ABZU

Swimming with schools of fish in ABZU

ABZU is about the feeling of diving. You control a silent diver using what the publisher calls graceful swimming controls, gliding through reefs, kelp forests and open water. The ocean is packed with hundreds of species based on real creatures, and schools of thousands of fish respond to you, to each other and to predators.

There is no dialogue and very little text. You explore, discover hidden places and linger in what the publisher calls epic seascapes, watching the sea life drift past.

The name comes from ancient mythology: the developer explains that AB means water and ZU means to know.

The developer explains that the fish respond procedurally to you, to each other and to predators, so swimming into a shoal and watching it part around you feels different every time. Much of the pleasure comes from simply following a creature for a while to see where it goes.

The tense moments in ABZU and who they suit

ABZU is calm for most of its length, but it is not without tension. PEGI rates it 7 for violence and fear, explaining that the main character can be attacked, though any violence is unrealistic, and that younger children may find the sharks frightening. The store page itself warns that dangers lurk in the depths.

You never fight back, and there is no weapon. Still, if you are choosing for a nervous child, it is worth watching a later section together first.

For adults, the darker stretches give the brighter reefs more meaning, and they are short. Our guide to calm games for kids covers how to read PEGI descriptors like these.

One simple approach is to treat the darker moments as part of the story rather than as challenges. You cannot lose your progress to them in any dramatic way, and the brighter reefs return. If someone in the room is uneasy, it is fine to pass the controller over or pause and come back another evening.

ABZU as a short, complete evening

ABZU is a compact, single-player game with no online features, no in-game purchases and nothing to log in for. That makes it easy to play in a couple of sittings and then put away, which suits people who prefer finished stories to ongoing games.

Because it is so visual, it rewards a darker room and a bigger screen, though a handheld also works. It is one of the picks in our after a long day and rainy Sunday playlists. If you play on a bright screen late at night, our no-screen-glow evenings page has tips on brightness.

ABZU's controls focus on swimming, so it is easy for a newer player to pick up. Steam lists full controller support and recommends a gamepad, which suits playing from the sofa.

If you plan to share it with a child, play the opening areas together first. They show off the bright, peaceful side of the game before any of the tenser stretches PEGI mentions.

Platforms and rating details for ABZU

The PEGI database lists ABZU on PC and PlayStation 4 (August 2016), Xbox One (November 2016) and Nintendo Switch (2021). It is developed by Giant Squid and published by 505 Games, and Steam lists it for Windows.

Every PEGI listing gives the same rating: PEGI 7 with violence and fear descriptors.

If you want another ocean game, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure has a sunny coastal setting with no threats at all, and Flower shares ABZU's wordless, music-led style on land.

As a single purchase with no add-ons, it is a straightforward choice: what you buy is the whole experience.

ABZU suits players who prefer exploring to completing lists. There is no checklist of tasks to tick off, just places to find and creatures to follow, so a session can end whenever you feel settled.