Outstanding video games about the underwater world are so small that they can be counted on the fingers of one hand. In my memory immediately pops up a 16-bit hit Ecco the Dolphin, a series of underwater adventures Endless Ocean, as well as a little-known scuba diver Aquanaut's Holiday. Recently, a game for the PlayStation 4 and PC console has been launched, which will allow any of us to look into the depths of such a mysterious and enticing ocean. There, where we hardly dare to go personally, like Jacques-Yves Cousteau or the fearless James Cameron. This game is called ABZÛ.
The creation of this project is the game designer Matt Nava, world fame brought work on the games Fl0wer and Journey for PlayStation 3, created in the walls of indie studio thatgamecompany. In Fl0wer, the player needed to control the wind, tear off the petals from the flowers growing in the field and revitalize the world around them. Amazing meditative gameplay and great graphics favorably distinguished the game from all that gamers had to face before. Game Journey told a story about the journey of a mysterious creature through a vast desert. It overcame the obstacle behind the obstacle on the way to its goal, met new friends, and the player gradually became attached to him and began to empathize with the protagonist with terrible force. But the most surprising thing was that the plot of the game was presented without a single word, using magnificent music and incredibly beautiful visual images. The game won a whole heap of awards and was recognized as a real work of art in the field of the gaming industry. In many respects for this achievement it is worthy to thank designer Matt Nauvoo.
After completing the Journey, Matt could not decide for a while what he should do next. After the expiration of the contract with the publishing house Sony studio thatgamecompany began to disintegrate, and its staff scattered all over. Matt Nava decided to start his own small studio and called it Giant Squid ("Giant Squid"). In the previous game Matt had a lot of sand, because of what her palette most of the time did not go beyond the yellow and orange colors. Therefore, the artist decided to make his next game incredibly bright and colorful. And what is more suitable for this than the beautiful coral reefs, around which are played a myriad of colorful fishes, whose scales shine in the sunlight penetrating through the thickness of the water? So the concept of his future game ABZ роди was born.
Matt really wanted to repeat the success of Journey and try again to tell the players an amazing beauty story exclusively with the help of images and soulful music. But how can large publishers be explained that such a concept can bring them money? The choice of publisher for ABZÛ has become a real headache for the development team. During the presentation of the game, most producers said something like this: "It's all wonderful, but why does not the main character, for example, have a harpoon?" But the essence of ABZÛ was not at all to shoot and kill sea inhabitants. Its concept suggested to players to dissolve in the underwater world, to become its integral part, to explore every corner of the full secrets of the virtual ocean. A happy occasion brought Matt Nauvoo with representatives of the publishing house 505 Games. They appreciated the artist's idea and provided him with the means to develop. It is thanks to this that today we can immerse ourselves in the sea depths and see what we could not even dream about earlier.
The word ABZÛ in ancient Mesopotamia called the religious concept of the primitive ocean. The "AB" syllable stands for "the ocean", and the syllable "ZÛ" is translated as "know". In other words, the name of the game can be deciphered, as "Ocean of Wisdom". The game is really full of wisdom, because it teaches us to unite with nature. The official website of National Geographic claims that the World Ocean has been studied by scientists only by 2-5%, and I have no reason not to trust such a serious publication. Going down hundreds of meters below sea level, the player will see how well-known science of fish and shellfish, and absolutely incredible creatures. You will admire with admirable vivid views of the measured ocean life, you can dance underwater dance with majestic whales, get acquainted with local predators and even discover the ruins of an ancient temple telling the story of a long-extinct civilization. I deliberately will not tell you anything about the plot of the game, because in that case I would not have managed without spoilers. However, I want to note that this story every player will understand for himself.
The main hero of the game is a nameless scuba diver. It is impossible to say with certainty whether the girl is a boy or a guy, since the face of the hero is hidden by a mask. Such a concept we could already observe in the game Journey, whose main character was also as impersonal as possible. Breathing your character under the water with a special device integrated into his mask, so you do not have to worry about that at some point he will run out of oxygen. He and oxygen bottles are not behind him. So the developers wanted to relax the players as much as possible and give them a chance not to rush anywhere. You are invited to just swim and get acquainted with the outside world, while the game tries not to give special hints for the promotion of the story. Up to all it is necessary to reach the mind. The good thing is that there is nothing difficult in ABZ,, so even a beginner gamer can cope with the passage.
You are free to explore the marine world and its inhabitants for as long as you like. The game is divided into several levels, at the end of each of which the main character activates some mysterious mechanism and fills a separate corner of the ocean with light and life. In the meantime, you will meet autonomous underwater robots, activating which by echolocation you will acquire true companions. These underwater vehicles will help you break through the thickets of corals that block the way. Also between the cases you can collect from the bottom of the ocean luminous shells (I still do not understand why they are needed) and release from a kind of trap traps of various inhabitants of the depths. Of course, in the game you will meet simple puzzles, like "run two mechanisms at different ends of the level to open that door." They do not differ in variety and are quite obvious in terms of solutions. As I said, the developers wanted to make the game as accessible to a wide range of players as possible.
With what the game has full order, so it's with the visual part. Here is the contribution of Matt Nava. Only this artist knows how to professionally work with color and lighting, while not forgetting the thousands of smallest details that even the most attentive players will notice right away. Each frame of the game can, without hesitation, print and hang on the wall in the living room. The variety of marine flora and fauna is impressive, while it actively interacts with the protagonist of the game. Want to ride a horse on a turtle or an electric ramp? Yes please! Dreamed of feeling like a flounder? Fall to the bottom and arrange a real sand storm. Race with dolphins? There is nothing easier! Swiming over the accumulation of actinium, you will see how they scared their tentacles, and the seaweed swaying swaying under the influence of currents. The ocean in this game seems to be really alive, which does honor to the developers and pleasantly pleases the player. It's hard to believe, but the team that consisted of only ten people worked on the game. They worked hard for more than two years to ensure that ABZÛ eventually came into being.
The picture would not be complete, if not for the magnificent music of the composer Austin Wintori, performed by a symphony orchestra. It was Wintori who wrote the soundtrack to the previous game of Matt Nava - Journey. Music in places is insinuating and pacifying, and sometimes incredibly epic, always sounds to the place, creating an inexpressible atmosphere. The chorus singing the Latin texts, makes the study of underwater ruins really exciting. The music seems to be adjusted to what is happening on the screen and at times it seemed to me that it was not recorded in advance, but magically generated on the fly. I understand that this is just my fantasy. But how else could such harmony be realized between the visual and musical component of the game - I just do not know.
Even such a magnificent game has tangible shortcomings. The most important of them is short duration. ABZÛ can be walked in just a couple of hours, not particularly straining. On the other hand, two hours is more than the duration of the average movie. But in front of us is not quite a video game in its classical sense, but rather some kind of interactive spectacle. So the idea of the developers is quite understandable. Of course, if you spend time researching each level, you can spend much more time in the game. But at first you do not know who the ending is, just around the corner, so you rush to her headlong.
Another drawback I think is the mismanagement of a scuba diver. He moves too realistically and slowly, why too hasty players will quickly become nervous. Even at maximum speed, the protagonist is very slow and inert. And the perfect control scheme in the "Settings" menu I was able to pick up only with the fourth attempt at all. It was necessary in turn to adjust the inverting of motion control and the camera, and also to change them in places. This somewhat embarrassed me. You could sacrifice a little realism in order to make management more comfortable and intuitive. But, in the end, I got used to management a little, and it bothered me not so much as at the very beginning of the game.
Pros:
- Emotional adventure, telling about the unity of man and nature.
- The most beautiful image of the underwater world in a video game today.
- Visually the game looks so good that it wants to dissolve without a trace.
- You can get acquainted with the amazing flora and fauna of the World Ocean.
- Majestic symphonic music creates an indescribable atmosphere.
- Everyone will be able to understand the plot of this game in their own way without unnecessary words.
Minuses:
- Quite awkward management of the protagonist.
- The duration of the game is only a couple of hours.
- Too simple for an adventure puzzle game.
- It's not entirely clear why you need to collect bonuses.
ABZÛ is an amazing meditative journey to the very heart of the ocean. The game is full of a wide range of emotions, which, together with the main character, will also be experienced by the player. You will feel calm, joy, surprise, delight, fear and bitterness of loss. You can enjoy incredible underwater species, from which the pulse rate increases, and your eyes swing open. The game will be clear to all without any explanation, boring texts or dialogues. After all, it is told by means of images understandable to any person and magnificent music. I believe that ABZÛ is another work of art, passing by which is not recommended to anyone. Once upon a time in this fantastic world, after some time you will probably want to return to it again. I put the game 8.5 points out of 10 .
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