Subj : Sword Of The Sea is a technicolor trip of a game from the makers To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Sat Sep 06 2025 13:15:09 Sword Of The Sea is a technicolor trip of a game from the makers of Journey Date: Sat, 06 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000 Description: Mind-bending mechanics and cosmic backdrops deliver an allegory for our collapsing ecosystem and the immensity of nature. FULL STORY ====================================================================== Matt Nava must have wild dreams. At thatgamecompany, he was art director on 2012s universally acclaimed Journey , a minimal but deep, near existential exploration of humanity, played out via the widescreen vistas of the worlds within our heads and beyond our minds. Since he founded Giant Squid Games, the studio released another pair of titles Abz and The Pathless that sought to further depict the immensity of nature as the de facto meaning of life, drawing these settings in a technicolor style and captivating storytelling format that they believe with some justification is unreachable via any other medium. Review info Platform reviewed: PS5 Available on: PS5 and PC Release date: August 19, 2025 Sword Of The Sea is Giant Squids first game in five years and compounds Nevas reputation as a figure driven by a fantastical imagination, his vision once again shot through with a vividly absorbing amalgamation of the past, present and future. But despite the otherworldly, psychedelic triggers that ignite this and his other releases, it turns out Navas inspirations are rather more prosaic than those salvaged from the far-out dimensions of his psyche. Because, beneath the ablaze surface which flickers with activity and adventure Sword Of The Sea actually has its roots in the everyday. Thats not to say these core inspirations snowboarding, surfing and skateboarding are humdrum, pedestrian pleasures, rather the pastimes of the brave and the bold who want to live on the edge of both life and a thick wedge of solid and ideally unbreakable matter. As his previous titles have suggested, Nava is a fan of extreme sports, particularly when they intersect with the ocean and its underwater residents. He believes there is more to these pursuits than a base rush of adrenaline, explaining in a recent interview : I don't think we can force you to have, like, a spiritual awakening or something. But I do think that we can emulate the kind of environment and conditions that gave me something like that. The Wraith's progress (Image credit: Giant Squid) You play as the Wraith, a wordless, airborne gladiator who doesnt need to speak because the blue flames billowing from his skull tell you all there is to know. Something like a Tony Hawk for the Blade Runner generation, he rides a gleaming, indestructible plank that is part board, part sword and is disappointingly unlikely to be available in your nearest Supreme stockists anytime soon. Once more, the premise of the game is simple and the storyline, as such, perfunctory. That said, an allegory for the real world, real time decline of Earths ecosystem is apparent as you navigate a vibrantly eye-popping spectrum of locations, solving the rudimentary, repeating puzzles that are built into each region and deliver water to the ravaged land, reawakening a verdant landscape and aquatic cast. However, the mind-bending mechanics and attendant cosmic backdrops are anything but straightforward. Best bit (Image credit: Giant Squid) The interactive settings produce countless breathtaking, poetic moments. But perhaps the games most uncanny scenes take place during the Frozen Drifts level, where you can parkour towards the heavens and to misquote Sir Isaac Newton stand on the shoulder of giant and mostly buried warrior statues in the middle of a blizzard. Across Saharan sand dunes, turquoise Maldivian seas and Massif Central whiteouts frequently embedded with half pipes you navigate the Wraith on his supersonic Hoversword, using an expanding but never complex set of controls. Seemingly informed by both reality and fantasy, he can traverse sun scorched ruins in what could be the last days of the Roman Empire, leave a holographic vapor trail in his wake pulling stunts through the dusty canyons of a reimagined Tatooine and skid to a dashing stop in an eerie, cavernous gothic monastery, illuminated by the primary colors of a stained-glass window. Its a beautiful experience. Flow motion (Image credit: Giant Squid) In many ways Sword Of The Sea establishes a new high score in video gamings ongoing quest to incarnate the hallowed concept of flow. Popularized in the 1975 book Beyond Boredom And Anxiety by Hungarian-American psychologist Mihly Cskszentmihlyi, this locked on state of mind has long been associated with the most captivating and immersive titles. Our games celebrate fluid movement, avoid hyper violence, and are approachable for kids and adults alike without compromising on depth, stakes, or meaning, explain Giant Squid of their modus operandi. In the lead up to release, Nava has spoken of the meditative qualities of this game, which is an addictive headspace to many of those who participate in the aforementioned activities, particularly when carving new pathways through water or snow, as you frequently can in Sword Of The Sea . With spectacular graphical fluidity and fidelity, the impossible is made possible in the mountainous (uphill) downhill racing and 300mph ski jumping of the Shadow Tundra level game highlight. Certainly, Ski Sunday never went this far off-piste. While there are few other participants, the hypnotic aura is underscored by the inclusion of an elegant catalogue of marine life that at their most heavyweight provide an additional vehicle to uncover the eight levels spanning the single digit runtime. The awe-inspiring appearance of Megalodon-sized orcas, sting rays and now extinct Elasmosaur reptiles and the opportunity to climb onboard has a singular appeal, which amplifies the epic sense of scale framing both them and the graphically abundant environments within which the game is housed. Behold the time before time (Image credit: Giant Squid) In its mythical lore fittingly, the game takes place in the time before time and reconfigurable terrain, theres something of Zelda here. As the ice cool lead bounces across tangerine terracotta rooftops, you are reminded of the physical urban challenges presented by Stray or the Assassins Creed series. Elsewhere, the endless runner, sword attack DNA of Neva is also redolent of this game world. But, really, Sword Of The Sea is unlike anything else you might have played. Equally, thats not to say it feels entirely original. Anyone who has picked up a title helmed by Nava will be familiar with many of the atmospheric, recurrent creative design archetypes Arabic-style scriptures and ancient cave drawings and the insistently wise and wistful soundtrack, which is once again crafted by Austin Wintory, who remains the only video game composer to be nominated for a Grammy for Journey . In truth, as the game progresses, the dazzling ambience and rote gameplay become somewhat cloying and repetitive. For example, driving a great white shark through a mountainside, nihilistically smashing icebergs, feels much less like the cited spiritual awakening and rather more a curious and deadening task. Moreover, as Sword Of The Sea nears its conclusion, Giant Squid reach for a conventional and overblown final boss dogfight, when so much that comes before indicates a determination not to be hamstrung by such limitations. Does it matter? A little. But Id still like to take a bite of the cheese Matt Nava is chomping on before he falls asleep. Should I play Sword Of The Sea?: Play it if... Youre a fan of the games made by this design team Matt Nava and Giant Squid have created another truly distinctive and thoughtful tale contemplating what makes us human. You want to get lost in a wild and colorful virtual space existing at the ends of your imagination Not so much the land that time forgot, Sword Of The Sea is the worlds that few imagine and are arguably only discoverable via video games. Don't play it if... You were bored by Journey Although the mechanics and movement of Sword Of The Sea are entirely fresh and innovative, the references to this series of games remain enduringly familiar. You favor plot over experience The narrative of Sword Of The Sea is propelled by your interactions with its inhabitants rather than other human characters. Given the total absence of spoken language, this is perhaps inevitable. Accessibility features Accessibility features here are limited. There are a range of language options for the menus and in-game storytelling content and adjustments can be made to the camera and gameplay presets. How I reviewed Sword Of The Sea I played Sword Of The Sea through to the end twice, for a total of approximately 12 hours on PS5 on a LG OLED HDR 4K Ultra HD Smart TV using a DualSense Wireless Controller . While the game can be completed in three or four, its also possible for completists who want to cover every inch of the experience to take twice as long. First reviewed August 2025 ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/sword-of-the-sea-review --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .