Abzû is a amazing experience which presents so much mystery and intrigue that you can’t help but explore every corner in order to discover all the secrets of the underwater kingdom. The story is told without narration so you have to rely on your actions and visuals to piece it all together. While the unique plot points are open to interpretation, Abzû tells a fantastic lesson about conversation and the downfall of civilizations.
Abzû starts you off as an unnamed diver who explores the depths of the ocean and instills new life into once-passed creatures. While the premise might be simple, trying to discern why the ocean died in the first place is where the real adventure lies. Throughout your journey you’ll swim through ruins which have detailed murals that depict the collapse of the civilization.
Now, I can’t help but talk about the story of the game. The following paragraph contains spoilers—or my interpretation of what happened—so you should probably skip ahead if you want to come to your own conclusions. As I mentioned, the murals scattered throughout the underwater realm speak of a civilization that harnessed energy from the ocean in order to thrive. They would only take what was needed and return the excess back to the ocean. However, as the civilization grew, they started taking more and more and eventually their leaders deprived the ocean of its energy due to their thirst for industry and power. Eventually they realized that their world was dying and they tried to right their wrongs but it was too late. The civilization died out but their machines which depleted the ocean kept on working centuries later. It’s up to you to return life back to the ocean. You’re dropped off in the beginning of the game in a mysterious vessel. The whole game seems to be to right the wrongs of the ancestors of the beings who created you and are responsible for the death of the ocean. I absolutely loved figuring out the mystery and I hope I’m right. However, I feel every individual will come to different conclusions given their backgrounds. Art can be interpreted in a number of ways.
As alluded to earlier, the visuals are pastel-like yet breathtaking, especially when you approach the end of your two-hour journey. The scale of the structures and the majesty of the creatures is awesome. Abzû is definitely one of the most beautiful games on Xbox One. While the game might be a little blurry, it can easily be corrected by adjusting the sharpness on your television. That has to be my only criticism when it comes to the graphics.
The controls are some of the easiest I’ve ever experienced in a title which focuses on underwater exploration. Swimming is effortless and I would recommend going with the default setup. The developers know what they’re doing and while it might take a few minutes to get used to, playing with that controller setup when it comes to inversion is much better than playing with your own untested mix. I learned that the hard way.
Another area where Abzû excels is the music. The game uses phenomenal orchestral sound and singing which reminded me of the original Halo. The soundtrack draws you into the world and creates that sense of wonder and tension vital to some areas. You’ll have to hear it for yourself to truly appreciate it.
The game has a lot of replayability as there are many secrets to discover. There are also collectibles shells and you can find numerous “graves” which you can activate to reanimate long-deceased creatures. I’m going to have to play this game again and go through each section to discover everything the title has to offer. There are also a lot of achievements that involve meditation and riding various fish. Completionists will love this title for its variety.
While the performance is solid throughout the experience, there are noticeable dips when the screen fills with thousands of fish. And yes, I do mean thousands. The game never becomes unplayable but it’s still a little odd. It feels like you’re swimming through a viscous fluid during those instances.
Summary
Abzû is absolutely amazing and every Xbox One owner should play this game. It’s one of the finest adventure games that also tells a meaningful story. The title is awe-inspiring and unlike anything else on the console.
Asher is a games journalist, former News Writer (Gaming) at Windows Central. They contributed 1110 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: wrote over 1,100 ICXM pieces on Xbox news, hardware reviews, and platform commentary before joining Future plc’s Windows Central in 2017.