About two years ago, on May 24, 2023, Giant Squid Studios’s next game, “Sword of the Sea,” was announced. Giant Squid Studios is a video game company that has also made games such as “Abzû,” and “The Pathless” both of which take place entirely in nature, with the former in the
Ocean and the latter in the Forests. The studio’s director Matt Nava was also an art director for That Game Company and helped with the games “Flower,” and “Journey”. With that in mind, how will this new game, which is set to be released in 2025, play out?
From the trailers alone, the visual style is very much like that of “Journey,” with it set predominantly in a vast desert, sand shifting around old monuments by the wind and a robed adventurer surfing on the sand as if it were water. However, it also includes many aspects of “Abzû,” as well with seemingly dead areas shown being restored by the player and immediately filled with water and many sorts of marine animals springing to life.
The game’s synopsis, listed on their website, also seems to back up this idea, stating “journey through the Necropolis. Discover the remnants of an ancient culture hidden in sinking tombs,” and “Bring giant shoals of fish and creatures back to life on your quest to unveil the sea.”
Based on everything given on this next game and Giant Squid’s past games, it could be inferred that “Sword of the Sea,” will follow the player as they explore the remains of a dead, water based, civilization with their ruins covered in a vast desert. The player will explore the remains in sections or levels and restore the water and marine life to the ruins as they progress through the game. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen when the game fully releases later this year.
