Sword of the Sea is the latest game from Giant Squid, creators of ABZU and The Pathless. I loved the look and concept of ABZÚ, but I didn’t really become obsessed with the gameplay loop. I enjoyed exploring the undersea world for a bit, but left it all behind for something else.

I’ve had a strange relationship with The Pathless. I have never entered the world of The Pathless, however, there was a time when Austin Wintory’s soundtrack was the background music to my creative productivity — I even listened to it while writing this post. At some point a second album entitled The Pathless: Meditations came out giving me more creative soundwaves to work to.

I’ve always thought The Pathless looks great from trailers and gameplay streams, I just haven’t found the right time to jump into that world. I can even see it being a fun experiment to jump into a video game when you are already familiar with the soundtrack. I’ve listened to a few movie scores before watching those films, and it really makes the background sounds stand out.

Austin Wintory is currently one of the big names in video game scores. I even recently jumped into a game knowing he made the music, and while that particular game didn’t grab my attention, the music did. I probably overstayed past the point I would normally leave just for the beautiful music.

Side Quest:
On a separate musical note, I’ve been familiar with the music of all of the Final Fantasy games for years, however I only recently started playing the games. When I knew I would be attending a Final Fantasy Piano concert I decided it was time to actually play some of these games. I started with Final Fantasy VII Remake and I’m now working on Final Fantasy XVI.

A Beautiful World

The latest game from Giant Squid is Sword of the Sea, which features a vast and peaceful world to explore and get lost in. The game takes visual elements from previous Giant Squid titles — ABZÚ and The Pathless.

Throughout the game, two different worlds — land and sea — are being fused together. You surf around different terrains (sand, ice, fire) on your hoversword solving puzzles to unleash the ocean and free sea creatures. The way it works is interesting, you are beholden by gravity until you unlock the ocean. Then you can freely fly or glide through the air, since you are technically underwater.

Overall, Sword of the Sea is a relatively short game, but also the perfect amount of time for this chill type of game. It felt like the developers at Giant Squid were saying, “Come play in our cool world for a bit, and then move on with your life.”

There’s no dialogue or voice acting throughout Sword of the Sea, just music, sound effects, and chill vibes. The world’s lore is explained throughout short poems and riddles around the world. The emotion is conveyed through stunning visuals and beautiful musical arrangements. The art style looks pretty simple, but when close up in photo mode or a cutscene, you can see all of the detail.

The game tells a common story I’ve seen in many indie games lately. The world has been destroyed, but you can bring it back by saving the creatures. Last year I played Jusant which had a similar story, but it was told in a different way. Plenty of indie games act as PSAs (Public Service Announcements) teaching players about some great cause — or just how to be a better human. When done in a creative way like with Sword of the Sea, I am totally fine with it. I had a great time surfing through this world, and helping the sea creatures reclaim their world.

Stylin’ (aka Coolness Factor)

*Before I go on a bit more about Sword of the Sea, I wanted to explain the meaning of “Stylin.” Here’s a short video that I created back in Ad school from a piece of dialogue pulled from the greatest 90s extreme sports movie, Airborne (1993). The other familiar voice in the video (the one that’s not Mitch Goosen’s) is the current voice of video games in film, Jack Black (Bowser, Claptrap, Steve)

While the word “sword” is in the title of the game, this is not your ordinary sword. There is no sword combat in Sword of the Sea, instead the sword is used as a hoversword – or all-terrain skateboard. You can even perform flip and grab tricks when airborne (see how I brought the movie title back).

There is a points system within the game, but your accumulated score doesn’t really matter. Your points remain hidden in the pause menu, so you can check on them but they are pretty much useless and for fun. They only matter in a few high score challenges, but I only found a couple of those. They are mostly used as style points.

Points rack up as you travel around the world. You are given the choice to either get from point A to point B as quickly as you can, or doing it with style — again, that’s where Stylin’ comes in.

I chose to cruise with style solely for my own enjoyment. I had a great time cruising through this world. This was also a nice break as I was gearing up to start a spooky game for spooky season – Alan Wake II.

I really enjoy these short indie game breaks from bigger, more complicated games. These games come along and grab your attention just long enough. It’s like how I will go from reading a huge 500-800 page book to reading a 200 or less page book.