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[Fushichou187]

So what's the over-under of running into a Megalodon?


Oh damn, Bound in August too. My wallet, it's crying

Given the time frame they both are releasing, there's good reason to suspect one or both are a part of PSN's PLAY promotion starting-- I believe-- 7/26 (could even start this coming Tuesday) and lasting 4 weeks. If so, your wallet will cry a bit less

I think the fact that it looks like they absolutely nailed the movement is part of it too. It just looks so fun to just move around

Played it for a while at PSX last year and the movement took a little bit to acclimate to, but once I did everything felt very natural and fluid. Hitching a ride on a sea turtle or manta ray is great.

505 has said the game is less than five hours long. I doubt you'll squeeze a week out of it even if you indulge your inner photographer.

Games like Journey, Flower, and Proteus don't require long play sessions to finish yet still, for many, people keep returning for new playthroughs; I've no doubt Abzu will trigger the same kind of urge.

 

[JaseC]

Even at that, look at Journey - its a fraction of that playtime and yet it's blissful to revisit.

I'd rather have 4-5 hours of perfection than a flawed 15-20 hour experience.

And right you are. I'm not in any way implying that its short length makes it a less worthwhile experience. I responded with what I did because he said he's hoping for Abzu to keep him occupied through to the release of NMS.

Games like Journey, Flower, and Proteus don't require long play sessions to finish yet still, for many, people keep returning for new playthroughs; I've no doubt Abzu will trigger the same kind of urge.

Sure, but generally not back-to-back. Again, I was responding to someone who is hoping to stretch the game out over a particular week, not commenting on its value proposition.

 

[exmachina64]

505 has said the game is less than five hours long. Exploration-focused titles are of course somewhat YMMV, but I doubt you'll squeeze a week out of it even if you indulge your inner photographer.

I don't need to squeeze a week out of it; I've been looking forward to it and it'll tide me over.

 

[Grassy]

Awesome, I had no idea it was coming out on PC. I thought it was PS4 only for some reason. I've been on a media/information black-out with this game, so I had no idea it was releasing so soon either. It looks beautiful, I can't wait to play it.

 

[Deckard Chapel]

And right you are. I'm not in any way implying that its short length makes it a less worthwhile experience. I responded with what I did because he said he's hoping for Abzu to keep him occupied through to the release of NMS.

Sure, but generally not back-to-back. Again, I was responding to someone who is hoping to stretch the game out over a particular week, not commenting on its value proposition.

Like Journey, this game will provide an endless amount of fun for an eternity, if you are so inclined. In the context of the statement he made, you are absolutely correct.

Well said.

 

[JaseC]

I don't need to squeeze a week out of it; I've been looking forward to it and it'll tide me over.

Ah, right.

 

[slavesnyder]

This game is screaming for VR support. Looks beautiful.

Abzulutely.

 

[Masterspeed]

I've seen this game over the last few months and didn't have any huge interest, not until I saw who the creative director was and the composer was. Just that little information has made this a Day 1 game for me, It'll be beautiful.

 

[Deckard Chapel]

Abzulutely.

I see what you did there

I've seen this game over the last few months and didn't have any huge interest, not until I saw who the creative director was and the composer was. Just that little information has made this a Day 1 game for me, It'll be beautiful.

When they debuted this at the E3 2014 Sony Press Conference, I was immediately hooked and for some reason, I just couldn't stop thinking about it.

Given the pedigree, there is no doubt that this will be a memorably emotional and evocative experience.

 

[D.Va]

I think the fact that it looks like they absolutely nailed the movement is part of it too. It just looks so fun to just move around

I wonder how the movement feels, because underwater gameplay is notoriously bad.

 

[Ferr986]

I'll buy it day 1, but I'll wait till Friday to play it.

This feels like Journey, that it's better to beat it in one sitting (IMO) so I'll wait to Friday night to have enough time for the ride.

Unless it's quite a bit longer than Journey...

 

[firehawk12]

This sounds like what Adrift should have been.

 

[Lime]

I seriously cannot wait for this

 

[The Praiseworthy]

This and Bound are the only games I'm getting in August ( Plus RE4 ).


Extremely hyped for these two

 

[Chû Totoro]

I'll buy this day one and for sure will enjoy it a lot. Art style is awesome, so poetic. Perfect for underwater environments.

Maybe they will make new places as DLC if the game is successful enough.

 

[Oneself]

That release date and the recent release of Furi makes me think it might be a free game for PS Plus subscribers in August. What do you guys think?
It would be the best marketing deal this game could get IMO. With all the pushing Flow/Flower/Journey got, these guys might have worked out a deal early on. I doubt it would be commercially viable if not. Now let's hope it's part of the PS+ games!

 

[klier]

This and No Man's Sky.....

Great time to be an explorer

 

[HStallion]

One of my most expected games and I still say it looks better than most AAA games.

 

[ShinoguTakeruKoeru]

I remember wishing that we'd gotten the PS3 version of Aquanaut's Holiday back in the heydays of Afrika and whatnot. I know this is fundamentally different as a game but I'm getting a lot of those vibes and I'm very interested.

 

[klier]

One of my most expected games and I still say it looks better than most AAA games.

Amazing artstyle helps, I really dig it too.

Graphics are not super high end, but the style, colors and stuff on screen at once makes it look beautiful.

 

[More_Badass]

Amazing artstyle helps, I really dig it too.

Graphics are not super high end, but the style, colors and stuff on screen at once makes it look beautiful.

Aesthetic versus fidelity, aesthetic always wins (at least IMO)

 

[Ferr986]

This and No Man's Sky.....

Great time to be an explorer

Yep, August is the Explorer's Month for me too!

 

[More_Badass]

Yep, August is the Explorer's Month for me too!

Obduction releases last July, so I'll lump it into that line-up too. Another puzzle-adventure world to explore from the devs of Myst and Riven

 

[Elandyll]

Abzu, No Man's Sky, Bound and Deus Ex all in August, and nothing (for me) in July... :_(

Ah well, allows me to go through my backlog.

Metro 2033, Metro Last Light, Legend of Grimrock, Legend of Grimrock 2 done, next are Until Dawn, The Order, and Dragon's Dogma.

 

[Soyongdori]

God damnit, I hate it when games are coming out on both PC/PS4. I can't figure out which version to go for.... same thing for NMS.

 

[DrArchon]

This game looks phenomenal, but I have no idea what you're supposed to do in it. Can anyone give me a breakdown? I looked at the steam store page just now and that really didn't give me a sense of what the gameplay is like. I'm assuming there's no combat, but the game mentions dangers in the sea. Is it just calm exploration?

 

[Laurel_McFang]

This game looks phenomenal, but I have no idea what you're supposed to do in it. Can anyone give me a breakdown? I looked at the steam store page just now and that really didn't give me a sense of what the gameplay is like. I'm assuming there's no combat, but the game mentions dangers in the sea. Is it just calm exploration?

You can ride certian animals, collect mobile rovs similar to journey's scarf, and find certian areas to reveal lore. It is a good question though. The diver can move if she needs too.

Omg this is beautiful can't wait why can't I pre-order this on psn?

 

[bunkitz]

Whew, awesome post, man!

Huh. I didn't know we'd be playing as a female character. That's cool. Also thought that she was just some human exploring the sea or something, so I'm surprised to find out that "her civilization" is involved. That's really interesting.

I've not yet played Journey, sadly, but I've heard some of its music through a Spotify radio, so I'm really excited for ABZÛ's. Especially after reading that bullet point. I mean, come on, there's a full fucking choir!

Incredibly excited for the prehistoric/extinct sea creatures! I love all things deep sea related, and especially the really old stuff, so to be able to not only see these creatures in a game but intereact with them... I am just gonna be so happy with this game. And shit, "very bottom of the sea?" God, I'm so excited!

Love the bit about sharks. The "bond" mentioned sounds intriguing. Really looking forward to discovering all these things in the game!

Oh, and I'm really surprised to find out that we can launch out of the water. I thought it was 100% underwater. Gonna be pretty cool to do that.

 

[UCBooties]

This looks gret and I've been interested since announcement. I hope after this write-up you'll be doing the OT.

 

[thenexus6]

Man this, Hyper Light Drifter (PS4 version) Inside, probably more i'm forgetting..

Indies on a massive charge

 

[DrArchon]

You can ride certian animals, collect mobile rovs similar to journey's scarf, and find certian areas to reveal lore. It is a good question though. The diver can move if she needs too.

OK, so it sounds just calm exploration, maybe light puzzle solving, maybe avoiding enemies, but no combat or anything. Sounds very relaxing.

I hope they don't have you on an oxygen timer or anything, or have you scrambling to pick up air refills. I want to play something like this at my own pace.

 

[Zojirushi]

Journey dev, Austin Wintory on the 1&2s, what can go wrong?

 

[More_Badass]

OK, so it sounds just calm exploration, maybe light puzzle solving, maybe avoiding enemies, but no combat or anything. Sounds very relaxing.

I hope they don't have you on an oxygen timer or anything, or have you scrambling to pick up air refills. I want to play something like this at my own pace.

No oxygen meter. You won't have to worry about that

 

[DrArchon]

No oxygen meter. You won't have to worry about that

Thank fucking Christ. Nothing worse than being forced to rush through amazing visuals because of some bullshit timer.

 

[Oneself]

I've not yet played Journey, sadly...

Do yourself a favor and play Journey ASAP!!!

 

[HStallion]

Amazing artstyle helps, I really dig it too.

Graphics are not super high end, but the style, colors and stuff on screen at once makes it look beautiful.

That is very true but as I said the physics and AI behind those schools of fish is INCREDIBLE to look at. Like I'm more stunned at the fish react individually but still move as a school, parting around obstacles like the Diver but still moving as one unit. Amazing stuff that impresses me far more than how many particle effects or how good the shadows are in other games. Combined with the art style its just hard to beat and Austin Winory's music? God damn!

 

[Messofanego]

This has been demonstrated to awe-inducing effect by a shoal of fish forming a bait ball, with the player entering the center of it and even riding a shark into it while the shark feeds on the fish.

• There will be prehistoric/extinct creatures in the game. Matt Nava has stated that he is an avid Paleontology junkie and is excited to include these types of entities in the game. He elaborates that players will encounter some "secret" creatures deep in the depths of the ocean in ABZÛ. He also commented to Emma Schaefer from EGM at the end of their interview, that "There are some crazy things that we’re not showing you."

Can ride sharks while it's eating up fish? And find dinosaur-era creatures? OMG

 

[azertydu91]

Wait why initialy on pc?

will it release on pc or not?

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Great first post Deckard; I think this will make a great OT when the time comes. Really looking forward to the game - I can hardly believe it has been more than four years since Journey. I hope this has a photo mode, but even if it doesn't I'll be taking tons of screenshots.

 

[Lan Dong Mik]

Fuck! I thought this was the OT, so immediately thought it was coming out tomorrow or something. Sweet looking OP though. Can't wait for this.

 

[Messofanego]

2 weeks...

guess I'll finish INSIDE, DOOM, Brigador, Samorost 3, Oxenfree, in all that time.

 

[bunkitz]

Do yourself a favor and play Journey ASAP!!!

I'd really like to, believe me. Hopefully, it'll be on sale one day while I have money on my PSN account.

They're technically unrelated, but it would be so great if they could bundle ABZÛ and Journey.

I wonder if the game will have a dynamic theme... Sure as shit would be beautiful.

 

[Ferr986]

I wonder if we could do some kind of "GAF plays Journey" on a day the weekend before Abzu release, and meet fellow gaffers journeyers one last time...

Obduction releases last July, so I'll lump it into that line-up too. Another puzzle-adventure world to explore from the devs of Myst and Riven

That looks really good too. Although I wonder if it would be more puzzle based.

 

[MysteryQuesadilla]

This game looks beautiful. If the 5 hour game time spent to initially run through it is true, I'm totally fine with a fun 4-5 hour experience than hours and hours of bloat.

 

[ironcreed]

This game looks beautiful. If the 5 hour game time spent to initially run through it is true, I'm totally fine with a fun 4-5 hour experience than hours and hours of bloat.

Same here. In fact, games like this are just what the doctor ordered. As well as games like No Man's Sky that I can explore and have fun with in bites. Whereas, getting wrapped up in some drawn out epic with a deep story is just not feasible or even that appealing for me right now. As I got way too much going on in the real and just need something to kick back and unwind with for a couple of hours at a time.

 

[Deckard Chapel]

Whew, awesome post, man!

Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

This looks gret and I've been interested since announcement. I hope after this write-up you'll be doing the OT.

Me too! I would love the opportunity

I'm obsessed with this game! If it's anything like Journey- but even longer and with more to do/unlock - then we are all in for a treat!

Wait why initialy on pc?

will it release on pc or not?

PS4 and PC initially. They are implying that the game may be coming to other platforms down the line.

Great first post Deckard; I think this will make a great OT when the time comes. Really looking forward to the game - I can hardly believe it has been more than four years since Journey. I hope this has a photo mode, but even if it doesn't I'll be taking tons of screenshots.

I think so too. Hopefully we can work that out.

A photo mode would be epic!

Fuck! I thought this was the OT, so immediately thought it was coming out tomorrow or something. Sweet looking OP though. Can't wait for this.

Thank you! I'm hoping this can be the template for the OT; I just have to see how things fall into place.

 

[Wanderer5]

Being bascially a underwater Journey, I am so looking forward to this on PC, and it is quite a beauty.

 

[Deckard Chapel]

Being bascially a underwater Journey, I am so looking forward to this on PC, and it is quite a beauty.

It is a stellar example of a talented team utilizing the power of Unreal Engine 4 and using not only it's versatile toolset, but also creating custom shaders and effects to make it truly unique.

 

[Deckard Chapel]

I updated the OP with the new ABZÛ Inspiration Trailer and PlayStation Play 2016 info.

 

[Qvoth]

is this fully single player or it's like journey again?