As a capper to a set of games about divers, Abzu is a bit more out there but a sublime experience, very artful. Spoilers below!

You can’t really talk about Abzu without mentioning Journey by That Game Company. Matt Nava was art director on Journey, then split to form his own company Giant Squid, taking the role of creative director on this, their first game. The similarities are undeniable in terms of the feel and tone, how the games tell their story, the pacing, how they do worldbuilding through mosaic murals, an Austin Wintory score, etc. This is not a slight but a high compliment. Unlike Journey though, Abzu is strictly a solo experience and more accessible for it.

There’s also familiarities from Journey’s predecessor Flower, which Nava also worked on. In both, your goals involve restoring a barren and decayed natural environment. Swimming through the water is not unlike Flower’s movement, albeit with a traditional controller here. And replace wind and petals with currents and swirling schools of fish.

So Abzu is an atmospheric narrative game told silently and through environmental details and events. This makes it different to the more realistic diving games I’ve played recently, but the world is still richly populated with real-life aquatic species. Seeing them here felt like meeting old friends I knew from the Endless Ocean games, Beyond Blue, or even Animal Crossing. Identifying and interacting with them is secondary here, with a somewhat awkward “meditation mode” available to view them cruising around.

The setpieces that spotlight certain animals are breathtaking though, particularly a whale-focused sequence halfway through. A recurring shark character also provides an emotional connection. And then you get to an area full of extinct fish and even aquatic dinosaurs! This was very exciting. You’re able to hitch a ride on larger creatures, or otherwise attract them with an interact button reminiscent of Journey’s “sing” mechanic.

Anyway, the game is a joy to control, your diver character (who you come to find out is a robot) glides so smoothly through these utterly vibrant seascapes as fish wheel and swarm around you. Like Jupiter & Mars, your task is to avoid and eventually stop the menacing machines that lurk in these waters. These confrontations are woven into the flow of progression. There’s collectibles and side tasks that you can go back for, but otherwise the game is just a confident ride through a beautiful water-world that can be fully enjoyed in one sitting. Lovely stuff.