Do you think Abzu is a copy of Journey?

[Novicecreed]

For those who have finished the game and have also played Journey before, didn't you guys feel it was a bit too similar to Journey? Story, levels, mechanics, etc. Don't get me wrong the game is nice and all, but I couldn't stop thinking "this is just like x part of Journey".

[Moooo]

It's by the same people, so that makes sense.

[Novicecreed]

Originally posted by MissAmargasaurus:

It's by the same people, so that makes sense.

Oh yeah obviously, but I don't know, I guess I was expecting something new and not as similar as I felt it to be with the other game. Like how Flow, Flower and Journey are made by the same people yet they are completely diferent from each other. Still a nice game though.

[nadata]

Originally posted by MissAmargasaurus:

It's by the same people, so that makes sense.

I thought the only person that was the same was the art director

[Ron]

same art director and same music composer... thats about it but clearly they are key people in journey's success.

journey is superior in many ways, but i am glad this game came on PC

[hashegotabeard]

I saw a few people get defensive of the comparisons as a negative in some of the reviews, questioning why it was a bad thing if a game is very comparable to the excellent Journey.

I can absolutely see where you (and the critics) are coming from though.

I LOVE the shared artstyle and composer Austin Wintory's score for Journey is a big part of what made me engrossed in Journey. You'll get zero complaints from me that these two are very similar.

but...

There's way too many direct lifts from Journey that didn't need to be there:

I'm going on the notion that everyone reading this thread has played through this as stated by the OP, but just in case

--SPOILERS--

-The 'chirp' communication
-chirping to activate companions, open doors
-The suggestion that you're the last survivor of an ancient race that resemble humans
-The wall paintings telling that civilizations backstory
-Mysterious machines that somehow contribute to downfall of civ
-The blend and balance of machine and organic life
-A death scene (in which it's soon revealed you're not dead)
-Reincarnation and an 'ascension' scene where you have infinite boost and are invulnerable to harm (the choral tone of the accompanying music is also very similar)


I thought with the way they introduced the shark at the beginning there'd be sneaking sections similar to avoiding the cloth serpents in Journey.

Don't let this be a negative on what is a great game in it's own right. I think theres enough difference in the underwater setting alone to make the games exsistence justified.

I'd like to think of this as the spiritual sucessor to Journey and with the very similar feel in character/art design (even the architecture looks like it wouldve of fit straight into Journey) and music this could well have taken place in the same 'universe'.

Considering Journey isn't available on PC it's a very welcome addition to the platform.

TL;DR
Yes

[Novicecreed]

Everything that hashegotabeard said, thank you. I always considered it a spiritual sucessor to Journey, but maybe its because I've played it way too many times now, seeing the strong resemblances of it just didn't really impress me as much as I'd hope. Especially since Journey was such a powerful game. Abzu it's still it's own game though, fun and a lot of people love it so in the end it is still doing a good job.

[Dimorphodon]

has anyone considered the possibility that both Abzu and Journey take place in the same universe?

[Moooo]

Originally posted by Dimorphodon:

has anyone considered the possibility that both Abzu and Journey take place in the same universe?

Actually, I have. The diver looks very similar to the character in Journey if you took away the cloak I think, and the art is similar but more advanced.

[135dB of screaming cockatoo]

In terms of the game there are definitely some parallels to both Flower and Journey, but I think those aspects are intended to be more of a homage than a lift. It's a cool game and neither of the former are gonna ever be available on PC, so I don't mind.

I was jokingly considering the possibility that the people in abzu and journey's rythulians are different cultures/subsets of the same species. It could technically be possible, I think? As far as it goes it's definitely totally plausible that, at least, they could take place in the same universe.

there's the whole robot thing, but we don't know if that's just Diver.

Actually, a pretty strong parallel I've seen is, as far as it goes, both of them have some sort of magic incorporated into their stories, right? With Journey it's the runes (cloth, etc), and with Abzu it's the second ocean water.