These swaps occur between relevant parts of the same piece, setting a pace as players swim into new areas of the ocean. While Austin Wintery’s tracks are beautiful, what impressed me was how they are weaved into the narrative, triggering subtle changes in tone. Journey, The Banner Saga, as well as Tooth and Tail are just some of his work that I’ve had the pleasure of playing. Austin is BAFTA award-winning artist that is responsible for some of the most emotionally wrenching audio narratives that I’ve loved enduring. Had I realized that this was the work of Austin Wintory then I would not have bee n so surprised at how it just swept me away. The soundtrack is a deeply evocative theme that easily communicates the beauty, danger, and apprehension or exploring the ocean in a way that I did not expect.
#ABZU REVIEWS FULL#
The game is full of emotive moments, sweeping vistas, and melancholic metaphors that manage to convey the game’s central theme without having any unnecessary exposition. This makes for an interesting approach to storytelling and Abzu leans heavily on the sort of imagery and audio that you might expect.
Whether it is a school of fish in an empty ocean or a newly opened doorway, Abzu’s direction never feels forced and continues to builds on this sense of exploration.Īs if the developer was reading from a well-worn script, Abzu is entirely devoid of dialogue, written or otherwise. The way that Abzu pulls he protagonist onward through this multitude of environments is impressive, switching between obvious camera pans, on rails elements, and subtle points of interest to coerce players through open spaces. Whether it is the gorgeous hieroglyphs plastered across abandoned ruins or the schools of fish that the player can interact with, the little details make you want to just stop and watch the world as it floats by. From the unfolding story to the range of creatures that are on show, Giant Squid manages to provide enough interesting moments and breadth of content for players to feel like they are exploring rather than trudging through a quagmire. This makes Abzu extremely accessible, and really allows players to immerse themselves in the world with minimal distraction.Īs players make their way out into the wider ocean Abzu takes a deceptively linear path through the world, providing just enough freedom to pique players curiosity about what is around the next corner. Beyond this, two buttons control acceleration and a single action button is used to interact items strewn around the ocean floor.
Swimming around the opening reef is very straightforward with movement and character cameras mapped to the Nintendo Switch’s analog controls. A variety of environments make up the world and starting out in the aforementioned reefs allows players an opportunity to grow accustomed to the game’s controls. Thankfully much of your time in Abzu is closely tied to exploring this world. Even on the Switch’s mobile screen this world manages to feel beautiful and vast. What makes Abzu stand apart from these titles is the utterly gorgeous underwater reefs that blaze with color and just scream to be explored.
Strange machines abandoned ruins, and sea creatures of every variety fill an experience that is constructed from simple shapes and flat colors, all drawn together to build an immersive 3D world that feels alive. Other titles like Rime and Shadow of the Colossus are also present as Abzu takes the simple shading that touches all of these games and uses it to create a world that looks vast, wild, and vibrant. Abzu might be set in the depths of the ocean but Thatgamecompany’s desert Journey is deeply ingrained in this game. While I have not played a deep sea exploration game before, the visual inspiration that comes flooding on screen is more than familiar. It follows an unnamed protagonist as they descend into a watery world, diving into a beautiful backdrop and the mysteries that are hidden beneath the surface. If you missed Abzu when it made a big slash, then this journey comes courtesy of indie publisher 505 games and developer The Big Squid. Now this utterly unique ocean crawler is out on the Nintendo Switch and I decided to dive in. Yet, a game that seemed to be about skulking around the depths of the ocean floor captured critics hearts. When Abzu initially launched on PC, PlayStation 4 back in August 2016, it seemed an odd idea.