My History / Still waters run deep
Large bodies of water are both terrifying and fascinating, making them perfect for inclusion in a videogame because there it can't hurt me but still amaze me.
(I think my fear of them stems from not being able to see below the surface and knowing that there is a ton of stuff down there? I don't not go into deeper water, but it's always with some hesitance)
As for water in videogames, that probably traces back to the first underwater levels in Jazz Jackrabbit 2? Those weren't actually that good though (even if they did more than just have the regular platforming gameplay except with a wibbly screen effect *glares at Sonic*), at least compared to the rest of the game.
And a properly relaxing and pretty underwater game didn't really come around for me until I tried my hand at the Wii game Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep, which I thoroughly enjoyed (despite never finishing it).
Abzû is a short game compared to the aforementioned titles, but not one to be taken lightly.
Plot summary / Still waters are also silent
A diver wakes up underwater. No worries though, they don't need to breathe or anything like that. I'm sure that's fine and perfectly normal. Underwater doesn't quite do the environment justice though, it's full of life and light and colour and movement, time to go explore!
I'm sure those ruins are nothing to worry about, or those weird glowy triangle things.
All perfectly fine, now let's go see if we can find a whale!
Corner 1: Adventure 7.5/10 / "..!"
- 🚀 Oh wow, this is a stupendously breathtaking game. That's not even an underwater pun.
- 📋 Is it an adventure though? Those tend to have character motivations... or characters... or direction...
- 🚀 Don't get me wrong though, there's plenty to discover including the history of that world.
- 🚀 Oh wow, this is a stupendously breathtaking game. That's not even an underwater pun.
- 📋 Is it an adventure though? Those tend to have character motivations... or characters... or direction...
- 🚀 Don't get me wrong though, there's plenty to discover including the history of that world.
Corner 2: Smart 7/10 / "..?"
- 💡 Telling a story without characters, dialogue or exposition is tricky. And it does... alright!
- 💡 I never really felt lost and it was usually clear what was expected of me as the next step.
- 💤 Some of the barriers don't make sense if you consider that you should be able to just dive to the surface (which you can do), but at some points there shouldn't be anything blocking you from muddling through some water plants on the surface instead of trying to open a gate or something.
- 💤 There are cute robot companions that can help you clear some obstacles, their placement is very gamey and doesn't really make sense most of the time.
- 💡 Telling a story without characters, dialogue or exposition is tricky. And it does... alright!
- 💡 I never really felt lost and it was usually clear what was expected of me as the next step.
- 💤 Some of the barriers don't make sense if you consider that you should be able to just dive to the surface (which you can do), but at some points there shouldn't be anything blocking you from muddling through some water plants on the surface instead of trying to open a gate or something.
- 💤 There are cute robot companions that can help you clear some obstacles, their placement is very gamey and doesn't really make sense most of the time.
Corner 3: Heart 8.5/10 / "<3 !"
- 💖 There are cute robot companions!
- 💖 Not every apparent villain turns out to be evil.
- 💖 It's so pretty! And the water itself isn't dangerous.
- 💖 The title picture is one of the first few segments where you traverse a stream. They are glorious and joyful.
- 💔 As great as all of that is, I would've probably liked this more if it had had characters.
Solid scores all round, impressive for such a liquid game. Please stop booing, here's a triangle!
It's not a dumb game, but I guess it's a game so focused on one thing that it doesn't really try for much more? Should be solid though. (Not making that pun again (right now))
- 💖 There are cute robot companions!
- 💖 Not every apparent villain turns out to be evil.
- 💖 It's so pretty! And the water itself isn't dangerous.
- 💖 The title picture is one of the first few segments where you traverse a stream. They are glorious and joyful.
- 💔 As great as all of that is, I would've probably liked this more if it had had characters.
Solid scores all round, impressive for such a liquid game. Please stop booing, here's a triangle!
It's not a dumb game, but I guess it's a game so focused on one thing that it doesn't really try for much more? Should be solid though. (Not making that pun again (right now))
76.10
That's pretty close to Stacking actually... is this just the score an excellent short indie game is likely to get from me?
This calls for more experimentation! Something character-driven feels like a nice contrast.
This calls for more experimentation! Something character-driven feels like a nice contrast.
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