ABZÛ

If there was ever a game that looked better than it is, this is it. Essentially Abzu is a game where you move from corridor to corridor, collecting the few uninteresting collectibles there are, and activating the few levers you need to activate to move on to the next level. Levels are open but are fairly streamlined, and you're pushed through them in a linear fashion. You can try and explore, but there isn't much to explore - the game tries to dazzle you the moment you enter a new level, by showing you a school of fish right in front of your eyes, and the various other aquatic creatures to be found pretty much announce their presence, and don't have to be discovered. Abzu also suffers from having assets so nice, they got copy-pasted throughout all the levels. It's a problem of budget titles - spend so much time and money creating a gorgeous level with a high attention to detail, that every other level after that has to be a derivative of that first one. It makes exploration even less appealing, since whatever you find, you've already seen it before. It also makes Abzu outstay its welcome. It isn't a difficult or frustrating game by any means, but you will perform the same tasks over and over again. You do move out of the water later on, for a short while, but even that is handled so poorly, you feel like you're doing the same tasks you've been doing underwater. The platforms you walk on are very confined and are basically a corridor you move through, after which you return to the water. The only innovation in this game is whether a lever is underwater or on a platform. But my biggest gripe with this game is its controls, which seem to badly interpret your intentions. A lot of times I had to fight with the controls just to get to where I wanted to go, making me explore the levels as little as possible. Not that there's much to see - the most interesting things appear to you at eye-level. Everything else is sand and stone pillars.

Good game to have on a permanent rotation. Good for playing when every other game isn't hitting right

The choice is simple. If you want stressful underwater experience you should play Subnautica. If you want relaxing underwater experience you should play ABZÛ.

If you're looking for action or challenge, you won't really find it here, but if you just want to explore a beautiful, diverse underwater landscape, you simply can't go wrong here. When the PlayStation 4 was first announced, this is one of the few games that I had my eye on from the very beginning, and it's every bit as wonderful as I'd ever dreamt. As I've suggested, the game is little more than exploring an underwater world, and it's quite an experience. There are creatures to bring to life, statues for meditation to watch the marine life, and seashells to collect, but even without that, I found myself exploring every corner in abject wonder. The world of ABZU is so colorful and diverse, with areas in nearly every color of the rainbow, and some neat ruins and high-tech areas sprinkled in. I don't generally like orchestral soundtracks, but this one really did it for me; it's not just the usual bland, generic noise that fades into the background, but something that truly enhances the experience. There seems to be a bit of a story going on, but nothing is expressed in words, so you're free to interpret the events and lore as you see fit, and I think that works well with the immersion. I'll be the first to admit, though, that your mileage may vary; an underwater exploration game has been a dream of mine for ages. The gameplay can vary. There's nothing to really hurt you, but there may be a few moments in which the controls are frustrating. I started out with the keyboard and mouse, which takes a lot of time to get used to and... I kinda did. Playing with a controller (I have a Logitech F-310), though, makes a world of difference. It can still be a little awkward, depending what position you're in, but since there's no real danger, frustration was minimal. To say that this was inspired by the Ecco the Dolphin series would be an understatement, but this is a bit less dark and mysterious, for the most part.

A lot of reviewers seem to think that Abzu is great because it’s “beautiful”, “immersive” or “philosophical”. Well, to my mind, it’s none of those things. Boring, handholding, repetitive – those would be the adjectives I’d use to describe this thing. I’m not even going to call it a game. The element of exploration, which is also mentioned a lot of times in the reviews, is lacking at best. If you want to call swimming in a corridor “exploring the ocean”, more power to you. Personally, I’ve hit hidden walls so many times, it’s not even funny. The only time Abzu provoked any kind of a positive emotion was when I finished it. I was just happy it was over. Sorry for hating, but a five-star game? Not even close! PS: After finishing the game I watched Worth A Buy's review and agreed completely.