Oddworld: New ’n’ Tasty
Abe’s odyssey is tough but satisying
£14.99 Developer Oddworld Inhabitants/Just Add Water, oddworld.com
Requires OS X 10.8.5 or higher, Intel Core i3, 4GB RAM, see site for graphics cards
This is a remake of the first Oddworld game from 1997. Not so new, then, though it has been given a graphical overhaul and gameplay tweaks. Leaping between its platforms and overcoming obstacles remains satisfying.
You play Abe, a worker in a food processing plant. With his employer’s fortunes floundering, Abe overhears plans for a new product – moreish morsels made from his species. So he sets out to escape with as many of his fellows as he can save.
When confronted with sleeping guards, Abe and his followers can sneak past. Those on patrol require manipulation by flicking coins to lure them and bringing machinery to life at the right moment. When you spot birds flying in a circle, that’s your cue to tell Abe to chant, which opens a portal at that position for his followers to escape their grisly fate.
Options for solving problems are limited, but that doesn’t equate to a lack of challenge. Abe will suffer plenty as you try to work out solutions, so areas are broken down with checkpoints. You’ll find yourself retracing your steps through many challenges only to fail repeatedly at the same spot. To alleviate the frustration, you can fall back on the quick save option, which preserves things on the spot, but it’s best used sparingly so that the experience isn’t diluted. Alan Stonebridge