Bryan H., a fellow blogger and game enthusiast over at JohnnyBGamer, selected Abzu for me to play. Here are my thoughts on the game! Bryan, great choice!

• What was it about
  • Abzu is a 2016 adventure video game developed by Giant Squid and published by 505 Games. The game drops you in the role of a diver exploring a beautiful underwater world discovering its history and ultimately freeing it from technological overcreep. There is no narrative or dialogue in the game that I could remember. Rather, it communicates everything through sight, sound and experience.
• What I liked
  • Even though it is a few years old, Abzu is a stunningly beautiful game at times. The diversity of aquatic life represented, the rich color palette used in this game and flexibility of the camera allowing you to see the world from various angles are all impressive. Additionally, the musical score to this game is sumptuous. It changes based on the mood of the scene – and really draws you into the adventure of exploring this underwater world.
  • I also really appreciate how approachable this game is. You dive (pun intended) in at the beginning and within a matter of moments, you have a solid grasp of all the controls you will need for the rest of the game. I wish more games were like this!
  • I also liked that this game allows you to appreciate and interact with the aquatic wildlife if you want to. Various “stations” (my term) allow you to release more wildlife into the ecosystem – and then you have other “meditation” spots where you can scan around the area and gaze at the various creatures. You can even hook on to some of the larger wildlife for a ride. It’s a game that doesn’t just want you to solve puzzles or move a story along. It wants you to also experience the water and the life teeming within.
  • Finally, I really like that there is more going on in Abzu than first meets the eye. The ancient murals of a past civilization and your interactions with the technology hidden in the depths hook you little by little the longer you play. Abzu is not just a walking (err, swimming) simulator. It’s also trying to say something by allowing you to experience something.
• What I didn’t like
  • Probably my biggest problem with Abzu is that while I found its underwater world arresting and I enjoyed solving its simple puzzles and advancing in my quest, it’s not really my kind of game. Maybe this is more of a critique of me as a player than the game itself. I am so used to playing games where I use strategies, achieve objectives, defeat enemies and make various numbers go up. Abzu is a very different experience. While Abzu is linear and ultimately drives toward a particular conclusion, it isn’t measuring how fast you swam or how many enemies you destroyed or anything like that. It wants you to experience its world and contemplate how that might relate to our world. There is much to commend here in terms of game design – and I’m glad there are games like this out there. Overall, I was happy to experience what Abzu had to offer, but I wasn’t so gripped that I want to play it again – or at least any time soon. It’s a good game – but not necessarily my favorite type of game.
• What got me thinking
  • Abzu is clearly trying to say something about the relationship between the natural world and technology. At first, the robot drones you run across appear to be helpful, but the deeper you go into the game, you begin to realize that a heartless ancient technology is strangling what this underwater world could be. Ultimately, you band together with a great white shark to rescue the suppressed natural order and restore a proper balance and beauty to the world. While I don’t believe Abzu is arguing that all technology is bad – the identity of its central character argues against that – I do think it is leveling an indictment on humanity for not caring for the underwater natural order and calling for greater stewardship. Although any hints of ocean worship needs to be rejected in the light of Biblical revelation, I do see resonance with Biblical truth when it comes to the call for better stewardship of the created order. The book of Genesis is clear that on the fifth day of Creation, God created swarms of living creatures to fill the waters and multiply on the Earth (Genesis 1:20-23). And then just a few verses later, God calls humanity to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). This verse and the opening chapters of Genesis see mankind as God’s vice-regents who are called to both fill the Earth and care for it. In creating and using technology, humanity can carry out its God-given mandate to subdue and have dominion over the Earth. Yet we are made in the image of a good, wise, loving and holy God. So, we should seek to care for God’s world and the creatures therein in a way that shows respect for our good Creator and helps His world to flourish. Sadly, though, sin has twisted all of that – so that we often see mankind abusing and destroying the Earth and its creatures carelessly and thoughtlessly. Abzu is pushing against this aspect of fallen order and fallen humanity. It rightly and colorfully depicts both the beauty and groaning of this fallen created world (Romans 8:20-22). Yet, the game’s apparent solution falls short of Biblical truth. Yes, humanity must practice better stewardship of the oceans and seas. Yes, humanity must take more care to notice, appreciate and preserve the underwater beauty God has created. But from a Biblical perspective, the one who does the ultimate saving is not technology or humanity. Rather, creation is eagerly awaiting the second coming of Christ, the culmination of the redemptive plan God has been working since the world plummeted into sin and death due to man’s rebellion (Romans 8:23). Only then will all things be made new (Revelation 21:5). Only Christ is the Savior of mankind and the created order. And those who know Him should certainly care about this world He has created and seek to steward it well for His glory. So, when it’s all said and done – Abzu is so much more than just a beautiful swimming adventure game. It’s a game speaking of creation, technology and humanity’s role in all of it. All of this the Bible speaks to, all of this God cares about and all of this can stoke our desire for the true Redeemer to come again and make all things new.

• What was it about
  • Dredge is a fishing game with sinister undertones. You play the role of a fisherman who is free to explore several islands with different kinds of sea life that you can catch. You will spend most of your time moving around and fishing with your boat. You can also upgrade your vessel and interact with residents of the islands scattered around the world. If you’re not a completionist, the game will take about 9-10 hours to complete. If you like to tie up every loose end and catch every fish, you’re probably signing up for about 20 hours (according to HowLongToBeat.com), not including the extra content from the DLCs.
• What I liked
  • Dredge has great onboarding. It doesn’t belabor the backstory, but rather flings you into this world where you head out as a fisherman to a seemingly ordinary fishing town in need of a new fisherman. But not is all as it seems!
  • The gameplay loop is simple, but compelling. Go out and fish, bring it in to sell it, upgrade, complete quests, etc. You can play this for a few minutes and still have a good time and advance the story & your abilities.
  • I actually enjoyed the timing-based fishing /dredging mechanic. I like how the catch mechanic can vary depending on what type of fish you’re trying to reel in. While none of them are extremely challenging, this change of pace keeps fishing fresh and a lot less monotonous than it could have been. It’s also enjoyable to upgrade your ship and improve your abilities, including being able to generate “passive” income while you focus on other objectives.
  • There was a nice array of characters to interact with in the game – and they don’t overstay their welcome with long dialogue scenes. The game respects your time and allows you to keep moving forward with your objectives and the story.
• What I didn’t like
  • Travel around the world can be a bit slow. Thankfully, this improves as you upgrade your ship and get access to other abilities.
  • I was so focused on accomplishing the various missions and objectives that the underlying story of Dredge took a backseat for me. If I was more of a completionist or took more time to piece things together on my own, I probably would have found the ending more satisfying. As it was, I was intrigued at possible endings to the game – but they didn’t hit me with a lot of emotional force because I hadn’t really invested much into my character or the world I was exploring. Part of this is my fault, but part of this just the reality of the game. It’s not a narrative heavy game.
• What got me thinking
  • Dredge lives up to the meaning of its name. To “dredge” up something is to “to bring to light by deep searching” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dredge). In this game, you are searching and bringing to light the haunted history of a island chain. One of the big questions this game wrestles with is whether the past is worth bringing back to life. All of us have things in our past that haunt us. Things that we wish we could undo. Things we wish would have turned out different. People we wish we could see again. The past haunts our steps. And like in the game, each of us has a choice on what we do with the past. While there can be great value in processing the past, trying to make sense of it in light of Biblical truth and humbly accepting the possible consequences of our poor choices, there is also a danger of allowing the past to rule the present and blot out one’s hope for the future. By the grace of God, the Apostle Paul kept his past in proper perspective when he said, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). For Paul, his story was not about his past privileges or performance (Phil. 3:2-7). Rather, it was all about Jesus. It was all about the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ my Lord” (Phil. 3:8). Paul wasn’t trying to atone for his past or rest on his laurels. Rather, he was resting and clinging to the righteousness that Jesus gives. Like a runner in a race, he was leaning forward toward “the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). Ultimately, if we want to make peace with our past, if we want to make the most of the remaining days God has given us in this life, we need to know the Prince of Peace. We need to know the LORD of history. We need to know by faith the compassionate One who casts “all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19) never to dredge them up again.

• What was it about
  • Sonic Generations is a 2011 platformer developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. The game was made in honor of Sonic’s 20th anniversary and involves the time-traveling adventures of “Classic” and “Modern” Sonic and Tails as they try to rescue history, the world and their friends.
• What I liked
  • While I have played parts of Sonic games in the past (I believe, Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast), a bit of Sonic Mania and some of the Sonic Racing games), I don’t believe I’ve ever rolled credits on a full Sonic game before. While platformers are not my favorite genre, I really enjoyed the exhilarating moments of speed in Sonic Generations. The brief moments when I was able get into a “flow” state and jump over obstacles, fly through loops, bounce on balloons (or clouds!), smash enemies and then “boost” to go even faster is incredible.
  • In order to unlock each boss gate, you have to complete several challenges. However, thankfully, the challenges are not all one and the same. There are doppelganger races (my least favorite), drifting, skateboarding, partnering with friends and using their powers, using invisibility powers, etc. While almost all of them are understandably focused on speed (it’s a Sonic game after all!), the sheer variety offers a lot of content and replayability to Sonic Generations.
• What I didn’t like
  • The story is Sonic Generations is largely forgettable. I would never gravitate to a Sonic game for heartfelt dialogue or profound character development – and Sonic Generations does nothing to change that. It’s fun to see Sonic and the gang saving the world again, but I really didn’t care what the story was. I just wanted to go faster and beat the levels / bosses. Everything else felt like window dressing to me.
  • My least favorite boss in the game was Egg Dragoon. It took me several frustrating runs to get the timing and controls down to beat this boss – and when it was over, I never want to have to face him again. I guess I’ll never be a Sonic or platformer fanboy. Oh well.
• What got me thinking
  • I put Sonic Generations on my “Locked and Loaded” list (see The Backlog Breakdown podcast for more details) this year because I wanted to challenge myself to play something outside of my comfort zone. Turn-based strategy and sports games are my bread-and-butter. Platformers – not so much. So, how did my experiment go? Well, at first, I started up Sonic Generations and enjoyed the first few levels. But then I started finding myself looking for another game to play, a game with more familiar mechanics (see Deep Sky Derelicts). I kept putting Sonic Generations off like a movie you start, but never get around to finishing because you’re not totally invested. However, I’m glad I pressed through the discomfort. Sure, I experienced a good deal of frustration and head-shaking moments in Sonic Generations. However, this isn’t the game’s fault. Sonic Generations is a solid game with loads of replayability for those who enjoy Sonic games. In the end, finishing Sonic Generations was a good reminder to me that sometimes with games and other experiences in life that you need “find the fun.” There’s a reason why Sonic games continue to be made. There’s a reason why there is a sizeable Sonic fandom. It may not be for me, but I can respect the skill and delight players have when they play games like this. I just wish there were less spikes in my way sometimes!

• What was it about
  • Deep Sky Derelicts (DSD) is a rogue-like deckbuilder, developed by Snowhound Games and published in 2018 by Fulqrum Publishing. The premise of the game is that you’re a bunch of impoverished space mercenaries who are trying to win their citizenship to spend their remaining days on a idyllic, hospitable planet. To achieve that, you’ll have to loot and shoot your way through derelict space ships to hopefully discover the location of an alien derelict, overcome the final enemy there and ultimately secure a ticket to your new home.
• What I liked
  • I like DSD’s comic book aesthetic and stylized combat. Like any rogue-like, there are a lot of battles, so I thought I would grow weary of all the brief comic-book cutaways for each attack, but I actually found the opposite to be true. The cutaways made the combat feel more visceral and energetic – and it was exciting to see what results popped up in the graphic. Did I get a stun? Did I shave off a bunch of the enemy’s shield? A bunch of red numbers popping up – yes, that was a good hit!
  • DSD combines both RPG with deckbuilding. Not only are you building a deck of battle cards for each of your 3 characters, but you’re giving your characters new equipment which can impact both their character stats and/or their battle cards. I was also playing with both DLCs – and the Station Life DLC, in particular, opens up even more ways you can hone your characters and their equipment. There’s a quite a bit going on in DSD, but after a few derelicts and some brief browsing around on the Steam forums or guides, you should have a pretty good idea of what you’re doing and how you want your mercenaries to fight. I definitely enjoyed being able to level up my characters and having access to even more dangerous and robust abilities.
  • DSD has a nice variety of enemies you’ll face with a variety of shapes, sizes, numbers and abilities. The game eases you into the difficulty with the first few derelicts, but if you’re not careful, you can still have your party wiped in battle if you play your cards poorly.
• What I didn’t like
  • The game throws a variety of quests your way, including ones where you help out various odd-ball characters with various tasks. While some of these quests included interesting or humorous dialogue, I didn’t find any of them to be particularly meaningful or memorable. Felt like they were more of a speed-bump in my ultimate goal of getting the final alien derelict.
  • Essentially, everything outside of the battles in DSD is adequate, but not revolutionary. There is not much of a story here – and you likely won’t find yourself attached to any of the characters you encounter, including your own mercenaries. Outside of battles and wandering the derelicts, you’ll head back to your home station to replenish your energy, heal up your characters, sell some of your loot, buy and/or research whatever you need to – and then you’ll be back out battling your way through the derelicts. It can be a fun loop at times, but after a while, it feels very rinse-and-repeat.
• What got me thinking?
  • The battles are the best part of DSD. I really enjoyed puzzling my way through some fights – and being on the edge of my seat hoping I would get a certain card to either defend or land a devastating blow on the enemy. However, it took some time and effort for me to learn how to construct my character decks and figure out how defeat some of the more advanced enemies. However, after some trial and error, I was able to figure out a system that worked for me (usually involved attacks that stunned the enemy and/or damaged multiple enemies at once) – and by the end, the game was pretty much a cakewalk. I haven’t tried the game’s free-standing Arena mode, but I might return to it down the road because I enjoyed the battles so much.

Game: Crying Suns (Released: 2019; Developer: Alt Shift, Publisher: Humble Games)

• What I liked
  • Learning through failure. In my first couple of runs, I really had no idea what I was doing on the strategic map or in the tactical battles. However, as I kept trying, found a ship I liked (the Scrapper ship) and looked up some tips online (i.e. Get as much Neo-N as possible), my runs got longer and more enjoyable.
  • At first the tactical battles were annoying, but once you learn to pay attention to what the enemy ship will be throwing at you and how to counter that, they become more manageable. I’m also really glad they are pausable real-time. I paused a lot to give directions to my ships and then pushed play to see what would happen.
  • For pixelated graphics, I thought the game looked great – and the music was decent as well.
• What I didn’t like
  • The mystery sci-fi story is not a bad story, but it’s not great either. Sometimes there was quite a bit of dialogue to read. If you’re playing this game purely for the story, I think you’ll be disappointed. However, the developers did flesh out an entire universe and backstory, so there is more they could do in this space.
  • This being a rogue-lite game, you expect you’re going to die some. However, it was a bit frustrating to get deep into some sectors and then face a challenging enemy and have to start back at the beginning of the sector. However, I liked the game enough to keep playing through these frustrating moments.
  • I fell in love with the Scrapper ship and sending waves of weak ships to overwhelm the enemy’s defenses and destroy their hull. Honestly, that ship and tactic felt a little over-powered compared to some of the other ships I tried (and failed with!).
• What got me thinking?
  • After beating the game, I still have no idea why the game is entitled “Crying Suns.” However, perhaps the “crying” part can be explained by the fact that humanity is in a royal mess and desperately needs saving. Yet the “gods” they turned to previously (the machines) have been largely turned-off and rendered useless. Humanity is left to save itself in the face of almost certain extinction. The game delivers some twists on this “humanity must save itself” trope, but nothing that provides a whisper of real hope for the broken world we currently live in. When I consider the socio-political landscape of our world, it also paints a fairly grim picture. Sadly, like humanity in Crying Suns, we are prone to turn to anything, particularly technology, to save us. Yet, we are continually disappointed and left wanting. Perhaps we were not made to put our hope in the work of our hands or ourselves. Perhaps we should consider the words of the ancient psalmist who said, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).

I recently played Naughty Dog’s 2007 action-adventure game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. The game is the first of four Uncharted games made exclusively for the PS4. Having picked up a used PS4 earlier this year, I was eager to dip into this famous series to see what all the fuss was about.

Essentially, the game follows the swashbuckling exploits of Nathan Drake, a modern-day Indiana Jones, who is trying to recover the lost treasure of “El Dorado.” Drake is accompanied by his cigar-toting friend and mentor, Victor Sullivan (a.k.a. “Sully”) and the eager, intrepid journalist, Elena Fisher.

Even though the game came out twelve years ago, the game still holds up for someone like me who isn’t an action-adventure connoisseur. While I could have done with less action (i.e. gun battles) and more adventure (i.e. climbing, exploring, etc.), I found myself increasingly invested in seeing the story through to the end. Would Nathan, Sully and Elena be able to unearth “El Dorado” before the greedy goons got to it first? How would their interactions and relationships develop as the game went along? Would all of them make it out alive?

In the end, the game’s story more than satisfied, and even left me a little surprised at times. However, it’s the character arc of Nathan Drake that’s giving me the most to chew on. Let me explain.

At the beginning of the game, Drake is presented as a cunning, single-minded treasure-hunter. Although Elena’s show funded the expedition to get him even closer to finding the lost treasure of “El Dorado,” Drake has no interest in helping Elena get her big story. In fact, at the encouragement of Sully, he abruptly leaves her in the dust and ventures off with Sully.

However, as the game progresses, Drake begins to change. After Sully gets shot by some ruthless thugs, Drake narrowly escapes and to his surprise, reconnects with the stubborn Elena who followed them. But the loss of Sully leaves Drake shaken. For instance, later in the game, after Drake reconnects with Elena once again after parting her in a plane crash (remember, this is an action-adventure game. There is a lot going on!), Drake argues with Elena about whether they should continue their dangerous treasure hunt. Drake says, “Elena, I don’t need your bullet-riddled corpse on my conscience. Let’s go.” Elena challenges him about quitting, and Drake in exasperation, responds, “(expletive), this is not worth dying over.”

Eventually, Drake and Elena continue their journey and find what they are looking for. Yet the treasure is not what they had hoped for. I won’t ruin the plot for you, but suffice to say, instead of giving them fabulous riches, the “El Dorado” of Uncharted only leads them to the sinister doorstep of death. However, as the story begins to wrap up, Drake rescues Elena and sends “El Dorado” to a watery grave. As they are preparing to leave the wretched island behind, Sully rides up in a motorboat with treasure nabbed from some dead goons. So, it finally looks like Nathan Drake got his treasure after all. However, the trajectory of the narrative gives this golden find a hollow tone. The real treasure isn’t pirate gold. It’s the relationships Drake, Sully and Elena have with each other. To my point, as they ride off into the calm sunset, Drake doesn’t dig his hands into the gold and fling it up into the air. No, he puts his arm around Elena. Sure, Drake is excited about getting the gold, but that almost feels like a throwaway prize after what they’ve been through. The fact that they still have each other and are on to the next adventure – that is what is feels valuable at the end of the game.

Don’t get me wrong. Uncharted 1 is not the most narratively deep or thought-provoking game. It’s a fast and furious treasure-hunting romp. Moreover, there is plenty of objectionable content (thankfully, nothing sexual) that players should be mindful as they play. However, despite all its flaws or over-used tropes, the game nevertheless offers a tidbit of truth worth remembering. In a world where it’s easy to be more focused on earthly treasure and pleasure, there are some things that are just more important. Friendship is a gift from God that should be treasured. Relationships where we give and receive love are worth more than anything that glitters or glows.

In the end, Uncharted 1 reminds me to beware of the fool’s gold of materialism. Everything we own, everything we save up for, everything on our Amazon wishlist will pass away. However, the people around us will last forever. As C.S. Lewis famously put it, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” May God help you and me to treasure the individual people He has put in our lives. Each of them was placed in our lives for a good reason. There is a way to glorify God in how we interact with each person in our lives. Most of all, may God help us to treasure the Person of Jesus Christ, who “though he was rich yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). What a peerless treasure, what a priceless good is the friendship of God in Christ!