Sword of the Sea Review | A Wave of Wonder
Sword of the Sea has some big shoes to fill after the first two games, Abzu and Pathless, from the development team at Giant Squid. Add in the fact that Matt Nava, founder of Giant Squid, was also a chief creative member of Journey, and you have a pedigree of incredible artists willing to push the boundaries of what they are capable of achieving. Happily, Sword of the Sea creates an incredible experience that pulled me into this world and seldom stopped landing the big hits.
Within Sword of the Sea, you play as this ominous character who is “awakened” at the start of the game. After a short cutscene, I was whisked into a stunning desert world with only myself and this strange sword. The sword at hand is an interesting device - one that I can use to slash obstacles, but also ride like a skateboard and surfboard. The initial premise is a bit odd, but within seconds, I forgot all about that momentary oddity and focused on the moments ahead of me.
These moments were instantly inspiring. Whether it was the hauntingly beautiful choral arrangement or the captivating landscape surrounding me, I was drawn in immediately. The colors of the world felt vibrant and eye-popping, especially with the artstyle that Giant Squid has created with this and their previous games like Pathless and Abzu. The artstyle was also just the start of the stunning moments in the game. Several segments of Sword of the Sea focused on the cinematography of your character traversing through the world, where you exist as a tiny blip in this world along your path. These moments, though they served no major gameplay moments, were a wonderful feast to take in. This, along with the incredible score throughout the game, invoked a meditative and captivating visual and auditory feast that I won’t soon forget.
With all the stunning set up within Sword of the Sea, I was equally impressed by the gameplay within the game. As the protagonist, you’re zipping throughout the world on your sword-board (officially called the Hoversword) with ease. Maneuvering felt immediately intuitive, but allowed for enough breadth for players to carve their own pathways. The movement within the game was buttery smooth and encouraged me to play around with jumps and tricks as I went from one location to another. I kept looking for large dunes to ride up and jump down from - giving me plenty of air time to perform a bunch of tricks. The game also provides a score during your run - encouraging combos and creative movement during your 3-4 hour experience. Though I never felt too motivated to aim for high combos to increase my overall score, I did, however, always take the opportunity to jump and perform a trick or two any chance I got. There’s also a strange character that lets you learn more abilities as the game progresses, further enhancing the wonderfully fun and fluid movement.
In addition to the mesmerizing movement within Sword of the Sea, the game also focuses on a surprising amount of platforming - both in verticality and horizontality. This surprise mechanic gave me plenty of options to explore the regions and see where and what I could do. Before long, I was looking at every nook and cranny to find a slew of hidden secrets, cryptic lore bits, and resources that would help me advance the game. The game also gradually provides different abilities to engage in both the traversal and platforming, so I was never too used to one ability before another was presented to me. Even as the world transformed around me through various story and gameplay moments, the gameplay kept evolving to keep up with the changes in fun and meaningful ways.
Unfortunately, my largest source of strife came from the overall story of Sword of the Sea. As the protagonist, you are the Wraith, and are charged with bringing water back to this desolate world. No words are spoken within the game (other than the incredible choral arrangements), so a lot of the storytelling involved ambiguous tombs that you find, environmental art, and an occasional speculation. These bits were perfectly fine and engaging for me, especially someone who loves the emotional pull of a crumbling world fighting to be brought back to life. However, as the game progressed, I never felt a level of emotional attachment to the world nor the characters. The moments were there, they were felt, but they did not resonate. I did have a strong, emotionally charged moment towards the end of the game, and once things were picking up, I was surprised to see the game abruptly end. This sudden conclusion took me by surprise and I found myself wishing that there was more to the game. Instead, this felt more like the beginning of a story worth telling.
Breakdown
Game: Sword of the Sea
Developer: Giant Squid
Publisher: Giant Squid
Availability: PC and PlayStation 5
Game Length: 3-4 hours
Major Accessibility Options: Remap controls, invert camera
Reviewed on PlayStation 5
Final Thoughts
Sword of the Sea is a fantastic experience that captured my attention throughout this 4 hour experience. The intuitive and exhilarating gameplay gave me plenty to enjoy, while also creating memorable moments in this mysterious world. Though the story didn’t exactly nail it for me, there is something there worth checking out for anyone who enjoys an emotionally charged and minimalistic approach to storytelling. The team at Giant Squid did an incredible job and added yet another game to their impressive repertoire for gamers to savor.