There's room to treat the ocean as your playground, but this is a game mostly indebted to cinema, art and the previous work of thatgamecompany - the latter not being a huge surprise considering the involvement of Matt Nava and Austin Wintory, both contributors to Journey, with Jenova Chen picking up a special mention in the credits. Wintory's orchestral score deserves a particularly special mention, and while it's obviously highly subjective, I would argue this is his best soundtrack to date, the sumptuous arching orchestra precisely ordaining the game's mood.

Yet, and here's the rub, for much of this journey I found it hard to feel the sense of awe Abzu so desperately wants to instil in its players. I admire the hell out of it, sure, with those luscious and beautifully crafted ocean depths, and I really can't emphasise enough just how enraptured I was by the presentation - but for all its obvious skill and craft the overall experience felt a little muffled, its dramatic conclusion rushed and its attempt to pull the heartstrings a little too calculated. Abzu is an expertly authored game absolutely teeming with life; I just can't help but feel it lacks a little soul.

Yet Abzu is still an easy game to recommend, mainly because of the obvious skill at play here in crafting this unique and striking world. Even if you can't get comfortable in the sea, there's still some treasure to be found underwater.

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I could lather ABZÛ with more praise and wax about its beauty, but there’s no way I could do it justice. Not only did it manage to live up to my high expectations, but the feeling of the experience lingers with me hours after finishing it. It’s a special kind of game that simply needs to be played to be believed.

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Abzû is a bit of a unique game to quantify. As a game, few gameplay hooks and incentives for completing a section may turn off players looking for their next adrenaline rush or challenge, especially when paired with the simple fact that death isn’t a thing that exists in the aquatic world. However, those looking for a narrative journey that’s unlike anything else on the Playstation 4, Abzû offers plenty to experience. Grab your flippers and jump into the world beneath the waves of Abzû; the water’s fine.

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That brings me to what is, more than anything else, ABZےs crowning achievement. It really captures the majesty of ocean—the beauty of it, but also the power of it. In that sense, maybe “diving simulator” is accurate, because as stylized and fantastical as it is, it expertly captures what it is that makes diving such a rewarding activity: exploring the wonders of the sea.

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ABZÛ is a triumph of exploration and atmosphere. Its gorgeous underwater playgrounds are a joy to explore thanks to its perfectly tuned controls, awe-inspiring visuals, and beautiful sound design. A somewhat predictable story does little to hamper what is otherwise an utterly unique and rapturous experience.

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There’s so much to Abzû: a poignant journey, an absolutely stellar soundtrack, twists and discoveries that took me by surprise. Since the game’s very short, it’s difficult to go into detail without spoiling anything, but there’s also an emotional essence there that can’t be easily described or related secondhand. Abzû‘s more than just a game: it’s an experience. And a fantastic one at that.

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Art exists to bridge a gap, to communicate emotions or ideas that would otherwise be impossible to articulate. Abzu does this--courageously, confidently, sincerely. Its stirring soundtrack, vivid colors, subtle storytelling, living world, and thoughtful execution combine to create a singularly moving, transcendent experience. In a word: Abzu is beautiful.

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Abzu takes the graceful feel of movement and subtle push toward discovery that I’ve enjoyed in similar exploration games like Journey and Flower and builds a refreshing-yet-simple underwater adventure around it. The colorful settings, beautiful soundtrack, and basic controls made it a great experience that constantly piqued my interest, even if it never challenged me to master it other than deciphering its cryptic environmental clues. Instead, Abzu relishes in giving you freedom to simply enjoy exploring the fascinating deep blue sea.

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Abzû is a game of mysteries and its world will move you to muse the beauty of life and our place in it. It contains moments that transcend the simple act of playing a video game by making a connection with the beings around you – a profound experience. But the more I try to earnestly weigh the substance of the story the more I feel like I am missing the essence of what is before me – not unlike Kubrick's movie. After the film was released, a lot of critics asked him what it meant, but he didn't want to be drawn into any exact explanation. There simply isn't one, and he preferred the viewer absorb the experience and reflect on their own thoughts regardless. Abzû treads similar lines, and is closer to being a work of art than many games ever will be. Whether you're supposed to play a game or experience it is a larger question that Abzû does not solve, but only indulges. Still, it must be judged by that query even if the answer is ultimately up to you.

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Exploring and playing in Abzu's oceans is a gorgeous, soothing experience that's easy to recommend. We have precious few games that strive for placidity and even fewer that reach it as handily as Giant Squid has here. But for all its aesthetic wonder, Abzu's threadbare mechanics feel like they're keeping the player at arm's length. For a game that's all about plumbing the depths, it's just a little shallow.

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I did enjoy being in the water, but I can't help but feel the beautiful visuals and music were jamming pictures of places and emotions in my face instead of earnestly telling a compelling story. There's an unshakeable air of falsity about Abzû. As a treat to the senses, however, it's hard to beat.

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Abzu is well beautiful and well put-together, but cannot escape its self-inflicted sense of déjà vu. Matt Nava and Giant Squid Studios have played it safe. Too safe. If there were to be a Journey knock-off, this is among the best you could hope for, but who really wants an imitation at all? There is an obvious artistry to Abzu however, that we can only hope is put to better use in whatever comes next.

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Acquiescence said:

It's no Journey it seems, but still worthy of a lot of praise.

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Gareth Bale said:

Where's the PC reviews?

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Gareth Bale said:

Where's the PC reviews?

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Abzû is a beautiful game. It’s a game stuffed with fish and colour and movement and music. I love those things. Sometimes you feel like you’re actually inside an episode of Blue Planet (I recorded the video above during one such moment). But I don’t love wrestling for control of an experience which feels expansive one moment and restrictive or unpredictable the next.

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Abzû is an artistic triumph in every single way and the way it makes you feel as you swim around the beautifully designed ocean is really special.

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Non-Linear Gaming said:

ABZÛ is a truly serene experience that often rivals its spiritual predecessor. Its brilliant score blends perfectly with the underwater setting, captivating the player and making it difficult to put the controller down over the 2-4 hour course of the game. In an increasingly crowded genre of experiences spurred on by Journey‘s success, ABZÛ is unquestionably worthy of your time, standing out for all the right reasons.

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CHC said:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/08/02/abzu-review-pc/

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A mesmerizing audiovisual triumph that will feel heavenly to your eyes and to your ears, unfortunately without warming your heart as much as you would expect. It probably won't leave you teary-eyed like Journey did, but it will still be a trip absolutely worth embarking for.

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HStallion said:

I wonder if they played it with a controller or mouse and keyboard. This seems like a game that's totally geared towards a controller.

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Rock Paper Shotgun said:

The PC version of the game seems to detect controller use but the controller instructions are for the PS4 pad. Meditation is triggered by pressing the touch pad, says the game, so I stared at my Xbox pad and tried to figure out which one was going to be the stand-in for a touch pad and there’s no option in the menu to show you key bindings.

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MrPressStart said:

Any idea what this goes for on the US ps store?

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Too safe. If there were to be a Journey knock-off, this is among the best you could hope for, but who really wants an imitation at all?

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silva1991 said:

Good game, but not Journey level as expected.

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Movalpolos said:

I played a bit of this while on LSD last night. But I uhh got sidetracked.

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Servbot24 said:

I hope no one was actually expecting this.

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JustenP88 said:

I can't wait until they can pull something off that looks this good in vr.

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Diprosalic said:

Should be no problem on a pc.

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Servbot24 said:

I hope no one was actually expecting this.

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