It’s an emotional journey, not just in the sense of tugging at the heartstrings, which it does to great effect, but in terms of being carried by emotional progression rather than any kind of cast-iron narrative. If that all sounds a bit esoteric and aimless, there is a story to guide you through the game. It’s a truly meditative experience, and that’s something gaming as a medium could desperately use more of. I’d spend five, ten minutes at a time just doing this-holding a button, gliding through through the sea with minimal interaction (in a traditional sense), and letting the beauty of the game’s world wash over me. Holding L2 when you’re close to certain animals (the more sizeable ones, generally) lets you grab hold of them and just coast along in this submerged paradise. It’s a rare kind of game in which simply holding a button can be absolutely captivating, but ABZÛ is a rare kind of game.
It’s a game that has you exploring the stylized depths of the ocean alongside all the magnificent wildlife there is to be found there, from tiny little clownfish to blue whales.
Related reading: Matt's review of Journey, also available on the PlayStation 4, and utterly essential if you are into the whole "games as art" thing.Īt its most basic, ABZÛ is an underwater exploration game - a “diving simulator”, if you like, but such a simplistic descriptor does the game the same kind of disservice. To be honest, the sheer beauty of it left me lost for words, but I’m going to try write something resembling a review of it, anyway. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that it’s the brainchild of Matt Nava, the art director for Journey and Flower, but he’s outdone himself yet again. I know I’m prone to hyperbole, but I think ABZÛ is actually the most gorgeous game I’ve ever played.
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