ABZÛ

Abzû, released in 2016, is an absolute beauty to play, combining wonderful pastel colors under the sea with a mesmerizing soundtrack composed by none other than Austin Wintory (Journey, The Banner Saga). The game follows a mysterious diver as he explores the depths of the ocean, uncovering ancient ruins, and restoring life to the underwater ecosystem. It is a fairly linear experience, taking about 2-4 hours long to complete, depending on whether or not you decide to take your time and playfully explore your surroundings or simply stop and meditate to the zen-like music. While a bit difficult to recommend at $20 content-wise, I do encourage you to get this if it's on sale. It's a gem of a game that everybody should play. Use of a controller is recommended.

This was a lot of fun. Visually, it's fantastic and the soundtrack is absolutely top-notch. You'll love it if you enjoy having little to no pressure to do anything in a game. It's quite relaxing with only a few tense moments that are actually non-lethal and only drive the plot, which is minimal. I could see replay value as a tool for creating a relaxing environment for whatever reason you need it. I got this free on my playstation yesterday and while I did not love the controls, they have to be better than keyboard + mouse, so if you have a PC gamepad, use that.

What I wanted was a lovely, cozy, relaxing open game and this delivered initially. Visually it is stunning and I loved the diving through oceans to soothing music, although you don't see through the eyes of the diver. There are no instructions so I had to Google a lot (what are the triangles, what are the shells, how do I pick up objects etc). I was just chilling and thinking how I am going to love to replay the game over and over after stressful days when it took a turn. The game becomes more of a challenge game where you are trapped in an underground city and need to unlock the way out or there are big red mines that explode in front of you. The game gets darker and eventually you get electrocuted and fish die plus the ocean gets contaminated. The game induced a good deal of anxiety for me. I did keep going for a while and reached the 'other side' but then the joy of it had gone for me so I gave up before the end (4+ hours played). I feel misled by the reviews describing it as lovely and beautiful - because it is this, but only for a short time before the apocalyptic demise sets in. Recommend the first part of the game only (sorry).

There might be some confusion as to what this thing is, which is reflected in poor ratings. This is, like many other contemporary indie games, a very experimental piece of interactive art. It has subtle story telling, it has great graphics (artistically and technically speaking) but most importantly, it has user interaction, rules and goals/puzzles. So yes, it IS a game. It's just not your typical game. There is mostly exploration and contemplation, it's something meant to be admired and enjoyed, not rushed or power played. For the curious more intellectual gamer, the game has many references to Babylonian/Assyrian mythology and some of the game world's history can be reconstructed from the intriguing ruins and wall art within the game. The narrative itself is implicit and subtle, and easy to miss if you're just rushing through. So take it for what it is. It is short, it is cool, it is a different kind of experience.

The game is beautiful, like everyone says - but I've already over stated things...not sure I'd really call this a "game." Simulation I suppose...virtual life...hmm... I got about what I expected, I already knew that it would be a short trip (three hours for me, and I went downstairs, ate some food, watched TV for a bit, and came back to it). I bought it at 11 a.m. and it was done by about 2 p.m. - which, like I said, I expected. What I didn't expect were the rather long sequences where you are simply taken with the current and have no control over where you are going. Linear is a complete understatement here - it was only 3 hours, but half of that time I spent wondering whether I had control of the avatar back yet. Sort of, wiggle the stick...nope, not yet...wait...wiggle...nope...wig-okay, I can swim again now. I'll say this - it's a nice distraction when it's on sale, but I wouldn't recommend this at full price. Do not go into this thinking it's even close to an open world. On the positive side, I think the controls were good, they got the physics of swimming down pretty well. I was hoping for a deeper level of connection with the marine life, as the description says, but...not so much. If you play this with an open mind, you'll probably enjoy it - oddly enough, there's a tidbit of information in the credits that might make the game make more sense to some - again, no spoilers - if you play the game, just watch for it.