The Hidden Message of ABZU (ABZU Story Breakdown)

ABZU is the story of the oceans, and the journey of finding out where we belong in the natural world. The premise of ABZU may seem simple, but the game is actually filled with a good bit of fascinating lore. This is my take on the world of ABZU, and why I believe the game is all about conveying a very specific message.
Shout-outs to Reddit user /u/rabizbit for helping inspire me to make this video.
If you want to see my theories on other games be sure to check out the channel, and I'll provide some short cuts here!
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[@JohnGoetzGaming]

nah man aliens invaded and built red stuff then the terminator stopped them with the help of Jaws

[@frostbitetheannunakiiceind6574]

theFareulookinat wtf

[@teletersi]

Omg.

[@GINGERDAHNY]

Haha

[@gpeddino]

Another important detail: there is a set of ancient tables called the "Enuma Elis" which are the basis of the Babylonian myth. According to them, Abzu is the god of fresh waters , while Tiamat is the goddess of the oceans. Their marriage originated all other gods and living beings. I don't know to what extent that plays a part in the game's concept, but the text set to music in the game's epilogue is taken directly from the "Enuma Elis" (as per the ending credits).

[@dianamations9371]

i'm pretty sure abzu is represented through the character we play as, and the shark is tiamat. I could be wrong though.

[@Jukajobs]

a lot of the songs in the soundtrack are also named after certain lines of the beginning of the Enuma Elis - Austin Wintory, the composer, has a series called "As Noted" here on youtube, which shows the sheet music for a lot of his pieces, and the one for "Then were created the gods in the midst of heaven" includes the lyrics, which are from the Enuma Elis, plus the translation. Other pieces that have some choir in them also include bits from that text

[@Fabian-vo7ki]

The Inverse Pyramids are also in the sky, I've seen it on someones playthrough. You could see a big chained inversed Pyramid high in the sky

[@KleberFainer]

Yeah, and it let me think that at the end the protagonist is detroying it one by one as the progress higher and higher restoring ocean's power.

[@veyarain82]

I think that you are causing the ocean’s levels to rise as you give your energy to the creation wells, which allowed you to reach them. The machines were draining the ocean...

[@Sleepy_Sunshine]

i believe that's the one we destroy with shark friends ghost and i saw it when i played Abzu... like 2 mins ago, absolutely gorgeous

[@peterGchaves]

You can see the pyramids up in the sky right in the first level as soon as you gain control over the protagonist 🙂 Just go to the surface, look up and you'll see the pyramids in the distant clouds.

[@Mike14264]

True... maybe those are the broken pyramids we find at the end?

[@Starwarp1]

You are Zu; you are called to know. Along your journey, you will meet Ab, who is water, the ocean. Together you shall face Tiamat, who is Chaos, the mother, and from her lifeless form, you shall be created as the gods in the midst of heaven.

[@figloalds]

Abzû is the best possible execution for the "Journey 2" I've always wanted to play.

[@NIKMOE]

It was fantastic! In many ways it really was "Journey 2", yet some of the design choices such as the meditation rocks, and the real world animals gave Abzu a very unique feel. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@JamesLStapleton]

I want a Journey prequel where we play through the civil war that happened between the Rythulian species. That would be epic. Plus it would totally be another fantastic opportunity to hit all the huge emotional parts. Make us cry again. I want!

[@BeeTheTravler]

There’s also sky children of light

[@goteamslugs]

@@BeeTheTravler And "Flower". "Unravel" is a beautiful game as well.

[@TheTraderStan]

I agree with most of your theory. Let me give you all my theory from the eyes of a marine biologist. In one of the paintings on the wall in the broken down ruins is displayed the humanoids almost worshiping a Great White shark, and marine life in general. The White shark is the apex predator of the ocean, its the head honcho, the best hunter known to man. But not only is it the top predator, it's one of the ocean's millions, even trillions, of species that help protect the ocean and vicariously protecting us. For human life to survive, we need Sharks and whales and every little specimen of plankton in the ocean to not only survive but to thrive. In the world today that's not happening, mankind is all but obliterating the ocean ecosystems with acts like; Shark fining, long line fishing, culls, oil spills and over fishing. But back to my theory, I believe that in this game, we play the part of an Ocean Guardian. Mankind (or whatever those humanoids were in the paintings) was wiped out by who/whatever made those pyramids (humans in a sense). I think we, the guardian, were a kind of fail-safe in case things went south, and we were programmed to activate when some kind of substantial oceanic change was somehow felt thus finding us randomly floating in the ocean. So tl;dr- We're a type of ecosystem fail-safe protection robot that's programmed to fix what mankind did. #SharkLivesMatter

[@Belisarius536]

I'd not believe you are a marine biologist with how you typed your message. A marine biologist wouldn't say the great white shark is the single most best hunter known to man. A person of that career would know that there Is much more proficient hunters out in the ocean than the great white that have evolved much better ways of catching and devouring their pray I don't think you would regard a single creature as a head honcho knowing that great whites sometimes are subject to predation from pods of orcas and have literally no problem devouring a great whites liver in minutes. I think you claimed to be a marine biologist to give credence to your theory

[@Belisarius536]

@alysdexia if something is proven then it is called a fact. I theory is the explanation of something when you make a conclusion to all the evidence that you have but can't recreate or otherwise prove it exists as you where not there to see something happen and witness and document it as fact. Like gravity for example. Theories are not facts, why else do you think they have different names?

[@Belisarius536]

@alysdexia I do get you and understand what you are saying but A scientific theory is "a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that CAN incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses." Theories are formed from hypotheses that have been subjected repeatedly to tests of evidence which attempt to disprove or falsify them. You write beautifully can I ask your nationality and field of study

[@snowsongvideopix8680]

@@Belisarius536 Yes. When I read that I also thought of how the clever and physically formidable Orca can take out a Great White Shark.

[@PinkPanther45518]

I 100% agree with this theory. I think this is the true story of the game. I mean you do share similarities with the enemy. Who's to say the ancient beings who worshipped the Great White Shark and lived in harmony with the ocean didn't just steal some technology from whoever created the robots, which I'm pretty sure we're humans, and create you the player as the very fail safe to save the oceans from impending extinction???? I believe 100% that, that is what happened.

[@BlueKyuubi64]

Interesting theory. My take is that the Harvesters are aliens since you can see them in the sky early on in the game. The Harvesters built a robot to look similar to the ancient civilization in order to gain their trust. Then the Harvesters stole the energy from the ocean and began to mine other places in the ocean. It destroyed the city and forced the civilization to move away or something similar. Rather than the Harvesters killing the them; the people instead evolved to live on land (just like their amphibious ancestors before them). This theory is backed by the small room you find in Chp.6 which depicts a member of the ancient civilization alongside birds, a creature of the land. Meanwhile the Harvesters continuing mining the ocean's energy and destroying the temples which housed the ocean's guardians (worshiped as gods by the civilization). Leaving only one guardian left, the Great White. With the power of the ocean inside you, the Diver revives the temples and brings back the fallen guardians.

[@fernandodaela]

Maybe it's the other way around. Havesters started in the ocean, but eventually expanded to the skys (learned to "fly")

[@theonewhoslost]

Nice

[@ofthebeanvariety]

Loved your interpretation of the story. I agree with you. I'd also like to add my thoughts. The first time the protagonist interacts with one of the drones, it has a red light and scans the protagonist. That is the only time the protagonist is scanned which leads me to think that the drones communicate with other drones and the pyramid core. After the scanning is complete, the drone acts "friendly" and leads the protagonist into trust, as do all others. The drones are also collected at the end of zones, and the protagonist is not permitted to enter the collection port. It seems like the protagonist is self aware. I tend to think that the pyramid core is also. The drones help the protagonist progress closer towards the pyramid core; if it is self aware, in communication with the drones, and collecting and harboring power, it seems like its intention is to eliminate any competition for power and control. I'd also like to think that when the protagonist discovers broken droids and other tech, it was the great white's doing. The creature is always ahead of the protagonist. It attacked one of the droids in front of the protagonist. This attack also came from below where broken cores, ruins, and an ecosystem spawn sit in the darkness. Though that could have just been a representation of actual great white behavior despite this particular shark repeated being shown to act differently than the other wildlife. Due to the communication between drones and the pyramid core, the drones were instructed to gain the trust of the protagonist so that when that attack happens in front of the protagonist, space and distrust is created. This strengthens the pyramid core's standing by weakening the connection of the protagonist and the great white. Picking off every mindless piece of technology that isn't helping the ocean reflects the desperate situation.

[@radzilla748]

amazing

[@allrock1238]

I did notice the little water drones where being constructed on an assembly line in one of the pyramids along with the proximity stun mine "devices"

[@justyourawesomenerd567.5]

PamMilly I

[@TheSattocs]

I always took the story to be about an ancient civilization that respected and worked with a natural power source that gave life to all things but the pyramids are actually an alien technology and not a creation of the original species. The Pyramids stole the energy source thus wiping out the natural life and ancient civilization and used it to power its creations, including you but for whatever reason (possibly the life giving energy inside you) you became aware and possibly malfunctioned which is why you are floating in the middle of nowhere and you decide to rebel. This explains why the shark was hostile or at least evasive to you in the first place. Each to their own theories though I guess :)

[@AnnekeOosterink]

The protagonist shares quite a lot of similarities with the ancient civilization, the way they look for starters, but also the fact that they are shown in the mozaics in the ancient cities and temples. So that would indicate a being/robot that was created by the ancients, to look like them, and to possibly turn off the pyramids that took too much and almost destroyed the oceans.

[@Alusnovalotus]

But they had already known about it and created the frescoes that tools the story. It didn’t indicate a foreign invasion, just progress gone wrong.

[@theostemporium7507]

Yes, this video has been the foundation of my recent theory. Have you noticed that towards the final swim into the huge precursor pod, the unique mountain of Journey can be seen? I've analysed a picture of the mountain and it has the unique crack that leads to the imense source of power. I think that Journey, Abzu and Sky (upcoming release) are linked. Both Journey and Abzu share nearly identical themes. Greed. Sky could be connected due to the huge precursor pod seen hovering in the sky at the very start of Abzu. Perhaps the remains of the civilisation fled to the stars? All we can do is speculate.

[@mead0w0]

You forgot one detail, whenever you surface in the game and look in the sky (especially when the game first starts) you can see the harvesters in the sky, like I space of just floating there.

[@RebeccaJ720]

My theory: You are the last person of Atlantis & the Illuminati destroyed everything so it's your duty to restore.

[@amanda.0w048]

That's it we've found it

[@jerry407]

Eureka!

[@rafkhachatryan6761]

Lol no. This game is simmilar to Journey so u arre the last person of that civilization and you r just restoring the ocean life because in game we understood that everything is connected .

[@RebeccaJ720]

Raf Khachatryan That's sad because I have no one to procreate with, then again I'm a robot.

[@renjiyomo3928]

Raf Khachatryan it was a joke bro. learn how to spell-

[@TheBlackSpiral]

I think there's also an element of artificial intelligence grown beyond it's bounds to this game. With the doors following your movements and the core desperately trying to protect itself, it didn't strike me as impossible that it too is to blame for the current state of the world.

[@KxNOxUTA]

The machines kind of got a will of their own and went berserk, in some sens. ABZÛ reminded me a lot of the MATRIX movies!

[@mansuralmutawa-9824]

In the credits it said the text was from the Enûma Eliš, the Babylonian creation myth.

[@ganymede8257]

I almost cried when the shark sacrificed itself and then saw the orehistoric animals and was like "Oh sh- I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SAD ABZU"

[@raghavdewangan6585]

my absolute favorite scene was when we went through a riptide and emerged into this heavenly environment, it was an unforgettable moment

[@NIKMOE]

I know the video is on the quiet side, it has to do with how the clip was rendered, apologies! The next one will blow your ears off, you have my word.

[@quinniebe9775]

I loved the quietness, it's a nice diversion from so many other KZbin videos. Plus, it suits the game. Your voice is very soothing and fit for narration.

[@NIKMOE]

So long as no one falls asleep from my voice, its all good! Thanks for watching.

[@quinniebe9775]

Nik Moe Checked out some of your other content and subscribed to you right after. Keep up the quality content. I especially liked your thoughts on Firewatch, good stuff, man. Cheers.

[@jeeshadow1]

I read an article that theorized the pyramids and such were sent by aliens. Apparently at the points you can pop out of the water later in the game you can see some of the Pyramids in the sky. I personally agree with this alien idea as nothing you see shows any form of technological advancement between the jars and the pyramids. Just my opinion. Although I see it also being quite possible that the whole alien thing isn't real at all XD.

[@joeysukhi6889]

yo there was a language right at the top of each picture. maybe someone could decipher it? i think u missed it out.

[@nem4805]

I had a rough idea of the message in this amazing game, but you helped so much to clear it up and reveal the backstory. The game is so enjoyable, and thanks.

[@Holdiniful]

Now THIS is what I call quality content. Very well explained and a very good observation as to the meaning of the game at the end of the video. What's crazy is as impressed as I am with your explanation there are still so many unanswered questions. Where are these humanoid creatures? Surely they couldn't have ALL died, right? Why are you alone? Were you the only robot of that nature created? Why are you seemingly sentient? Is the scene toward the end of the your journey where you destroy the mine-esque machines in the tranquil waters creating life with the shark an illusion or real? And if it is an illusion how is that possible if you're a robot? There are way too many rabbit holes but you get the idea. Love how open to interpretation this all is and again love this video. Keep doing what you're doing Nik Moe!

[@Holdiniful]

P.S. - You have definitely earned my sub, looking forward to more videos like this!

[@crypt1d_4li3n3]

I finished playing this game just hours ago, and I absolutely loved it. Here's my theory about it, sorry it's not that elaborate or doesn't make much sense but I'm not good at making theories haha This game shows the world, centuries after us, where the water drastically rised up and swallowed the surface (in fact, during the game, there are lots of buildings and what they seemed to be houses and temples). Technology got really advanced and humans created androids (like the character we play) that could resist to any danger and explore the world (I think the character we play is an android as well, because no one could have resisted that long from the electric shocks of the floating triangles, and it doesn't show emotions at all). Then humans got enxincted, and only the androids and the sea animals were left. Our character is one of the androids that survived, and to understand better the world it was living in, it began to swim. The more it was going in the deep ocean, the more it was discovering the toxic part of humanity, that caused their enxinction (that kind of laboratory with all of those floating triangles, I suppose). It also discovered how to bring back to life some species that were enxincted. What do you think about it? ^^

[@SweetflyRachel]

I seriously LOVE Abzu.

[@ScottStevenErickson]

I just finished the game, and this video helped me make more sense of it. Like Journey, I just reveled in the beauty while playing, even though I didn't fully understand what was going on. This made me appreciate it even more though! Do you have a similar video for Journey?

[@NIKMOE]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I've gotten so many requests for Journey I think it's time I revisit the game, and put up a new video. Thanks for the feedback!!

[@crumesd]

This was a great review/explanation, well done!

[@NIKMOE]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@Triple_Colors]

I got a BIG feeling that Journey and Abzû took place in the same universe :3

[@crawlerin]

Good analysis on the story from paintings. But I think there is some other aspect to journey progressing through the game. It did not occur to me at first, but upon reaching temple section after first inverted pyramid showdown - you release Helicoprion from one of those pools. What's was so weird about that? That creature had extinct 250 million years ago! You go back in time. It's like a trip to museum. Starting with more recent species - you even meet your first land animals while walking on foot in first room, they crawled out of water around 240 million years ago. I thought the game would end with some kind of protozoan life :-) Very interesting detail. Life comes from the ocean, after all. I see it as a nice tribute to evolution, and maybe - just maybe - hinting at the theory of life being brought by ancient alien race?

[@KxNOxUTA]

I found that part quite striking, too! In that anchient temple, that Atlantis-like place, it's like it's been simply hidden away so well, that the creatures from there never became extinct (some of them at least). They stayed in that safe space, breeding, cut off from the rest of the ocean (since you had to enter that space by feet and had to get out of the water for the first time(!). So time stayed still there. It was so cool to have those strange creatures around!

[@AnnekeOosterink]

@@KxNOxUTA Yeah, that's what I thought too. The ruins are closed off and it could be some kind of sanctuary for otherwise extinct creatures.

[@SWatchik]

I'm really surprised that no one else discusses that fact. Swimming with plesiosaurs and icythosaurs was such an amazing moment. I think the character gets sent back in time to ressurect the shark

[@raccooncafe5689]

I played Abzu and the ending gave me goosebumps.

[@MrLucidLJ]

Incredible video really enjoyed your insight

[@NIKMOE]

+MrLucidLJ Glad you enjoyed it. It was an awesome game!

[@MrLucidLJ]

Nik Moe I watched PewDiePIe play through and it looked great.

[@MrLucidLJ]

Nik Moe You should do more videos like this.

[@keithchatata7354]

The setup with the robot companion being destroyed by the shark was basic yet effective. Almost every lets play out there has the same reaction of friendliness towards the robot and hostility/fear toward the great white.

[@louiseddington5524]

I've played the game 4 time. IT'S SO GOOD.

[@teqnify63]

This was one of my favorite games I have ever played.

[@shardulkharkande9397]

Loved the narration, almost felt like listening to an amazing audiobook! Good job!!

[@jonathanjoestar__]

i just got this game today, and honestly its one of the most beautifully made games ive ever played. absolutely beautiful scenery.

[@RocketLauncherwithInfiniteAmmo]

Just played through this game for the first time and found this video, and the review in your video was very well written. Game was beautiful, and had a lot to say that almost transcends words. Enjoyable take on the game.

[@andyreiner1802]

The story of ABZU is actually us in current time. The unlimited powerful resource in the ocean is OIL! We human needs oil in every inch of our life, foods, fuel, factory, all needs oil. But our greed to harvest oil in the ocean causes a huge impact to the ocean itself. the triangle robot there represents the machine that we use to harvest oil. We all know the fact that how much oil that left and spread in the ocean and cause the dead of thousands of fishes and coral. This game give us message to help ocean and protect them. Love our ocean like we love our life. PS: Pardon my english, Im not native .p

[@ArtyomStrayheart]

The only reason to disagree is the fact that in the game the energy has to be given back to the ocean. And we should probably not do that with oil.

[@indigodragon0613]

Alex Krieger It's less to do with oil and more to do with our materialism and selfishness. Overfishing and climate change will wipe out all ocean life by 2048 unless we change our ways.

[@XaadeTheBlade]

Why not? Oil seeps from the bottom of the ocean where we don't collect it. We're cleaning up the oceans! :p

[@zudy9067]

Andy Reiner Sure, we humans drink oils. wash our clothes with oils, shower with oil, and surely there is no white people in the world anymore.

[@danielcarrington2200]

"Fishes" lol

[@___zerox___]

How do you not have more subs? Your videos are great dude, keep them up

[@grantrencourt]

I recently finished the game myself and I think your analysis in spot on. It actually helped me fill in the gaps with regards to things I missed while playing the game, so many thanks for that. A lot of your observations make perfect sense and I agree that ABZU is very much a cautionary tale with a strong environmental message.

[@Ji99i3]

May sound silly , but I appreciate that little wrap up at the end. I have ADD and I have to rewatch everything like 15 times. Little touches like that help me feel less tired after taking in an interesting piece of information.

[@THEpaulyBOY44]

just got this on epic store for free just wanted to see what it was about so if anyone wants this game its free until the 15th oct 2020 guys also amazing breakdown vid bro

[@Exile1778]

Same.. i just got ABZU yesterday

[@invalidusername6809]

Even if you don't see all of the story there is a lot of subtle things that change your mood and emotions, the Sharks attack on the robot ally instilling a fear of the shark, the red giving a feeling of hostility and danger

[@nataliej.3579]

I’ve played it so many times and never understood! Thank you!

[@hdestotallyunoriginalgamin3555]

Absolutely top flight analysis! I finished Abzu literally an hour ago. What a fantastic experience!

[@Legofan1259]

not trying to ask this to get a laugh but did anyone else get a little mermaid type vibe while playing?

[@KulSteph98]

Totally xD

[@crunchu2361]

Under the sea!

[@pinkette]

Look at this stuff Isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?

[@Vattghern_]

ABZU was a game that got me hooked years ago on visuals alone. Later I heard the soundtrack and Austin Wintory didn't disappoint, however, what got me intrigued was the name. After discovering that the name comes from ancient Mesopotamian mythology I started paying more attention to the ruins and the Ishtar Gate-inspired walls. An excellent breakdown of the story, thumbs up.

[@caihalligan7084]

When we thought the little floating robot was good and got destroyed by the shark, we automatically thought the shark was bad but he was saving us and the ocean

[@xsparik]

Very well explained. In fact the best explanation I could find on youtube. You definitely deserve more more subscribers. Good Job, keep it up mate 👍

[@magickus]

something i feel needs to be addressed is that the game is heavily influenced by the Enûma Eliš, the babylonian creation myth. everything from the game's title to the songs on the ost directly reference it. it could also be a creative retelling of the Enûma Eliš (or a different story like this, with heavy inspiration drawn from the myth)

[@navzee831]

This is really beautiful. Thanks for uploading!

[@GameHogGames]

We just did a playthrough of this game, and tried to explain what we thought the game was about, sounds like we hit on a couple of the points you raised, but you gave a really collected and eloquent explanation of your interpretation of the story. Great video, chap!

[@danieldewitt4035]

Great video! I enjoyed your interpretation of the game and it resonated with mine as well I love games like this with seemingly minimal plot that ends up being surprisingly deep if you look for it.

[@m_d587]

Absolutely love what you did there. I have something to add...research ABZU in the context of the ancient Sumerians story of ENKI and what abzu meant to them.

[@captain_slang]

I don't think there's any explanation that really fits better than yours. It's definitely the vibe I caught while playing the game. It makes you really feel bad watching the destruction of nature in the real world and causes some pretty deep reflection on what could happen when we exhaust our own planet's resources

[@nicholasmiller1335]

Excellent examination of the evidence. I feel satisfied with your version of Abzu's story! Thanks and keep making the great content!!!

[@NIKMOE]

+Nicholas Miller I'm glad you enjoyed my video as well as the game!

[@marcellus_taylor]

Very well explained, I must say. I really love how the game subtly tells you the story and I absolutely agree with your interpretation. I've felt very happy when I finished the game for the first time today. Awesome game!

[@NIKMOE]

Glad you enjoyed it. It was a very relaxing, yet moving experience. Cheers!

[@Liam-cz2fy]

Bruh journey was so sick back in the day like just finding random I really need to pick up this game

[@waterbottle6913]

I cried when spoiler alert the shark died

[@FanaticalLikeADemon]

But he came back as a ghost

[@waterbottle6913]

+JoJo G ye I know

[@rebeccalaidlaw4830]

Same here. I was so upset and so were my kids. Then we all gave a cheer when he came back!

[@katrinaedgar816]

I picked up the game Saturday for free from PSN and I love it I completed it 100%.

[@nonononothere]

I was confused by the game since i didn't really feel like i got the message and the idea of abzu. So thank you a lot for clearing things up for me! You are great!

[@NIKMOE]

Thanks for watching! Glad I could help clear some stuff up. :)

[@HitchcockJohn]

I'm intrigued by your interpretation of the story but there was one part that I started to feel like I should bring up. I feel like there's a significance to this but I can't quite put my finger on exactly what it is. Towards the end of the game, there is one curious stretch where you start encountering a variety of prehistoric creatures, many of which are now extinct such as the Helicoprion (that weird shark with the swirly jaw). ammonite (a Nautilus-like creature), Anomalocaris (an early form of Arthropod), Ichtheosaurus (a dolphin-like aquatic reptile), Tiktaalik (a species thought to be the link between fish and amphibians), Archelon (a really big turtle) and Elasmosaur (a very large Plesiosaur). Even the ones that aren't currently extinct are limited to species that are exceptionally old such as Coelocanths and Gar. As far as I'm aware, this is the only point in the game where we are introduced to a prehistorically-inspired environment. Before and after this we are entitled to view a number of different species but it is mostly limited to ones that are still around today. Yet this one portion of the game opts to bring us into a prehistoric environment. I feel like there's some kind of significance here but it's hard to place. That section does take place in the ancient ruins. Is it possible that it serves as some kind of reminder or warning? You mentioned that the hieroglyphs depicted the story of a people who used the sea for resources but managed to preserve the balance until they reached what essentially an industrial scale. The whole game is about recognizing this mistake and rectifying it. Perhaps the appearance of prehistoric life in this section serves as a reminder of how easily the balance of nature can be disrupted. During this sequence we encounter a variety of creatures that once populated the oceans but are now gone forever (wiped out by previous mass extinctions). Being reminded of what was lost in the past reinforces the value of preserving the Ocean- namely to prevent other species from meeting the same fate as these ancient creatures.

[@JHogan8327]

Brilliant, thanks for making this video! I very much enjoyed the insight.

[@NIKMOE]

Of course. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@KevinDevZ]

your video's are so well planned, edited, and executed how do you only have 6.4k subs

[@spiddoodle]

i think that the civilization must have been advanced and respected the ocean and the shark as their sacred guardian but then as they are starting to evolve they start to make more advanced stuff but then the pyramid must have malfunctioned and killed the civilization while sending the protagonist far away as a last chance of restoring the ocean with its capability of having the ocean's power in it. then when the little drones are found they might be telling the core where you are so the core can supply more drones to "help the protagonist" and the shark destroys the drone might be symbolizing that the shark is aware that the drone is evil and that the protagonist is the ocean's last hope. and once each drone is destroyed the core prepares mines to stop the protagonist and the shark. but when the shark tries to destroy the core might point out that the shark might be sentient.

[@user-xb9bd8jr2t]

the big red upside down pyramids intimidates me of all the things i couldve felt in life, never have i ever thought that i would feel intimidated by big red upside down pyramids

[@seablade214]

I really wanted to see another interpretation of the game, and thanks now I have! I have a huge background with the ocean and video games, and honestly, Abzu killed my dreams of ever making a dream game since it is better than anything I could have made. As an ocean geek, I had a bit of a different initial feeling but reach the same conclusions about the story. See, I would LOVE to follow a Great White, the concept of worshiping an apex predator that manages an ecosystem is very natural to me. I had my doubts about the little robot "allies" after the first use of one to break apart the coral. I felt like this is the kind of artistic game where all mechanics have a symbolic purpose and meaning, and I thought, for a nature theme, destroying your way through felt strange so I felt like the little bot had what was coming for him with the shark. Essentially my experience with the story amounted to more of an immediate wariness of the true nature of the protagonist and a more immediate love for the shark.

[@ryanlastname3039]

I think your interpretation is right, to me Abzu is a beautiful allegory for how we have to respect the balance of nature and how we can be one with all these creatures, I hope its message is heard far and wide

[@118halospartan]

This game is a literal work of art, in that ultimately, it's something that's open to interpretation, while simultaneously being visually and audibly stunning. Though, I feel like your interpretation is the best one I've heard so far :)

[@NIKMOE]

:) That means a lot, thank you very much. You are right, the game is wide open to a variety of different interpretations. That's part of what makes it a memorable experience.

[@118halospartan]

Nik Moe So true, and the same goes for Journey, which if I had to be honest...has a much bigger place in my heart, in that it literally got me out of depression. But Abzû is nontheless a wonderful experience all on its own, and goes down as one of the most beautiful games I've ever experienced.

[@iqui]

I love this theory about the lore, because my understanding of the world after playing Abzû was quite a different one.

[@dotzerzor5736]

Great theory very concise and good research into the game, keep up the great work!

[@DjimonMoz]

The only thing that makes me have any doubts about your theory is that when you go to the surface and look up to the sky, you'll see a bunch of those reverse pyramids flying in orbit. I always thought that the pyramids were alien and that the (player) robots were fashioned after the local civilization in order to take the 'lifestream' from them. I dunno.

[@NIKMOE]

You're correct. Despite hitting the surface multiple times during my play through I missed the Pyramids in the air. This video was recorded the day after the title launched, so what you see was my "hot take" coming right off completing the game. If I could go back, I would definitely include bits about the sky pyramids. You'll notice a brief moment in the video where I find a "hidden room" that shows the ancient people interacting with birds. Clearly at some point taking to the skies became a priority, perhaps that is why the under sea cities are empty? Either way there is a bit more mystery to this game than previously thought.

[@cellowify]

You have the perfect voice and pace to make videos of games like ABZU and Inside. Love your videos, keep it up please

[@DemstarAus]

In the credits there is a note saying that the text comes from the first tablet of the Enuma Elis. That is a series of tablets depicting the/a Babylonian creation myth describing Abzu and Tiamat (the primal beings of fresh and salt water respectively). You can read more about that online.

[@y_auc60seb20]

I really like the art style and the music of this game

[@user-jj6xp2ln4d]

I just got this on epic games for free and played it in one sitting. It was that amazing. Such a gorgeous game, especially that first current scene where you swim with the orcas. I was in awe the whole time.

[@TheInspirationalMind]

Fantastic video man! I just played through it and had a hard time understanding the story. It's a lot deeper than I thought!

[@NIKMOE]

+TheInspirationalMind I definitely had to return to a few sections of the game when making this video, some of the story is very easy to miss the first time around. Glad to hear you enjoyed the video!

[@thrillhouse_vanhouten]

As much as I loved Abzu, it did share an awful lot of its story points with Flower and Journey. [pure world/civilization perverted by technology/industry/war, you play as the force that can save it and restore balance to nature.] It's not a bad story by any means, it's just not the same experience the third time around. Still, Abzu has some incredible, incredible moments. Totally worth the money.

[@Flood520]

THRILLHO Indeed. Even though the game is only like 2 hours long, it still took me forever to play it. Because I was like, "I've played this before. Twice, actually." It wasn't a bad game, but they've gone to that well too many times now.

[@Heoz]

Wow... I just subbed. Haven't finished the video yet but I'm loving your narrative. So simple yet exquisite. Keep up the great work..!!!!

[@NIKMOE]

Thank you so much!

[@veyarain82]

I like this, and also think that many other thoughts are here: We can discover ourselves and answer our questions by observing our world. Always be open to ideas that challenge your notions (the shark isn’t the villain). Always be watching. You can only get by giving. You are not defined or controlled by your heritage. You are yourself, and you make your own choices and decisions, regardless of what you are or how you were born. Also, a kind of symbolic idea, what if you represent Tiamat, chaos (you are born of a race that destroyed life) and the shark represents Abzu. As in the myth, only by working together do you bring back balance and life. Also, I think the people less foresaw the destruction of the temples, but caused it out of greed, shattering them and replacing them with their pyramids. I also got the impression that the first guy who looked like us created all of the pyramids and bots and us, and maybe led an uprising against the others.

[@animedevotee8228]

Subscribed! Very Helpful Your Voice Makes Me Relaxed For Some Reason??!?

[@Mike14264]

One last thing worth mentioning are the Sacred Wells themselves. They each represent a major aquatic animal: manta rays, orcas, whale sharks, giant squids and the great whites, these last ones being above the others, alongside the main shrine. Maybe it's to symbolize all a these animals' power as great protectors or predators... who knows...

[@mrbossbitchb4749]

Great video it must take you a long time to make this. It's beautiful and a work of art. Keep it up your gonna become huge I can see it

[@NIKMOE]

Thanks for the feedback. It means a lot to me, and I hope to keep producing videos for the foreseeable future.

[@Silverhazey_]

I just beat this game. I'm absolutely in LOVE with this genre of games I've been missing out on. ABZU, Journey, Flower, Gris. I need more. Buy these type of games and support devs who give us a different kind of experience that draws on art and emotion. Some of the best games I've ever played and they barely even have 'gameplay". Thank you so much for this video it was very well done, some of these things are easy to miss.

[@mohdnohhussin6793]

just finished this. thanks for the explanation!

[@vilaintrolltrollinsky8007]

Realy nice. Abzu also mean "absolution" or forgiveness of all sins; or "absolut" who mean absulutly everything. This game is also the self sacrifice or the machine to restore the balance. Thanks Marc-André.

[@jimpachi98]

This explanation helps a lot. I was so confused, I thought the giant machine was some alien ship that developed robots and destroyed the old civilization, but this makes a lot more sense, and is more relatable to real life.

[@charlottefitzpatrick2976]

This sounds exactly the same as journey but in the ocean. Brilliant.

[@CarlosRocha-xd8dn]

I have just finished this game and it´s one of the most beautiful game that i ever played. It´s amazing. Congrats to Giant Squid Team.

[@GriffinPearson]

Fantastic video. Really great work on this.

[@dorkchops]

I just got this game because of the Play at Home playstation thing and just finished it. It gave me so many waves of emotion (pun not intended), ngl the shark thing made me cry

[@makotoyagami9458]

I’m pretty sure the big inverted triangle with the core refers to the triangle tunnels you cross through frequently since it seems like any civilization thing is triangle shaped

[@centurionconrad]

This game shows the seas beauty. Subnautica shows the seas horror.

[@philharrison9435]

The Ecco the Dolphin sequel we needed

[@amjp73]

You earned yourself a subscriber! I love this game and think the story its telling is very meaningful, i like your perspective on the story

[@whendigo162]

I just finished playing 5he game it was AMAZING. Realy made me feel calm and wanna stay there as long as i could, just like you said. The music and beauty made me sad but happy at the same time even though nothing sad was happening at the moment, i even cried a few times. It's my new favorite game. I wanna buy journey too, i love these types of games. I just need some more money

[@OverlordofDarknes]

I was never fully convinced that the machines were built by the same people that used to worship the Great White Shark. I always considered that the machines had invaded from somewhere else, stealing the primordial, life creating water the people used. Also, I am unsure if our diver used to lead the machines, or was the most advanced agent of the "factory" Also also, looking up the soundtrack reveales an even more clear picture of what many locations ond the events within represent. For example, the music that plays while inside the vast machine is called "Chaos, the Mother" and the music that playes at the climax, when you and the Great White together move to destroy tha machines, the song is "Their Waters were Mingled Together." So, to me at least, there are a lot of parallels to Sumarian myth, with "abzu" (also refered to as apsu) can also mean "fresh water from underground aquifers which was given a religious fertilising quality" (Wikipedia page on Abzu) or could refer to the Primordial Deity, Abzu from the Babylonian creation myth when Tiamat (Salt water deity, and later reinterprited to be Primordial Chaos) mated/mingled with Abzu (Fresh Water) and created life.

[@andrewkuhar1189]

It has been surprisingly difficult to find a good concise source of analysis on ABZÛ's story, but in one video you've done a great job of it here. I never even thought to connect the jars with the technology/diver -- definitely makes sense that we're a vessel and that the water is an energy source we seem to be powered by. I did read somewhere on the Steam forums some interesting alternative takes, though none that really contradict the hieroglyphs, just add to the world-building: 1.) Is this Earth or an alien oceanic planet? Part of the story seems to suggest the entrapment and/or re-population of fish into the waters, so maybe these structures are somewhat alien in nature and came bring life to this world, like an arc. Perhaps this is far-fetched, but the floating upside pyramids in the sky seem more viable this way. Also, at times ABZÛ feels like an inverse of the "aliens built the pyramids" conspiracy theory (upside down triangles, water instead of sand). 2.) The raising of the sea level is how we reach the main pyramid structure. This doesn't feel really that apparent until the final level, but it could be a cool subtle detail that not only are we releasing the fish at the wells of life, but we're expanding the ocean, thus granting us access to the main structure at the end.

[@fgtypezero0684]

I just know this is game is an experience. Like ico or shadow of colossus, it begs the gamer to consider video games can be more than what we currently thought them to be. I'm on my third play-through and afterward will try to piece together what I think the game is about

[@MrMordethrhedan]

This video is pretty great.. Maybe you should try to do such a thing for other games of this style (like "Journey") It's very instructive for thoses who played that game without taking care of ALL details (I didn't noticed the red shape of the jars wich is important and didn't knew the origins of the name "AbZû") Reallly good video, very clear explanation, just awesome, thank for this And sorry for my english :/

[@hiscountrigal1764]

Beautifully explained, I adore this game🤗

[@reeft]

Keep making videos, man. Great stuff on the channel!

[@pilotfish3338]

I just adore this game. The biggest thing of all that I love about Abzu is that the shark is good. I love sharks and think their bad reputation is totally untrue. This is the first media I've ever seen, however, that depicts a shark as a great protagonist with noble intent, and not only is it a breath of fresh air, it immediately makes this my favorite game of all time!

[@NIKMOE]

That is awesome to hear! I hope you managed to ride the great white shark when you played, that will unlock a trophy/achievement if I recall correctly. (could be confusing it with the Giant Squid lol).

[@pilotfish3338]

+Nik Moe I didn't actually play it because I only have a Mac, no PC or PS4 :I I watched someone play ot on KZbin and they did get an achievement for riding the shark. I loved that part

[@D_o_n_k_e]

Ok Give it a few years and I think you will have a million or millions of subscribers. Keep it up with the good videos man I believe in you

[@D_o_n_k_e]

Your production value is pretty amazing. I really think you re gonna be a famoua youtuber in some time man.