocean myth. Several members, including director Matt Nava and composer Austin Wintory, had previously worked on the 2012 video game Journey-the ocean setting of Abzû was both a reaction to the desert setting of Journey and inspired by Nava's love of scuba diving. Development lasted three years, involving a team of thirteen people. Following the journey of a diver exploring the ocean and restoring life using sonar calls, the gameplay allows the player to freely navigate underwater environments ranging from open water and natural caverns to ancient ruins. Initially released as a digital title in August 2016, a retail version for consoles was released in January 2017.
Abzû is an adventure video game developed by Giant Squid Studios and published by 505 Games for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows and Amazon Luna.