This almost perfect marriage of visuals and sound gives ABZÛ the incredibly atmosphere that so many games dream of having. Once again, without ruining too much, while diving through more exotic locations the soundscape changes yet again to feature more electronic or more synthetic sounds.
When diving through darker locales the music takes on a more somber tone. When diving through brighter locales the music feels light and airy – employing stringed instruments like harps. Austin Wintory, who worked on the soundtrack for both Journey and flOw, really flexes his creative muscle here. As the story becomes more and more involved you’ll travel to locations that you wouldn’t expect to make an appearance in a game of this caliber but do, and in the interest of spoilers we’ll avoid talking about them here.įrom an audio perspective, ABZÛ has had a lot of thought put into it in regards to the scoring. Ruinous caves, open reefs, deep and dark maws – there’s a lot of variety in the zones you’ll travel between in ABZÛ. For a game that takes place almost entirely in the ocean, there’s a lot of variety on offer here. Such care and attention to detail carries over to the environments in the game, which are also beautiful. It’s a world that you can easily get lost in because it’s been envisioned and realized so well and from beginning to end ABZÛ will throw all kinds of formations and fauna at you and you’ll always be surprised or taken aback at just how good it all looks. You’ll even encounter fish engaging in bait ball formations. Some will mind their own business on the ocean floor, others will chase after what will inevitably become their food, others will engage in realistic looking shoaling and schooling.
Similarly, it’s quite awe inspiring to see the various fish and sea creatures dance and flutter through the ocean, each behaving differently depending on the species it’s based on. Taking on a more stylised look for its environments, ABZÛ features an almost cel-shaded style which make all the colours bold, bright and beautiful. From the moment you boot the game it’s clear that it’s been built to be a visual feast for the eyes. To match a beautiful story ABZÛ similarly employs a beautiful artistic direction. A completely solitary experience and a much more straightforward story with greater (if not more relatable) conclusions. But ABZÛ is different – it’s a story that you share with The Diver and the ocean and nobody else. The game’s plot is one that you unravel yourself, and while there are some obvious cues in plain sight there’s more to this rich mythos that meets the eye – rewarding players who swim off the beaten path.Īt risk of sullying my reputation I’ll mention here that I didn’t care much for Journey, which is a game that players will inevitably compare ABZÛ to. While none of the characters speak, you’ll bond with them and feel the ups and downs as they do throughout the story. The story isn’t necessarily groundbreaking but it’s the moments that build the story – the major set pieces where the diver interacts with nature – that really hammer home how great developer Giant Squid are at creating believable and vivid worlds. ABZÛ is easily one of the strongest emotional experiences I’ve had with a video game for quite some time. There’s much more to the story, however, and as players begin to spend more time with The Diver they’ll discover a great threat to the ocean and discover just what is going on and where The Diver fits into all of it. She’s a mysterious being, someone who has the power to awaken certain objects and someone who can calmly interact with all kinds of sea life without much worry. The less you know, the better when it comes to a game like ABZÛ, so we’ll keep the synopsis rather short. Taking some very, very light inspiration from Babylonian mythology and building upon that, ABZÛ is an experience that almost every player should seek out. Everything is inferred and while at first glance the story of ABZÛ might be simplistic it’s the way it unfolds and tells its story that makes the whole experience really special. There’s no voice work, there’s barely any sound effects and there certainly isn’t any text to tell you what’s going down in the waters of ABZÛ. ABZÛ doesn’t tell its story in a traditional sense.
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