Game Details
- Publisher: 505 Games
- Developer: Giant Squid
- ESRB Rating: “E” for Everyone
- Genre: Adventure
- Pros: Gorgeous visuals; amazing soundtrack; some incredibly great moments; underwater friends
- Cons: Very short
- MSRP: $20
Abzu takes place in an underwater world where your character
– basically a scuba diver but you don’t have to worry about air – suddenly just
sort of wakes up while floating in the ocean.
There is no story, and the game doesn’t really tell you where to go or
what to do, but it is designed in an intuitive way so you just instinctively
know what to do next. Similar to
Lifeless Planet, you’ll see a blinking icon on a robot buddy you need to
activate, or a suspicious looking rock or cave in the distance that draws your
attention so you go and investigate and you always end up going in the right
direction. I really like game design
like this.
The underwater world is filled with various types of real
fish and sea mammals that include both current animals as well as prehistoric
ones. It is always fun to enter a new
area and actually recognize different species swimming all around you. You can swim through schools of fish and
they’ll follow you around and spin and flip along with you as you play in the
water and you an even grab onto the fins of lager fish and have them pull you
around. It is all just really
magical.
Abzu doesn’t really have any enemies but it does take a bit
of a dark turn the further you get into the game. The sea creatures stop being all cute and colorful and suddenly
you start seeing angler fish and goblin sharks and giant squid and other deep,
deep, deep sea nightmares. I was half
expecting it to go full Ecco the Dolphin and an alien to show up, which
actually isn’t too far off as you do find some alien technology that is sucking
all of the life energy out of the sea.
Dealing with this leads up to the game’s finale, so I won’t spoil it.
It is important to note that Abzu doesn’t have any combat or
any real threats to your existence.
You’re just sort of along for the ride to point your diver in the right
direction and see lots of very pretty scenery and experience some truly
incredible moments. The controls are
simple and intuitive as you hold the left trigger to swim, use the left stick
to point your diver in the direction you want to go, use the “X” button to
interact with things, hold the right trigger to grab onto fish, tap the “A”
button for a speed boost, and press the “B” button to do a flip or spin while
you’re swimming.
It might sound boring, and to walking sim haters I’m sure it
is, but I can’t emphasize enough just how incredible some of the moments you
experience in Abzu can be. Every new
area is a wonderland of beautiful things to look at and the sea creatures are
absolutely the stars of the show.
Swimming with dolphins and whales and giant sea turtles are some
fantastic moments and the last quarter of the game or so is absolutely mind
blowing. Abzu packs the whole gamut of
emotions into a two-hour journey that will leave you breathless.
My one and only complaint is that very short two-hour length
and the fact it costs $20. It does have
some replay value as there are some hidden collectibles to find and you’ll likely
want to experience it more than once.
Above all of that, though, I really feel like Abzu is a game that you’ll
want to share with other people, both gamers and non-gamers alike. It is so beautiful and memorable and moving
that it is just fun to watch and soak it all in. With that said, I still don’t exactly love the $20 price tag even
as much as I do love it. Waiting for a
sale is probably a wise move.
As far as the presentation goes, Abzu is completely
gorgeous. The game just looks insanely
good with fantastic lighting, incredible models for all of the sea creatures,
and a mostly bright and colorful palate that makes it a joy to look at. The orchestral soundtrack blends perfectly
with what you’re doing, too, so calm and peaceful moments as well as fast and
frantic ones are perfectly punctuated by the music. I would make a direct comparison to Disney’s “Fantasia” in how
perfectly crafted the audio / visual presentation mixes to deliver a memorable
experience. Abzu could pretty much be a
Disney movie.
I love Abzu. It is
stunningly beautiful and so emotional and just a wonderfully memorable
experience all around that I can’t wait to share with my friends and
family. If you like walking sims and
just want to play a relaxing and enjoyable and memorable game where you get to
play around with colorful sea creatures, Abzu is easy to recommend. Abzu is a great kid game, too, because not
only is it fairly easy to play but also it’s basically an interactive Disney
movie. Without a doubt, Abzu is one of
the best games of 2016.
