![abzu definition abzu definition](https://img.game-news24.com/2021/11/The-Pathless-which-was-invented-by-Abzu-is-finally-out-on-Steam-with-bundles-of-drugs.jpeg)
#ABZU DEFINITION FULL#
To match your movement in this ocean in full 3D, the game frequently makes sure there are flora and fauna to find across all three axes of its environments. Making the protagonist a robot also allows the developers to neatly explain why you never have to worry about running of oxygen down there. It's possible for characterisation in a story to be a distraction from the world that story takes place in, but ABZÛ's characterisation is about more greatly investing you in its world, it never stalls your exploration, and an unassuming appearance for the diver keeps the player character from pulling attention away from the setting. The game also connects you to the sea by giving the player character an appearance like a scuba diver, by having your movement pattern mimic those of the fish, and by placing mosaics in the environment that suggest that your character or someone resembling them had an important part to play in an ancient ocean-worshipping culture. At more than one point in the game, you walk across solid ground and find you have a lot less mobility than usual, turning the standard land-sea relationship in a game on its head and making you feel more at home in the blue. ABZÛ not only has a camera which feels appropriately independent from your direction of movement, but you can also turn on a dime. Some other games with underwater levels have edged in the right direction with 3D movement, but unflexible cameras and bad turning circles can also damage the experience. If you want to, you can cut ahead through the water with some speed, but it's also possible to just float there and take it all in.
#ABZU DEFINITION FREE#
In ABZÛ, water does not weigh down otherwise fine movement Giant Squid start with a movement model that's tuned to work underwater.ĪBZÛ allows you free movement in three dimensions without the current or gravity dragging you in any one particular direction and in this way plays up the enormity of the sea and the opportunity for exploration within it. These frustrating quirks are a result of games aiming to switch up the physics and give the underwater setting some grounding in the gameplay, but that comes at the expense of unhindered movement. Motion can become slowed, movement can become less precise and more floaty, jumps may get you less height, or sometimes you have to laboriously mash the A button to get anywhere. When games get the underwater level wrong, it's usually because they take a model for player movement that's snappy and fun, then have the water level restrict that movement. Given the terrible reputation of underwater levels in games, ABZÛ might seem to be getting off on the wrong foot because it's all underwater level, but its unique perspective on the setting sets right what's been wrong with underwater levels in games. Through the eyes of ABZÛ "knowing" the ocean means both understanding what it's like to move in the water and viewing the ocean as a wellspring of life. The ocean is not just the window dressing of ABZÛ, it is ABZÛ, with promotion for the game informing us that "Ab" and "Zû" are ancient words meaning "To know water".
![abzu definition abzu definition](https://www.godisageek.com/wp-content/uploads/ABZU1-1024x576.jpg)
Nava describes the ocean as an "integral part" of the lives of the developers at Giant Squid and research for the game involved scuba diving, visiting aquariums, and studying fish behaviour. ABZÛ still has a similar form and some of the same emotive and thematic properties that Nava's previous game did, but the difference between Journey and ABZÛ is very much the difference between their habitats.ĪBZÛ is not just a game set in the sea, but a game that understands what it means to be in the sea and wants to teach the player the same. Nava describes looking towards the ocean to break from the patterns of Journey. As he had already shaped Flower, a game in tune with a lush environment on Earth, and Journey, a game set in an arid climate, it made sense for him to then continue onto another environment on Earth that's less land-based.
![abzu definition abzu definition](https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/384190/ss_71b3809eb957c8af9d43ef9d282f7ef3267d73db.1920x1080.jpg)
Directed by former thatgamecompany art director Matt Nava, ABZÛ feels like the most natural step forwards for Nava's career. Note: The following article contains major spoilers for ABZÛ.ĪBZÛ is an underwater exploration game devoted to celebrating the most diverse and extraordinary examples of life in Earth's oceans.