Beatofficer
Member
Perfect for a six year old. It is definitely all age appropriate.
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ABZÛ |OT| A Journey into an ocean of wisdom
- Thread starter Deckard Chapel
- Start date
Perfect for a six year old. It is definitely all age appropriate.
Wasn't particularly keen on it, got pretty bored of it pretty quickly.
Looking like a no then!
I think it's appropriate. It has "moments of peril" in the same way every Pixar movie has.
If you thought Journey was alright, this is too.
So, here I am.
As I wrote in my review, I absolutely LOVED the presentation: the art direction is truly jawdropping, and throughout the whole adventure you experience a sense of wonder that's simply breathtaking. The colors are unbelievable, the atmosphere is stunning, the creatures you encounter are astonishing (I really adore the subtle lowpoly taste in modeling the different species, and the superb texture work), and quite a few times you'll find yourself lost among all that beauty, almost victim of the so-called Stendhal syndrome.
And it's not just a matter of incredible art: the tech behind it is equally amazing (DAT LIGHTING), and the soundtrack by Austin Wintory is nothing but divine. I beat the game 3 times, and took 183 captures on my PS4 while playing. And I think I still feel like swimming around, and in the upcoming months I'm fairly certain I'll boot up this game again for a dive.
All that said, I can't help but feel a little disappointed on the "emotional" side: the story is too abstract and really not that involving IMHO, and while Journey almost brought me to tears with its powerful ending and its genuine human interactions (I personally loved the multiplayer), ABZÛ never touched my heartstrings in the same way... not even remotely.
Maybe it didn't even want to, because this could be just a super relaxing zen safari not meant to make you cry or something, but overall I personally felt that this experience was beyond gorgeous audiovisually, but way less touching and heartwarming than its spiritual predecessor.
And eventually, that is what separates a masterpiece (like Journey is, to me) from just an amazing game (ABZÛ).
A few random (vaguely spoilerish) considerations:
- The abyss is absolutely not dark enough to me. There's still too much light and visibility for the bottom of the ocean, and I wish it was almost completely pitch black, with some bioluminescent glows here and there, almost like swimming in outer space.
- As as avid fan of dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures in general, when I first saw that Dunkleosteus statue in the orange level I think my heart skipped a beat... And then, when later on I actually met one of those guys, I had a HUGE smile on my face.
- Again on this point: when you start to encounter prehistoric underwater creatures, I secretly started to hope the whole game would become a metaphor of the evolution on Earth, and I imagined dinosaurs would start to appear (even more considering that the Diver gets out of the water to walk on his legs, as some creature did...). That would have been soooo special, I think I would have died for too much awesomeness. Too bad it didn't happen.
- That sci-fi digression is not that inspired: it doesn't add that much to the experience, and I honestly felt it was a bit forced and even a little out of space.
- I got all the seashells, but I don't think I understood what happened. I remember Nava teased something special, but... I didn't see shit, LOL.
- As as avid fan of dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures in general, when I first saw that Dunkleosteus statue in the orange level I think my heart skipped a beat... And then, when later on I actually met one of those guys, I had a HUGE smile on my face.
- Again on this point: when you start to encounter prehistoric underwater creatures, I secretly started to hope the whole game would become a metaphor of the evolution on Earth, and I imagined dinosaurs would start to appear (even more considering that the Diver gets out of the water to walk on his legs, as some creature did...). That would have been soooo special, I think I would have died for too much awesomeness. Too bad it didn't happen.
- That sci-fi digression is not that inspired: it doesn't add that much to the experience, and I honestly felt it was a bit forced and even a little out of space.
- I got all the seashells, but I don't think I understood what happened. I remember Nava teased something special, but... I didn't see shit, LOL.
Karak
Member
Thats good. Means they were small enough for some to miss.
Ya its actually fairly sedate
Lys Skygge
Member
Spoilers:
yeah as of right now I give Journey a slight edge due to its fantastic metaphor. But that's why I want a few days before taking a definite stance. I need to figure out what ABZU trying to tell me haha
I personally think it's prettier than Journey, so the audiovisual aspect of that might be more than enough to entertain you, especially considering you're a fan of underwater stuff.
That said, the mechanics, the pacing and the overall feel are pretty much the same as Journey, but to me ABZÛ is more shallow from an emotional perspective... So if you weren't into Journey, this might definitely not be your cup of tea.
SJRB
Gold Member
Is it worth 20 euros? I expected a 12-ish pricepoint, 20 seems pretty steep considering the footage I've seen.
Bloodworth
Member
Go back to any of the seashell walls to change your dive suit. Also head back to the "ghost chamber"
I really didn't like (or "get") Journey, but really enjoyed this.
The Dutch Slayer
Member
lol still no option to buy on steam or any price indication. (op says 20 but not sure about EU).
Game launches in few hours very strange.
Game launches in few hours very strange.
Freezasaurus
Member
I left the controls as inverted but switched the camera to normal. That seemed to work for me.
plasmawave
Banned
Have you played the Journey? Did you like it? If you did then I'd say it's worth checking out. I got it for $15 because of pre-order and happy with it.
I agree with the people that think this is awesome, but not as powerful as Journey, but maybe nothing will be.
Well, turning my PS4 right now to check these out
Great review BTW Blood
Well, turning my PS4 right now to check these out
Great review BTW Blood
EekumBokum
Member
Just finished it, it's probably one of the most beautiful games I've played.
Regarding the controls, I didn't like how for the
you had to push backwards to move forwards if you had everything set to normal. It didn't last long so it's not a big deal, but it was pretty awkward.
Regarding the controls, I didn't like how for the
land sections
Deckard Chapel
Banned
I just finished it and I absolutely loved it! I like it better than Journey and the soundtrack is without equal. I'll put up some impressions and my review tomorrow - right now, I've got to go to bed for a meeting early in the morning LOL!
FunkyDealer
Banned
Or just opinions on how good the port is? I'd like to know before dropping cash.
Sounds just like Journey.
Too bad the lore seems to have less depth in Abzu, and the co-op part of Journey is absent here.
Wind's Howling
Member
There is. Definitely is.
really curious aswell , especially after the red sign in form of denuvo drm being used :-/
Had to tear myself away from this astonishingly beautiful game. The score is lovely and mysterious. I'm intrigued by the story, and while so far there's nothing overtly emotional, there is a definite air of sadness to the whole thing. I'm finding it to be quite moving, actually, on a subconscious level.
GribbleGrunger
Dreams in Digital
Just finished it, maybe just under two hours.
Game was great. Not as striking visually as Journey, but just swimming around, all the amazing colours and soundtrack. I totally recommend it.
Going to go back and find all the stuff I missed later. I really like the meditation spots in each area.
Game was great. Not as striking visually as Journey, but just swimming around, all the amazing colours and soundtrack. I totally recommend it.
Going to go back and find all the stuff I missed later. I really like the meditation spots in each area.
finished it in about 2-2 1/2 hours. loved every minute of it.
some story thoughts (spoilers):
some story thoughts (spoilers):
so my takeaway is: an ancient race created an "essence" of life (the blue "water" that is inside the diver and the giant "pyramids") and brought it to the ocean.
life began to develop...but soon, the water started to overtake the "land" and the ancient race (or someone that came later) developed the pyramid things and robot divers, to keep things in check and push back.
the diver/player, influenced by the shark, frees the ocean from its shakles and helps it to overtake/retake whats left of the planet.
life began to develop...but soon, the water started to overtake the "land" and the ancient race (or someone that came later) developed the pyramid things and robot divers, to keep things in check and push back.
the diver/player, influenced by the shark, frees the ocean from its shakles and helps it to overtake/retake whats left of the planet.
Got the pc-version.
It's a solid port with Unreal Engine 4. There are not many graphic options (render res, fish, shadows, reflections, vsync) and you can't change controll layouts. It is playable with mouse and keyboard, but like the steam page i would say: play it with controller. The game got an native support for the Dualshock 4.
Performance wise it's okay - nothing special. By some big, big fish swarms i got some heavy fps drops, but most of the time Abzû was between 45 and 60 FPS. My rig is also not the best on the market anymore
i5 760@2,80 GHz
Radeon HD 7970 OC 3GB
8 GB Ram
Its after all just a solid port in my opinion but i guess thats better than maybe Arkham Knight.
Wind's Howling
Member
Total file size is 1.93GB.
Thanks. I'll give it a shot then.
Absolutely try to beat it in one session... I think that is the best way to experience it.
noomi
Member
So about 2 - 3 hours to beat depending on how much time we take to look around and explore?
I can get down with that ^_^
Yes, I agree. I always play Journey in one sitting, it's the best way, considering it's more like a gamey experience.
But if it were longer than Journey I wouldn't have enough time to beat it in one session till weekend (and I don't want to rush it). 3 hours at most is what I have.
Yup, that's the time it will take you to get to the end.
During my first playtime it took me around 2h and 45 minutes to beat it, but in the meantime I took something like 94 photos (and discovered most of the meditation spots and quite a few of the secret shells).
LiquidSolid
Member
I finished it earlier tonight and wow, between the beautiful art style and incredible soundtrack, it's an audio/visual feast. I don't think copying Journey's storytelling devices worked though, as the story just wasn't as straight forward as Journey's, so it never really hooked me. It's not a big deal though, as I still think it's a great game.
I'll probably give it another playthrough tomorrow to wrap up the secret shells I apparently missed but I can see myself coming back to it in a few months time as well, just like I do with Journey.
I'll probably give it another playthrough tomorrow to wrap up the secret shells I apparently missed but I can see myself coming back to it in a few months time as well, just like I do with Journey.
Aarglefarg
Member
I finished it, in about 90 minutes. I explored a bit early on but not much after that.
I don't know much about image quality but to me the image quality seemed excellent, such as the anti-aliasing.
I don't know much about image quality but to me the image quality seemed excellent, such as the anti-aliasing.
to me, its one of the cleanest looking ps4 games and, by far, the best looking ue4 game on console.
GalacticMouse
Member
My review: https://nonlineargaming.com/2016/08/02/review-abzu/
I absolutely loved it. It's very similar to Journey for sure but I think the underwater setting and incredible score push it ahead for me. Go in blind if you're interested, it's worth it!
I absolutely loved it. It's very similar to Journey for sure but I think the underwater setting and incredible score push it ahead for me. Go in blind if you're interested, it's worth it!
Yeah why is that?
Wind's Howling
Member
I'll be damned if this isn't one of the prettiest PS4 games to date. What an unbelievable game.