This Gorgeous New Game Lets You Surf Through a Dead World

The best games are often the simplest, and players who want something relaxing and low-stress will find a surprising number of visually breathtaking titles with simple objectives on the PlayStation Store and Steam. Abzu and The Pathless are two such titles, and they were both developed by Giant Squid and directed by Matt Nava, the art director for the hit indie game Journey. Giant Squid and Nava have developed a new game, Sword of the Sea, which was first announced two years ago and is set to release on PlayStation Plus and Steam on August 19, 2025.

Sword of the Sea follows the same basic concept as Abzu and Journey, with players taking on the role of a masked individual and visiting environments that can be made to flourish. The player guides their character, once again a masked figure, through vast desert dunes, ancient runes, and massive caverns. As the player taps into the mysteries of each area, the environment transforms, creating a world of whimsy and wonder.

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By Ollie Tuscarny

Sword of the Sea Combines the Best of Journey and Abzu

Sword of the Sea's trailers depict environments that look very similar to Journey' s desert landscape filled with the ruins of an ancient civilization, complete with the distant mountains. Fans of Journey and Abzu will recognize the basic mechanics and art style, but Sword of the Sea goes a step further and combines the best parts of those games into one experience.

One of the key areas Sword of the Sea empahsizes is the connection between the player and the environment, which is explored by using the player character's surfboard-like sword. As a game focused on exploring environments, movement is especially important. Describing Sword of the Sea, Nava says that "the surface-level premise is that it has surfing movement that’s inspired by the old snowboarding and skating games, but in the context of an exploration game rather than trying to accumulate a high score or go down the hill."

“It’s extending the ideas from my previous work on Journey and Abzu but also The Pathless, which had this kind of movement where you get into a flow state.” - Matt Nava, Director

A lot of thought and care has gone into how players will traverse each zone. To emulate the experience of surfing or snowboarding, the player character uses their magical greatsword as a makeshift surfboard. The lines between desert sand and ocean water blur in Sword of the Sea, as the player surfs animated environments and leaves transformed landscapes in their wake.

Sword of the Sea Brings the Best of Whimsy and Adventure

The beautiful visuals of Sword of the Sea are accompanied by music composed by Austin Wintory, who collaborated with Nava on Journey. Music plays an important part in any game, but even more so in this one. As Sword of the Sea will have no dialogue, music will play an especially essential role in creating immersion, capturing players' imaginations, and telling the game's story.

Players looking for a relaxing game will likely find a favorite in Sword of the Sea. With no goal other than exploration, diving into these games is akin to achieving a state of meditation. The seamless and easy movements within the environment create what Nava describes as a "flow state," where the player learns to move with the natural world around their character and forms a connection with their environment.

If Sword of the Sea follows in the footsteps of Abzu and Journey, it shouldn't take more than a few hours to play it from beginning to end. At a time when games often take a long time to complete, this makes it perfect for gamers who want to unwind for a couple of hours without making a huge time commitment.

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