Giant Squid and 505 Games announced that Abzu is set to release on the Nintendo Switch starting November 29th. The game will be available for $19.99. The gane will be available as a digital download from the Nintendo eShop.
The game is currently available for pre-order from the eShop with a 10% off discount for everyone who puts in their order early.
The game is designed using some new AI crowd-grouping technology that allowed the developers to establish behavioral swarms. This is evident in the game where players manage to swim among the school of fish as they migrate through the water using visually spectacular patterns. You can see what the gameplay is like with the new Nintendo Switch trailer below.
The one thing I’m most curious about is how well this technology will adapt to the Switch’s portable mode? While it ran smooth and pristine on the PS4, the Nintendo Switch is a completely different beast with a very separate set of pros and cons.
As for the gameplay itself… Abzu is about swimming through the vast ocean in search of the origins of the Diver, and to save the marine life from very dangerous interlopers.
The creative lead on the game was Matt Nava, the same mind who helped bring Flower and Journey to life on the PS3 while working at thatgamecompany with Jenova Chen.
There’s definitely a similitude when it comes to the existential philosophy that Abzu carries over from Nava’s work on Flower and Journey. I won’t give anything away for people who haven’t played or seen the game’s story unfold, but it’s very, very shocking and surprising what’s really going on and how the entire thing gets resolved. Then again, if you’ve played Journey it might not be all that shocking.
Anyway, you can look for the ‘E’ for Everyone game to make its way ot the Nintendo Switch at the end of the month, featuring a symhonically soothing soundtrack from award-winning composer Austin Wintory, which really captures the whimsical lark of Abzu’s early goings. For more info feel free to visit the Abzu page on the Nintendo website.
