Who am I? Where am I? And where am I going? These are the troubling questions likely flooding the mind of players during the opening sequence of Abzu's adventure, and unfortunately, none of these questions are ever answered. One thing is for absolute certain, however, and that is that players must swim like they have never swam before. Lush underwater environments, mirroring that of a canvas painting, completely immerse players as they take on the  role of a mysterious underwater diver assisted by robotic drones to aid his progress.
            Spectacular visuals and a wonderful musical score steal the show, albeit with an unfortunate limitation on gameplay depth. The ultimate goal of Abzu is to move from one confined underwater location to another, very often with the assistance of an underwater drone which need to be located by the diver. Discovering the location of these drones, however, isn't exactly that challenging, perhaps because it wasn't meant to be. Players navigating through the underwater environment may very often stumble onto their next objective by accident, possibly even during generalized exploration.
            The majority of Abzu's locations offers limited exploration value other than eye candy, since the interaction with objects and the environment is quite minimal. Players are able to ride various creatures, collect sea shells, release underwater wild life, and "meditate" on specific access points. Collecting sea shells and releasing underwater wild life isn't exactly the most exciting feature in modern gaming, since these two features ultimately equate to pressing the square button in certain locations. "Meditating", on the other hand, simply involves the player sitting in a cross-legged position on a statue while transferring the games perspective to different wild life in the immediate area. From the meditative position, players are able to switch from one animal to the next, regardless of the fact that this is primarily an observational feature void of any excitement.
            With such limited options in each of Abzu's areas, the core gameplay involves a transitional process from one linear section to the next, aside from the optional interactions already mentioned. As players progress further into the deep, the locale and underwater wild life is accurately portrayed with bio-luminescent fish and the titanic bones of long forgotten sea creatures gracing the bottom of the ocean. Admiring the scenery is definitely interesting at first, yet the admiration doesn't last forever.
            Despite the fact swimming through underwater environments is the core of Abzu's gameplay, it's unfortunate that Abzu's most fluid movement and swimming abilities come in the midst of a character upgrade accessible during the games final sequence. Leading up to the thrill of the final sequence, however, players are able to navigate the seas simply by holding in the R2 button and tapping the cross button to speed things up. Swimming is fluid and smooth during the majority of the game, yet it's still unfortunate that players don't have access to the superior control offered during the games final sequence.