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ABZÛ |OT| A Journey into an ocean of wisdom

F

Fushichou187

Member
More_Badass said:
So what's the over-under of running into a Megalodon?


Oh damn, Bound in August too. My wallet, it's crying
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Given the time frame they both are releasing, there's good reason to suspect one or both are a part of PSN's PLAY promotion starting-- I believe-- 7/26 (could even start this coming Tuesday) and lasting 4 weeks. If so, your wallet will cry a bit less ;)


More_Badass said:
I think the fact that it looks like they absolutely nailed the movement is part of it too. It just looks so fun to just move around
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Played it for a while at PSX last year and the movement took a little bit to acclimate to, but once I did everything felt very natural and fluid. Hitching a ride on a sea turtle or manta ray is great.


JaseC said:
505 has said the game is less than five hours long. I doubt you'll squeeze a week out of it even if you indulge your inner photographer.
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Games like Journey, Flower, and Proteus don't require long play sessions to finish yet still, for many, people keep returning for new playthroughs; I've no doubt Abzu will trigger the same kind of urge.
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Deckard Chapel said:
Even at that, look at Journey - its a fraction of that playtime and yet it's blissful to revisit.

I'd rather have 4-5 hours of perfection than a flawed 15-20 hour experience.
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And right you are. I'm not in any way implying that its short length makes it a less worthwhile experience. I responded with what I did because he said he's hoping for Abzu to keep him occupied through to the release of NMS.

Fushichou187 said:
Games like Journey, Flower, and Proteus don't require long play sessions to finish yet still, for many, people keep returning for new playthroughs; I've no doubt Abzu will trigger the same kind of urge.
Click to expand...

Sure, but generally not back-to-back. Again, I was responding to someone who is hoping to stretch the game out over a particular week, not commenting on its value proposition.
 
G

Grassy

Member
Awesome, I had no idea it was coming out on PC. I thought it was PS4 only for some reason. I've been on a media/information black-out with this game, so I had no idea it was releasing so soon either. It looks beautiful, I can't wait to play it.
 
D

Deckard Chapel

Banned
JaseC said:
And right you are. I'm not in any way implying that its short length makes it a less worthwhile experience. I responded with what I did because he said he's hoping for Abzu to keep him occupied through to the release of NMS.

Sure, but generally not back-to-back. Again, I was responding to someone who is hoping to stretch the game out over a particular week, not commenting on its value proposition.
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Like Journey, this game will provide an endless amount of fun for an eternity, if you are so inclined. In the context of the statement he made, you are absolutely correct.

Well said.
 
M

Masterspeed

Member
I've seen this game over the last few months and didn't have any huge interest, not until I saw who the creative director was and the composer was. Just that little information has made this a Day 1 game for me, It'll be beautiful.
 
D

Deckard Chapel

Banned
slavesnyder said:
Abzulutely.
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I see what you did there ;)

Masterspeed said:
I've seen this game over the last few months and didn't have any huge interest, not until I saw who the creative director was and the composer was. Just that little information has made this a Day 1 game for me, It'll be beautiful.
Click to expand...

When they debuted this at the E3 2014 Sony Press Conference, I was immediately hooked and for some reason, I just couldn't stop thinking about it.

Given the pedigree, there is no doubt that this will be a memorably emotional and evocative experience.
 
F

Ferr986

Member
I'll buy it day 1, but I'll wait till Friday to play it.

This feels like Journey, that it's better to beat it in one sitting (IMO) so I'll wait to Friday night to have enough time for the ride.

Unless it's quite a bit longer than Journey...
 
C

Chû Totoro

Member
I'll buy this day one and for sure will enjoy it a lot. Art style is awesome, so poetic. Perfect for underwater environments.

Maybe they will make new places as DLC if the game is successful enough.
 
O

Oneself

Member
That release date and the recent release of Furi makes me think it might be a free game for PS Plus subscribers in August. What do you guys think?
It would be the best marketing deal this game could get IMO. With all the pushing Flow/Flower/Journey got, these guys might have worked out a deal early on. I doubt it would be commercially viable if not. Now let's hope it's part of the PS+ games!
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
One of my most expected games and I still say it looks better than most AAA games.
 
S

ShinoguTakeruKoeru

Member
I remember wishing that we'd gotten the PS3 version of Aquanaut's Holiday back in the heydays of Afrika and whatnot. I know this is fundamentally different as a game but I'm getting a lot of those vibes and I'm very interested.
 
K

klier

Member
HStallion said:
One of my most expected games and I still say it looks better than most AAA games.
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Amazing artstyle helps, I really dig it too.

Graphics are not super high end, but the style, colors and stuff on screen at once makes it look beautiful.
 
E

Elandyll

Banned
Abzu, No Man's Sky, Bound and Deus Ex all in August, and nothing (for me) in July... :_(

Ah well, allows me to go through my backlog.

Metro 2033, Metro Last Light, Legend of Grimrock, Legend of Grimrock 2 done, next are Until Dawn, The Order, and Dragon's Dogma.
 
S

Soyongdori

Member
God damnit, I hate it when games are coming out on both PC/PS4. I can't figure out which version to go for.... same thing for NMS.
 
D

DrArchon

Member
This game looks phenomenal, but I have no idea what you're supposed to do in it. Can anyone give me a breakdown? I looked at the steam store page just now and that really didn't give me a sense of what the gameplay is like. I'm assuming there's no combat, but the game mentions dangers in the sea. Is it just calm exploration?
 
L

Laurel_McFang

Member
DrArchon said:
This game looks phenomenal, but I have no idea what you're supposed to do in it. Can anyone give me a breakdown? I looked at the steam store page just now and that really didn't give me a sense of what the gameplay is like. I'm assuming there's no combat, but the game mentions dangers in the sea. Is it just calm exploration?
Click to expand...

You can ride certian animals, collect mobile rovs similar to journey's scarf, and find certian areas to reveal lore. It is a good question though. The diver can move if she needs too.

Omg this is beautiful can't wait why can't I pre-order this on psn?
 
B

bunkitz

Member
Whew, awesome post, man!

Huh. I didn't know we'd be playing as a female character. That's cool. Also thought that she was just some human exploring the sea or something, so I'm surprised to find out that "her civilization" is involved. That's really interesting.

I've not yet played Journey, sadly, but I've heard some of its music through a Spotify radio, so I'm really excited for ABZÛ's. Especially after reading that bullet point. I mean, come on, there's a full fucking choir!

Incredibly excited for the prehistoric/extinct sea creatures! I love all things deep sea related, and especially the really old stuff, so to be able to not only see these creatures in a game but intereact with them... I am just gonna be so happy with this game. And shit, "very bottom of the sea?" God, I'm so excited!

Love the bit about sharks. The "bond" mentioned sounds intriguing. Really looking forward to discovering all these things in the game!

Oh, and I'm really surprised to find out that we can launch out of the water. I thought it was 100% underwater. Gonna be pretty cool to do that.
 
D

DrArchon

Member
Laurel_McFang said:
You can ride certian animals, collect mobile rovs similar to journey's scarf, and find certian areas to reveal lore. It is a good question though. The diver can move if she needs too.
Click to expand...

OK, so it sounds just calm exploration, maybe light puzzle solving, maybe avoiding enemies, but no combat or anything. Sounds very relaxing.

I hope they don't have you on an oxygen timer or anything, or have you scrambling to pick up air refills. I want to play something like this at my own pace.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
DrArchon said:
OK, so it sounds just calm exploration, maybe light puzzle solving, maybe avoiding enemies, but no combat or anything. Sounds very relaxing.

I hope they don't have you on an oxygen timer or anything, or have you scrambling to pick up air refills. I want to play something like this at my own pace.
Click to expand...
No oxygen meter. You won't have to worry about that
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
klier said:
Amazing artstyle helps, I really dig it too.

Graphics are not super high end, but the style, colors and stuff on screen at once makes it look beautiful.
Click to expand...

That is very true but as I said the physics and AI behind those schools of fish is INCREDIBLE to look at. Like I'm more stunned at the fish react individually but still move as a school, parting around obstacles like the Diver but still moving as one unit. Amazing stuff that impresses me far more than how many particle effects or how good the shadows are in other games. Combined with the art style its just hard to beat and Austin Winory's music? God damn!
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
Deckard Chapel said:
This has been demonstrated to awe-inducing effect by a shoal of fish forming a bait ball, with the player entering the center of it and even riding a shark into it while the shark feeds on the fish.

• There will be prehistoric/extinct creatures in the game. Matt Nava has stated that he is an avid Paleontology junkie and is excited to include these types of entities in the game. He elaborates that players will encounter some "secret" creatures deep in the depths of the ocean in ABZÛ. He also commented to Emma Schaefer from EGM at the end of their interview, that "There are some crazy things that we’re not showing you."
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Can ride sharks while it's eating up fish? And find dinosaur-era creatures? OMG
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
Great first post Deckard; I think this will make a great OT when the time comes. Really looking forward to the game - I can hardly believe it has been more than four years since Journey. I hope this has a photo mode, but even if it doesn't I'll be taking tons of screenshots.
 
L

Lan Dong Mik

And why would I want them?
Fuck! I thought this was the OT, so immediately thought it was coming out tomorrow or something. Sweet looking OP though. Can't wait for this.
 
B

bunkitz

Member
Oneself said:
Do yourself a favor and play Journey ASAP!!! :D
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I'd really like to, believe me. Hopefully, it'll be on sale one day while I have money on my PSN account.

They're technically unrelated, but it would be so great if they could bundle ABZÛ and Journey.

I wonder if the game will have a dynamic theme... Sure as shit would be beautiful.
 
F

Ferr986

Member
I wonder if we could do some kind of "GAF plays Journey" on a day the weekend before Abzu release, and meet fellow gaffers journeyers one last time... :)


More_Badass said:
Obduction releases last July, so I'll lump it into that line-up too. Another puzzle-adventure world to explore from the devs of Myst and Riven
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That looks really good too. Although I wonder if it would be more puzzle based.
 
M

MysteryQuesadilla

Member
This game looks beautiful. If the 5 hour game time spent to initially run through it is true, I'm totally fine with a fun 4-5 hour experience than hours and hours of bloat.
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
MysteryQuesadilla said:
This game looks beautiful. If the 5 hour game time spent to initially run through it is true, I'm totally fine with a fun 4-5 hour experience than hours and hours of bloat.
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Same here. In fact, games like this are just what the doctor ordered. As well as games like No Man's Sky that I can explore and have fun with in bites. Whereas, getting wrapped up in some drawn out epic with a deep story is just not feasible or even that appealing for me right now. As I got way too much going on in the real and just need something to kick back and unwind with for a couple of hours at a time.
 
D

Deckard Chapel

Banned
bunkitz said:
Whew, awesome post, man!
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Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

UCBooties said:
This looks gret and I've been interested since announcement. I hope after this write-up you'll be doing the OT.
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Me too! I would love the opportunity :)

I'm obsessed with this game! If it's anything like Journey- but even longer and with more to do/unlock - then we are all in for a treat!

azertydu91 said:
Wait why initialy on pc?

will it release on pc or not?
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PS4 and PC initially. They are implying that the game may be coming to other platforms down the line.

Triggerhappytel said:
Great first post Deckard; I think this will make a great OT when the time comes. Really looking forward to the game - I can hardly believe it has been more than four years since Journey. I hope this has a photo mode, but even if it doesn't I'll be taking tons of screenshots.
Click to expand...

I think so too. Hopefully we can work that out.

A photo mode would be epic!

Lan Dong Mik said:
Fuck! I thought this was the OT, so immediately thought it was coming out tomorrow or something. Sweet looking OP though. Can't wait for this.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I'm hoping this can be the template for the OT; I just have to see how things fall into place.
 
D

Deckard Chapel

Banned
Wanderer5 said:
Being bascially a underwater Journey, I am so looking forward to this on PC, and it is quite a beauty.
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It is a stellar example of a talented team utilizing the power of Unreal Engine 4 and using not only it's versatile toolset, but also creating custom shaders and effects to make it truly unique.
 
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