Abzû Switch Review – The Bond Between Fish and Robot

In the Akkadian language, “Ab” means water and “Zû” means to know, translated by the developers as “Oceans Of Wisdom”. Perhaps the most fitting title for a game ever. Abzû is a small underwater adventure developed by Giant Squid and 505 Games. Unique and relaxing, it’s the literal representation of diving into a beautiful world. Hang out with fish based on real life species, swim into the unknown with ginormous whales and discover the lore of a mysterious futuristic world.

But are two hours below the waves really worth your money? Here’s my review on the wonderful world of Abzû.

You play as a robotic scuba diver with mysterious origins to be discovered throughout the game. It begins with you floating above the water. You learn to dive using the right trigger and are instantly transported into a colourful world that clearly contrasts with the lifeless sky above.

In fact, throughout the entire game you can really see the work Giant Squid has put into making the ocean an inviting place to explore, as opposed to a terrifying, barren void. Unlike most games, when you go above water the music becomes muffled, whereas below the surface it’s crystal clear.

Speaking of the music, I really do have to congratulate Austin Wintory on yet another outstanding soundtrack. The score actually feels like it’s tailored to your exact experience of the game, and since you can’t die it never stops. Therefore there is a continuous flow to Abzû that I really haven’t seen in many other games.

Although there isn’t all that much appeal in replaying the entire story, flipping, diving, and dashing around with dolphins and mantas never gets old. The first time I played Abzû, I was worried about swimming off course to even look anywhere but straight ahead of me, in case something huge appeared or I got lost far out at sea and couldn’t find my way back to the main narrative.

However, on my second playthrough I noticed that most of the areas have clear boundaries or are surrounded by steep ocean walls, so you’re unlikely to stray from the intended path.

There are three main collectibles to find throughout Abzû: secret pools, meditation spots, and nautilus shells. If you find a secret pool and activate it, then a new species of fish will swim out, populating the area. The more of these you find, the more fishies will be in your ocean.

There are multiple shark statues throughout the game, and the reason why will become clearer when you play. Certain shark statues can be sat upon as meditation spots, allowing you to focus in on the fish around you, watch their behaviour, and find out about their species. These spots are a beautiful and relaxing way to familiarise yourself with the life in your ocean. The nautilus shells are self explanatory.

Something that was a positive for me but could easily be seen as a negative is that Abzû has no challenge, in that there are no bosses, no enemies, and you can’t even die. Everything can be done at your own steady pace. The closest things to threats throughout the game are one small jump scare, that isn’t very scary, and large, triangular, floating bombs that will zap you if you get too close. Even if you do get hit by one of these you can keep on swimming forwards with no consequences.

You make your way from area to area by swimming on a jet stream with lots of fish or by activating mechanisms to open an exit door. Since the activation points are so easy to find, advancing to the next level was never hard.

Abzû has a detailed and complicated lore that links very closely with Giant Squid’s other game, The Pathless, which can sadly not be played on Nintendo Switch as of this writing. I’ve played both games all the way through, and I still don’t know exactly how these two worlds connect, although we know for a fact they do. The mysterious story made the whole game worth replaying for me, as opposed to just going back through chapter select and picking my favourite levels.

However, I do have to mention a couple negatives. The default controls are all inverted, which in my opinion makes sense for movement in swimming or flying based games, but the inverted camera is just not my cup of tea. Thankfully, these can all be turned back to standard controls, but a default inverted camera is a bit strange to me.

I also have to address the blue whale in the ocean, Abzû is really short. Interestingly enough, there are a number of ways that this so-called negative could be viewed as a positive. Due to Abzû’s two to three hour play time, it can easily be completed in one sitting, adding to the flow of the game. A little like listening to your favourite album end-to-end. It also allows you to move quickly through the unnerving parts, so you can replay without the persistent worry a giant shark will suddenly appear and consume you.

Overall Abzû is a beautiful, meditative experience that everyone can enjoy. It’s short, simple, and immensely satisfying. There’s a complex, mysterious story to unravel that can either be completely ignored or fully embraced.

Although the first play through may seem a little ominous, once you get through it you will always have a small pocket of ocean to come back to and relax in.

Abzû Review provided by Nintendo Link
Developer: Giant Squid
Publisher: 505 Games
Release Date: November 29, 2018
Price: $19.99, £14.99, €19.99
Game Size: 1.4 GB