Using the Unreal Engine 4, Abzu is bursting at the seams with color and saturated with detail. Right off the bat, you will notice how gorgeous this game is. What this game does differently is that it focuses more on an exploration of this beautiful world rather than pushing the player through a short journey and telling a quick story. If you played Journey then you know what to expect with Abzu. The story plays out similar to Journey in which you figure out what's going contextually as you progress through the game via images and scenes. You play as a character that swims around the ocean exploring trying to stop some sort of mechanical infestation from destroying all ocean life. Some of the people from Journey are back at it again with Abzu, an underwater cinematic adventure. With minimal UI, gameplay, controls, and story, you are swept through a linear journey of emotions, visual beauty, and auditorial bliss.
Journey was one of the first of this kind of new adventure titles. Surreal adventure games are the next generation of the adventure genre, and if they are done right, can be quite memorable and mesmerizing. More if you take your time to explore and find all the nautilus shells that are scattered throughout the maps. Value isn't horrible at 20$ MSRP, because you'll get at least 2-4 hours out of it. So yeah, I definitely recommend this game. It's fairly linear, in that it takes you from one area to the next to the next, but you can stop and explore for as long as you like in each area. I would've really liked a multiplayer aspect to it like Journey had, where you're joined by another player but you don't speak except for a monosyllable varying in strength. Still, it's a lot of fun, and in many ways, I found it very similar to Journey, which I also loved. I'd love to learn more about the culture presented in this universe, but I guess that'd ruin the mystery of it. I really enjoyed the ambiance and the environmental storytelling. It was absolutely a joy to explore, and even to meditate and watch the different fish swim by, or to catch a ride on the many larger variants of sea-life. However, I found the game beautiful and engrossing. While beautiful, it didn't run very well on my system, sometimes dipping as low as 16fps, which I found surprising! Likely my fault for running it at 4K on a 1080ti. The end result has largely been praised by critics and gamers alike, and this jump to Switch only makes the experience more accessible to players.ĪBZU is also available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.I played it for the first time last night. Rather than time limits and other realistic trappings of most ocean simulators, he wanted something that players could have fun with. The director had a love for scuba diving and he attempts to translates those breathtaking moments here. While there are brief moments of tension, the game as a whole is relaxing and, what Nava hopes, transformative. Together, they help weave a tale of mythology, with even the ABZU title rooted in ancient Sumerian: “Ocean of Wisdom.” What both had going for them were the incredible creative forces behind their creation, such as director Matt Nava’s artistic vision and Austin Wintory’s magical soundtrack. The game sounds incredibly simple but so was Journey. Without spoiling things too much, you’ll eventually run into some ruins and learn that things aren’t too peachy for the ocean, and that it’s up to you to help change this underwater world for the better. The player gets to explore and be awed by all the plant and animal life thriving beneath the water’s surface, riding on the backs of dolphins or running into close calls with sharks. We’ve got a diverse set of games out for the Nintendo Switch, but how does an “inspirational aquatic journey” strike you? That’s basically the premise behind the award-winning ABZU by Giant Squid and 505 Games - a soothing underwater journey that has you diving into a vast ocean to discover life, beauty, and danger.ĪBZU is made by some of the folks behind Journey, which probably gives most an idea of what to expect.