Sword of the Sea, from Developer and Writer Big Squid, is an atmospheric sport much like the likes of Journey and Flower. It’s additionally straight corresponding to Big Squid’s earlier titles, similar to Abzu and The Pathless, and as such, it has a whole lot of expectations to fulfil by way of high quality.
So does Sword of the Sea excel at what it units out to do, and is it price enjoying? Let’s pull the sword from the stone and toss it into the ocean to search out out!
Sword of the Sea
Gamers in Sword of the Sea will tackle the position of a anonymous statue that’s been woke up. Proper at the beginning of the sport, a singular drop of water falls from a stalactite and hits the statue’s head. This brings the statue again to life, and because the wielder of the titular Sword of the Sea, you set forth in your journey.
And since I used the phrase “journey”, it ought to be famous that the artwork director of Sword of the Sea has labored on Journey earlier than, and it clearly reveals by within the sport’s total aesthetic and vibe. Matt Nava and his staff have created a real murals right here, and this reveals by throughout the first few seconds of enjoying the sport.
When you’ve awoken and set sail in your sword, which doubles as a hoverboard of kinds, you’ll quickly emerge from the caverns out into the sport’s open world. An unlimited desert awaits, and that is the place issues get actually fascinating. When you’ve reached a selected level, you’ll use your sword to deliver life again to the desert in a spectacular style. The ocean will actually burst forth and break up the desert in such a stupendous method that it provides you with goose pimples. It’s so freaking stunning and a sight to behold.
That is additionally when you’ll realise precisely what makes Sword of the Sea so particular. Similar to Journey did in 2012 on the PS3, Sword of the Sea delivers the identical type of feeling. There’s a mystical sense of awe and curiosity to the sport, which is extraordinarily tough to seize, but right here we’re. Sword of the Sea dives proper into the “Video games are artwork” class and is a visible masterpiece of creativity and execution.
Gameplay
Gameplay in Sword of the Sea includes traversing the massive open-world desert and bringing it again to life by activating relics and switches along with your sword’s energy. This brings the ocean and its accompanying sea life again into the desert surroundings, and also you’ll have pockets of distinction that mix seamlessly collectively in a stunning method. Whereas Journey simply featured a desert, Sword of the Sea brings in a whole lot of water, and this breath of contemporary air, or reasonably water, makes an immense distinction right here.
Using your sword like a hoverboard or skateboard/surfboard is surprisingly fluid, and the sport performs out remarkably effectively. The controls are spot on, and even with the sunshine puzzle platforming that takes place, you’ll simply have the ability to manoeuvre your self round and up platforms along with your swordboard. You’ll have the ability to acquire “Tetra”, which might then be given to a service provider that you just’ll encounter in trade for upgrades like performing methods.
Size & Expertise
Sword of the Sea is a bit on the quick facet of issues, coming in at round 4 hours to finish, however actually, given how undoubtedly stunning the sport is, you’ll spend considerably extra time simply admiring its magnificence and soaking within the visuals. The sport additionally doesn’t punish you in any respect for lacking jumps or browsing into partitions or something like that. It’s simply quick, fluid and very enjoyable with zero punishment. Consequently, the sport feels extremely stress-free to play, and you’ll simply cruise across the desert or ocean bits to your coronary heart’s content material whereas making in depth use of the built-in picture mode, must you wish to accomplish that.
Audio & Efficiency
The OST of Sword of the Sea consists by Austin Wintory, and identical to he did with The Pathless, he’s crafted a masterpiece right here as soon as once more. The soundtrack completely matches the sport’s theme and visuals and is extraordinarily effectively achieved. There’s no voice performing right here, however the sport doesn’t want it to succeed. It additionally runs flawlessly each on PC and PS5, which additional sweetens the deal.
Is It For You?
Sword of the Sea may not be everybody’s cup of tea since this isn’t a continuous action-fest. That is an especially chill vibes exploration sport with some very mild platforming components. You’ll be able to simply spend an hour simply hoverboarding round, taking within the sights, and the sport depends closely on its visible aptitude to ship its message. The story is informed by the use of visible cues and doesn’t overstay its welcome.
The pure pleasure you’ll really feel pulling off some methods whereas wanting on the ocean come to life in entrance of you is unmatched, and the sport gave me the very same feeling I received after I performed Flower for the primary time, lighting up the darkness with petals. Sword of the Sea captures that magic and is the kind of sport that can stick with you for a very long time.
Conclusion
General, Sword of the Sea comes extremely really helpful from me. If you happen to’re a fan of creative video games, video games which have a deeper that means primarily based on their visible storytelling and video games that talk to your inventive soul with breathtaking visuals, Sword of the Sea is for you. The glistening waves, the shifting sands, the dusty horizons and the deep darkish caves await, and their story is one which’s effectively price enjoying by. Give Sword of the Sea an opportunity. This sport is totally unbelievable and is a must-play title for 2025. Big Squid have as soon as once more delivered a masterpiece.
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The sport was offered to us for the specific objective of reviewing.
