Abzû

Absolutely beautiful graphics Gorgeous animals Amazing soundtrack Misterious settings The main character glides elegantly throughout the various underwater scenarios, allowing the gamer to explore every nook and cranny ABZU is truly a wonderful, though short, gaming experience.

This soundtrack has a really nice game.

8 Eargasms/10.

"Abzû" stands out as a masterpiece in the gaming world, offering a refreshingly contemplative experience unlike any other. This game captivates with its breathtaking visual design, creating an extraordinary atmosphere that invites players into moments of meditation and reflection. The beauty of its underwater world is rendered in stunning detail, making exploration a sheer delight.

The gameplay in "Abzû" is elegantly simple yet deeply satisfying, perfectly tailored to complement the game's tranquil ambiance. It allows players to glide effortlessly through mesmerizing aquatic landscapes, creating an experience that is both calming and engaging. This simplicity in design is one of the game's greatest strengths, ensuring that the focus remains on the immersive environment and the emotional journey.

Despite its relatively short length, "Abzû" boasts remarkable replayability. Its serene, contemplative gameplay encourages repeated visits, each offering a unique opportunity to uncover new wonders and lose oneself in the game's peaceful world. The narrative, subtly woven throughout the experience, prompts reflection on environmental themes, adding a layer of depth to the gameplay.

In conclusion, "Abzû" is more than just a game; it's a meditative journey. It's a perfect choice for those seeking a break from action-heavy gaming, offering a serene escape into a beautifully crafted underwater realm. Playing "Abzû" feels akin to a rejuvenating meditation session - a truly rare and enriching experience in the gaming landscape.

ABZÛ (2016) is a magical underwater journey (similar to the game Journey in premise and in developers/designers) except containing more subtle hints of futuristic, sci-fi elements. Abzû takes the player on a mystical adventure, deep under the ocean and offers the player an unforgettable experience.

This game is an interpretive experience, and much more artistic than clear narrative, although the experience which it provides can be quite moving. While the game is not fast-paced it does hold a sense of mystery and danger. Mechanically the game is very fluid (no pun intended) and smooth, where the player feels as if they are floating and swimming. Given the game being set entirely underwater, the effect is amazing and realistic, while still being surreal and dazzling.

Overall, it was a unique game offering a great gaming experience, powerful environmental message, and such beautiful music. A great (unrelated) companion to Journey.

STORY: 7/10 GAMEPLAY: 9/10 GRAPHICS: 9/10 ART DESIGN: 9/10 MUSIC: 10/10 OVERALL RATING: 8.5.

"Abzu" is a spiritual successor to the popular "walking simulator" video game "Journey" from 2012. Much like "Journey" "Abzu" can be considered much more like an experience, than a true game, given that there is very little active narrative and not much in the way of goals to achieve. It's a guided exploration of a strange undersea world, and for one playthrough at least, was just about worth the effort.

A female diver explores the seas and oceans of an unnamed world interacting with the undersea creatures that inhabit it. As the player explores, a great white shark acts like a spiritual guide, teasing her in the right direction to discover large pyramid structures. Deactivating these structures releases lost creatures into the wild and restores the balance of the ecosystems.

There is a stylised look to the creatures and worlds of Abzu. It is more interested in authenticity of movement than realism of the actual animals. So how your diver moves through seaweed or how her presence disrupts a school of fish is more important for selling the idea, than photorealistic worlds. I've never been scuba diving, so can't speak to the reality of how the character moves, but it was easy to navigate around the world and there were enough visual clues or markers to allow me to work out where I needed to go next on each level.

For one play though, I think Abzu does really well - it's a short game, completable in a couple of hours with me not stopping to explore every nook and cranny, but also not blasting through the whole thing like a speedrunner. I don't feel that it's interesting enough though that I'd consider going back to play through it again, there are achievements available for those that might wish to swim with each animal, but I felt sated by just seeing everything that once.