Abzû
THE SECOND OF THIS MONTH’S non-combat games is more abstract, created by a team led by Matt Nava, the art director for PS3 waft-’em-ups Flower and Journey. Both games were critically applauded, so it’s not much of a shock to see Giant Squid deviate little from the template here, taking things underwater in a move we should have deduced from the studio’s name.
Abzû’s protagonist is a diver, feline in appearance, apparently unencumbered by the need to breathe, and possessed of a wonderful grace in motion. She swims through a world inhabited purely by underwater creatures, sometimes accompanied by the drones she digs up from the sea bed, sometimes hanging on to some of the larger swimming creatures. Her intention seems solely to explore, appearing to take information about what she discovers to a strange tree-like creature who may exist between worlds. It’s never explained, but it doesn’t matter.
And it’s beautiful—in a way that pulls you on to see what’s next. Gliding through the swirling shoals of colorful fish is surely one of the closest things to paradise ever committed to flash memory.
Every species is from the real world, and the game encourages you to sit and watch as their simulated ecosystem carries on without you—statues are dotted around, and sitting in their heads allows you to meditate, the camera disconnecting itself from you, and swimming free with the fish as they shoal, chase, and eat each other.
The adventure is never explicitly spelled out—your play is completely unstructured. There is a way forward, and some sections feature a current that inexorably pulls you onward, but in most areas, you are free to explore and discover, even if that discovery is how much pulling lazy backflips while surrounded by orcas makes you smile.
Having that many fish on screen is going to push your graphics card, and Abzû has adopted a simple, polygonal art style. The fish are the star, as are the Mediterranean ruins you swim through, while your diver is more simply rendered.
The puzzles never get very complicated, generally amounting to finding two things that do the same thing, and activating them. There are secrets to be found, fish to be freed, and the aforementioned drones to repair, which are essential to your progress, because only they can cut through certain doors that block your path. The sea is far from infinite, penning you into arenas that teem with life until you find the way out.
Abzû is not a long game, but a gentle one, driven by the simple human need to explore, and see what’s over that next hump in the seabed, and it’s an essential play if gaming means more to you than the rattle of gunfire.
Abzû
OCEANIC Gorgeous to look at; wonderful soundtrack; relaxing.
TITANIC Not the game for you if you’re looking for fast, noisy gameplay.
RECOMMENDED SPECS 2.4GHz quadcore CPU; 8GB RAM; GeForce GTX 780 or Radeon R9 290X.
$20, http://abzugame.com, ESRB: E