Review Abzu - Artful

Platforms :
PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Developer :
Giant Squid

Publisher :
505 Games

Release date : August 2, 2016

ESRB : 10+

When I die, I hope whatever happens next will be half as beautiful as Abzu. Wind Waker studio's mesmerizing soundtrack and stunning visuals are some of the most enthralling in recent memory. However, the real beauty of the game does not come from its bittersweet feelings and fascinating undersea environment, but from its ability to constantly imbue every moment with wonder that shakes my child's soul. .

Abzu is serene and meditative, calm and emotional, ever-moving and timeless, its simple components tastefully coordinated to become something ever richer.

There's a striking purity about Abzu that invites comparison with another, equally powerfully artistically significant game: Journey. As in Journey, Abzu's characters have no names, the story is wordless, and the plot play is brief. It also shies away from many of the mechanics we might consider standard for a modern adventure/exploration game, including combat, character progression, and defeat states. It even lacks multiplayer that makes Journey such an immersive experience for multiplayer. But Abzu finds meaning elsewhere and, like Journey, evokes a wide range of emotions with grace and ease.

While the plot follows a linear path, you're usually free to explore areas at your own pace, the design of the environment markings is incredibly subtle for hidden or captured details. large creatures like orcas and rays as they glide through the azure water. You can even pause to "meditate" at certain statues, allowing you to experience the world from the perspective of the animals around you. It won't do you any good to do so; it is simply an opportunity to observe and enjoy the layered development ecosystems in all environments.

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With lush kelp forests, pink coral reefs and murky black trenches, Abzu captures the otherworldly beauty of the ocean and creates each breathtaking scene with its own unique fauna. You'll find all sorts of fish, sharks, eels, whales, crustaceans, and more, all behaving like real life. Yet somehow, I never felt threatened - curious, terrified, but never threatened. There's something incredibly peaceful about drifting through that world with no live scores, goals, or display disrupting the atmosphere.

However, that doesn't mean Abzu has given up on gameplay development entirely. In fact, the swimming itself is surprisingly satisfying, thanks in part to the game's novel control motif. You swim straight ahead by right-clicking, letting you look around with your mouse, and change direction with the W, A, D, S buttons. No matter how you turn and move, your character will flexibly adapt to all your wishes.

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Meanwhile, left-clicking with the proper rhythm will increase your swimming speed, allowing you to gracefully glide over obstacles and leap into the air if you accelerate towards the surface. It sounds silly, but it's actually quite exciting, especially when you can get a whole school of fish to swim with you or get the dolphins to fly with you and chirp like they're playing with you.

Abzu is also more than just a simple ocean life simulation game. As you move forward, you'll encounter some simple exploration puzzles and even a few tense action moments, but more importantly, you'll start to dive deeper and deeper into the story. word of the game. You'll discover some strange yet lovable robots almost immediately, and start noticing the scattered ruins of an ancient civilization soon after.

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The further you go, the more delicate the ruins grow, with gilded paintings, intricate tile work and ornate Moroccan windows hinting at some sort of tragic past. Suffice it to say that the game evolves in some truly unexpected and out-of-the-box ways. Later gameplay areas and developments, while simple, prove to have a significant influence on the context of the experience, deftly subverting the gameplay expectations established by previous installments of the game, doesn't make the game hide from its predecessors.

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Of course, Abzu isn't perfect. For example, the camera can often rotate through larger objects on its own, and the character walking mechanics create a fine line between minimalism and simplicity. But these omissions are petty when compared to Abzu's numerous artistic achievements - most notably music. The soundtrack changes dynamically as you progress through the environments, combining different symphonies quickly to create the right mood for your surroundings without feeling out of tune.

And that's not all that makes Abzu great. At certain moments, the camera slowly steps back to convey the sheer scale of certain creatures and environments. I've swam next to a blue whale's eyes and have never felt more small or insignificant than in a video game. In another, I escaped from a narrow cave and was suddenly enveloped by a vast, empty chasm with endless darkness below. Once again, skillful cinematography turned an already memorable moment into something truly amazing.

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Art exists to bridge a gap, to convey feelings or ideas that would otherwise be impossible to articulate. Abzu does this courageously, confidently, sincerely. Excellent soundtracks, rich colors, subtle storytelling, vivid worlds, and thoughtful execution combine these elements to create a transcendent and deeply moving experience. Bottom line: Abzu is a transcendent work of art in the form of a video game.

Micah Soto

Update 05 January 2022