A gorgeous relaxing game but not great controls.

So Abzu was made by former staff from ThatGameCompany (Flower, Journey) and is in a similar vein. It's a linear artistic adventure designed to invoke feelings of wonder through the short playtime but it doesn't always hit the mark.

The game is only a few hours long playing the role of a diver on a seemingly alien world, occasionally you travel through ruins where the game tries to give a bit of story lore about the world though I never really understood what it was trying to convey.

The visuals are gorgeous thanks to the great art design and occasional set pieces really are gorgeous but even so it lacks some of the impact Journey had and feels like an underwater copy that imitates much of it but doesn't quite get the soul of the game.

My biggest criticism though is the controls are terrible. I had to readjust them in the settings and even then I couldn't get comfortable with them.

So overall it's a pretty game and good for a weekend blast. It lacks something though and the controls are bad. I'd still recommend it in a sale or something though.

+ Great looking title, lovely art.
+ Nice atmosphere.

- Short but no replay value.
- Controls are terrible.