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Exploring the colorful underwater expanse and learning as you progress are the name of the game here, and Giant Squid does an outstanding job of embracing these core tenets. The combination of multiple ambiguous plot lines, mesmerizing wildlife and stunning visuals make Abzû yet another example of the dominance of small developers in 2016.ĭropped into the depths of the open ocean, you take the role of a mysterious diver. With no dialogue, objective indicators or initial detail of your character’s motivations, Abzû is absolutely one of those games (fans of explicit exposition: this is not the game for you). As someone who would readily submit Journey into a totally subjective debate over the ten best games ever, it’s tough to imagine any game in this style getting closer to thatgamecompany’s achievement than Abzû does. Here’s the thing, though: that isn’t really a knock on Giant Squid’s work. This isn’t to say that Abzû isn’t absolutely worth playing through multiple times, but it isn’t the icon that thatgamecompany’s 2012 bite-sized behemoth is. After playing through this enchanting adventure, most people will probably agree that Journey is a better game. This is the type of game that you’ll want to go into as blind as possible in order to maximize your sense of wonder.īefore diving into exactly why Abzû is so captivating, let’s qualify the above statement a bit.
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If this is what you needed to know before diving headfirst into Abzû, then you should stop reading now. Most likely, you’re looking for the answer to the one major question surrounding developer Giant Squid’s debut title: is Abzû the underwater version of Journey we hoped it would be when it was first revealed at E3 2014? Yes. You either think Abzû is a weird name for a video game and want to know more about why there’s a circumflex above that ‘u.’ Maybe you’re someone who found that crazy school of fish in the header image compelling and clicked on through.
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He once ate a whole blueberry.If you’ve stumbled upon this review, you’re probably one of three types of people. My 20 minutes with Abzu were some of the most serene, beautiful, and mysterious I’ve had with any game at E3, and I can’t wait until I get another chance to submerge myself in its world Honestly, the folks at Giant Squid can take as much time as they want.
THATGAMECOMPANY ABZU PC
I got a glimpse of this near the end of my demo, when I stumbled across the first thing in this vast ocean that actually struck fear in my heart.Ībzu is coming to PlayStation 4 and PC sometime next year. Nava also said how the team was implementing an actual ecosystem to Abzu, meaning that larger fish will eat smaller ones. With upgrades later on, perhaps I’ll be able to explore even further depths of the ocean.
THATGAMECOMPANY ABZU UPGRADE
Your diver will be able to upgrade her suit and equipment - for example, I couldn’t go too deep in one area because the water became too cold for my body to handle. Nava hinted to us that there was much more to Abzu than we saw in our short demo.
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In a show filled with explosions, bigger/longer experiences, and a creeping advance towards the uncanny valley, Abzu was wholly unique unto itself. Despite not giving me any real direction or motivation, I wanted to linger in each area and explore everything it had to offer simply because it was so damn beautiful. That’s the thing about Abzu: within moments, it introduced me to a world that I simply did not want to leave. This definitely brought back those zen-like moments from Flower and Journey where you entered a fantastic movement groove and were able to sit back and admire just how gorgeous the game you were playing was. I used my chirp to rally up a massive school of fish, at which point I could begin to swim alongside them at much faster speeds. Using my robotic buddies, I managed to reach a giant chamber filled with all different sorts of fish and turtles. These silent mechanical partners helped me suck up mounds of sand, which allowed me to proceed deeper and deeper into the wild blue yonder. During the opening minutes of the demo, I dug up a trio of companion robot buddies that reminded me of the Ghosts in Destiny. Aside from standard swimming mechanics, your diver is able to let off a sonar chirp that wrangles up schools of fish, as well as helps you find various mysterious objects scattered throughout the ocean floor. Slicing through the water and exploring everything from the ocean's floor to the surface of the sea felt fantastic. I simply began to swim forward, getting used to the game’s relatively basic controls. My Abzu demo began without instructions or eventual goals.