ABZU - It's Journey, but underwater.

[Zhukov]

Just thought I'd point this out for the benefit of people with generally good taste and anyone who loved Journey in particular (or who wanted to play it but couldn't due to platform exclusivity).

ABZU is an underwater exploration game coming out in August for PC and PS4. As I understand it it's made by much of the same team who did Journey. The similarities should be fairly obvious for anyone familiar with that game.

Really looking forward to this.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Hmm well it does look lovely and I really enjoyed Journey but I enjoyed it so much partly because it was a breath of fresh air this kinda looks more of the same so it does not excite me as much since Journey just felt like a complete experience that was great but did not really leave me wanting more. I sorta had the same feeling after Demons Souls it was yeah that was great ok now Dark Souls oh its more of the same which blunted the experience a lot. Still enjoyed it but the sheen had worn off.

That said it is only the second game they have made like this if it is indeed extremely similar to journey (hopefully its not that similar) and I will likely enjoy it. Will def put it on my may play at some point list due to how much I enjoyed Journey. Gotta admit though it hasnt excited me in the same way as Journey did at least not yet anyway.

 

[Skatalite]

Yeah, I've been looking forward to that one for a long time. Looks really good.
I'm not sure how many guys from Journey's team are working on it though, but Giant Squid was founded by ThatGameCompany's art director at least.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I vaguely remember this getting announced, but in the overcrowded world of indie darlings it's easy to forget a lot of them.

It looks very nice, if not a bit too repetative of Journey. I'd almost go as far to say it's just a simple palette swap. But I'll certainly check this out once it's released.

 

[Zhukov]

... this kinda looks more of the same so it does not excite me as much since Journey just felt like a complete experience that was great but did not really leave me wanting more.

Yeah, that's a fair point.

Personally I'm inclined to forgive them because games like this, or at least good games like this, are so damn rare. If the market was flooded with gorgeous and charming little games about ambiguously humanoid creatures exploring colourful and lively environments then I'd probably have something snide to say about this guy's predilections for making them.

I'm not sure how many guys from Journey's team are working on it though, but Giant Squid was founded by ThatGameCompany's art director at least.

Same music composer too.

No idea about the rest. Apparently the people of thatgamecompany went their separate ways after Journey.

 

[Skatalite]

I'm not sure how many guys from Journey's team are working on it though, but Giant Squid was founded by ThatGameCompany's art director at least.

Same music composer too.

No idea about the rest. Apparently the people of thatgamecompany went their separate ways after Journey.

Oh nice, didn't know that. But I wonder what's going on at Thatgamecompany then. They haven't shown a thing in over 4 years (and they're no longer being funded by Sony either).

Also, slightly off topic, but Vane is another kind of similar game worth checking out.

 

[axlryder]

looks cool but the main character's design bothers me a bit. Really sticks out like a sore thumb (probably so you don't get lost in the visuals) and takes you out of the experience.

 

[default]

looks cool but the main character's design bothers me a bit. Really sticks out like a sore thumb (probably so you don't get lost in the visuals) and takes you out of the experience.

I really like it, actually. Otherworldly and elegant. What's your personal issue with it? Just curious

This looks really nice. I think there's more to be explored in the 'character travels through an environment focusing on movement, atmosphere and set pieces' sort of genre. It's one I like very much. Those animations are beautiful too.

 

[Zhukov]

Those animations are beautiful too.

Agreed. Best underwater swimming animation I've ever seen.

Granted, that's probably largely due to this game being able to focus entirely on swimming whereas in most games it's a small part of a mostly land-based affair.

 

[axlryder]

looks cool but the main character's design bothers me a bit. Really sticks out like a sore thumb (probably so you don't get lost in the visuals) and takes you out of the experience.

I really like it, actually. Otherworldly and elegant. What's your personal issue with it? Just curious

This looks really nice. I think there's more to be explored in the 'character travels through an environment focusing on movement, atmosphere and set pieces' sort of genre. It's one I like very much. Those animations are beautiful too.

The main character in Journey kind of blended into the sand, she(?) almost felt like a part of the environment itself. The swimmer sort of sticks out awkwardly. The black diving suit, the flippers, etc. Again, I'm sure it was a conscious decision on the part of the developers, and I could think of a couple of reasons for it to be that way, it's just visually off-putting to me. I'll still be buying it regardless.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I love these games, they are almost chill out therapy that makes you muse upon matters without any impatient prodding by the game. Am glad to see more from these people, thanks for sharing!

 

[default]

looks cool but the main character's design bothers me a bit. Really sticks out like a sore thumb (probably so you don't get lost in the visuals) and takes you out of the experience.

I really like it, actually. Otherworldly and elegant. What's your personal issue with it? Just curious

This looks really nice. I think there's more to be explored in the 'character travels through an environment focusing on movement, atmosphere and set pieces' sort of genre. It's one I like very much. Those animations are beautiful too.

The main character in Journey kind of blended into the sand, she(?) almost felt like a part of the environment itself. The swimmer sort of sticks out awkwardly. The black diving suit, the flippers, etc. Again, I'm sure it was a conscious decision on the part of the developers, and I could think of a couple of reasons for it to be that way, it's just visually off-putting to me. I'll still be buying it regardless.

They do look a little bit like they don't quite belong, but perhaps that's intentional. They're like, an interloper or an explorer from another place. That's fair enough though, I can see why you would dislike it.

 

[Zombie Proof]

This looks beautiful.

If only there were an Aquaria follow up in this vein. God I love that game.

 

[Zhukov]

If only there were an Aquaria follow up in this vein. God I love that game.

Oh hey, I played that. It was a really cute little game.

The bit in the ABZU trailer with the player jumping out of the water dolphin-style instantly reminded me of when you finally get to the surface in Aquaria.

 

[infohippie]

I'll probably pick this up, I love odd artsy games like this but never got to play Journey due to Sony's apparent fear of the PC.

 

[Zombie Proof]

If only there were an Aquaria follow up in this vein. God I love that game.

Oh hey, I played that. It was a really cute little game.

The bit in the ABZU trailer with the player jumping out of the water dolphin-style instantly reminded me of when you finally get to the surface in Aquaria.

I thought the exact same thing.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Yep, you got me with "It's Journey..."
Anytime you say "It's Journey but [blank]", and mean it, you got me.

I hope it's got the same co-op mechanic. Journey's co-op was a magical thing, traveling with another wanderer from mid-game to the end was really somethin', I'm never gonna forget it.

 

[Zhukov]

I hope it's got the same co-op mechanic. Journey's co-op was a magical thing, traveling with another wanderer from mid-game to the end was really somethin', I'm never gonna forget it.

I don't know how I feel about that notion.

Now don't get me wrong, I fucking loved Journey's approach to multiplayer. The seamless way it matches you up, the lack of voice/text communication. It managed to make me like every player I met and judging by the friendly messages people sent me afterward it had a similar effect on them which is a small miracle in its own right. It massively improved the game as a whole and I would like more games to take imitate its approach.

Buuuut I'm not sure I want them to just do the same thing again.