ABZÛ

This is not a game. It is a straight forward visual experience that combines the movie Avatar with the concept delivered in the Lucas Arts marvel "The Dig". But, you can freely explore your surroundings. If you are not in a hurry, this game can last for hours, and even act as a screen saver in Meditate mode, which is very relaxing and enjoyable in various environments. I played the game through in 4 hours. That included dinner with Meditate mode on. I LOVED this title. I felt better after playing it. My soul and mental calmness afterward was a real treat. This is how I like to watch movies. Interact with just enough action, but not have to spend days solving a problem in a video game. I just purchased a new computer, and was looking for Eye Candy games to play. This one totally delivered in both Audio and Video quality. I will replay this title many times over in the coming years. It was that enjoyable.

If you ever wanted an underwater version of Journey, then you found the right game. In ABZÛ, you play as a diver exploring an underwater world full of life and wonder as well as hidden secrets deep below. As you explore the vast ocean further, you uncover a mystery under the sea. The plot itself is simple and fits the theme of the game. The game's presentation is by far the highlight of the game. the art style in how it depicts the ocean and its many denizens is a sight to behold. The number of fish on scene can be intense and yet joyful. Plus the AI for the fish adds so much to the charm of exploring the ocean. The way the fish chase you as you perform actions in the game is just charming. You really feel that they are real animals and not just code for the game. Also to note is the seller score composed beautifully for the game. In terms of gameplay, its a pretty short and liner affair. There are moments where you can relax and explore an area for a bit but there is not much to do. The only actions you can do in the game is swim and interact with objects and aquatic life. Only one section of the game I found it to be a challenge but its over in a flash. The game can be beat in about 2 hours and a half, maybe more if you take your time and explore. Once you finished the game, there is not much to go back to unless you want to get the collectables. Overall, I do recommend this game but not at full price. wait till its on sale for 5 dollars or less.

ABZU is all about great visuals above all else. It's not about underwater exploration as many would think as its experience is quite railroaded (to the point it even restricts your viewing angles at times). Fine, I can live with that. But the main problem is that the story can't really carry this game by itself which is a problem in such linear games. The puzzles are interesting at first but it gets old pretty soon and somehow, everything else just feels like it was made just for the sake of showing the graphics. Yes, it looks gorgeous. Gorgeous like engine demo if you will. The controls of this game... well, in one word it's horror (and I tried both keyboard and gamepad). The worst, you can't even configure it at all. To swim, you actually have to hold the trigger (or RMB) and that is very tiring for your fingers after a while. It took me a lot of time to get used to it and it still annoyed the hell out of me by the time I was finishing the game. While the game can by nice to look at, artistically, its story is actually very shallow and forgettable and its non-inventive gameplay doesn't help either. Everything was over before it really started (in some 2-3 hours or so). I came in expecting some greatness of Journey - as many people had suggested this game is similiar - but in the end I came out very disappointed. Abzu can't even compare to mysticism and overreaching motives or the message Journey had. Well, Austin Wintory did the soundtrack at least, and it isn't quite bad. But the visuals alone are not enough to make a fun game. I really wonder where all the praise to this game comes from. The lack of other similiar titles on PC, maybe? Well, I was certainly disappointed even though my expectations weren't that high in the first place.

I think we all agree that this piece of software is beautiful and that one could speak from an experience, rather than a game. But there are some minuses. The game is too simple (I read here that someone calls it an interactive screen saver) and the achievements don't work on Gog, like swimming through a school of fish, cathing the hidden shells and activating the pools with the trapped fishes. These do work on Steam though, but on Gog there is simply no incentive to play the game over again. As someone who uses a Belgium AZERTY keyboard, I find it pretty insulting that you can't reconfigure the keys. Up, Down, Ledft & Right are placed completely arbitrary on such a keyboard.