Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD

Saddle up for one of gaming’s quirkier shooters

Too shooty for fans of Oddworld’s puzzles, and too puzzley for noughties shooter lovers, this missed its audience on release. EA did what EA does and sent it out to die. However, over time this first-personshooter-cum-third-person-platformer has found fans who appreciate the odd humour and mish-mash of ideas. Because, for all its faults, it represents the kind of far-out thinking you rarely see these days from a triple-A publisher.

While you explore the open world in third person, you can zip into first person at any time. In 2022 that’s not a surprise, but in 2005 it was revolutionary. Stranger’s crossbow can hold two types of ammo at once and fire them independently of each other to create an unusual puzzle mechanic.1 One type, for example, can stun or coax an enemy from cover, while the second can sting or bind them. Ammo is small creatures that you find – bugs and critters straight out of a Jim Henson daymare.

BUCK THE TREND

What you do is where the game stumbles. Stranger is a bounty hunter in a western-themed corner of the

Oddworld universe. He can hunt and capture enemies and explore – though sadly there’s little to discover outside of a perfectly created open world. Stranger’s Wrath feels like its budget suddenly shrank and the team was left unable to flesh out the vibrant lands.2

Stranger’s Wrath is an oddity worth exploring on PS Now, but it comes with the caveat that this isn’t the recent PS4 HD remaster but the older PS3 version, meaning it’s not quite as sharp and can’t be downloaded.

FOOTNOTES 1 Each encounter can be approached with stealth or all-out action. 2 The world is quite beautiful, even by today’s standards, but there are too few side-quests.

1 2 3 1 It all gets a little Call Of Duty in the final third. 2 Juggle animal-ammo types to attack enemies in different ways. 3 The open-world is gorgeous for an old PS3 game, but lacks content.