Abesolutely fabulous...
WE CELEBRATE EVERYONE’S FAVOURITE MUDOKON, 25 YEARS AFTER HE SET OUT ON HIS FIRST ODDYSEE
THIS week marks the 25th anniversary of one of my all time favourite games – Abe’s Oddysee.
It tells the story of Abe, one of 100 mudokons working as slaves for the industrialist glukkons in a meatprocessing factory called RuptureFarms on planet Oddworld.
One night on his floor-waxing shift, Abe overhears his glukkon bosses conducting a secret meeting.
Through over-farming, the wildlife the plant uses to make its meat products are becoming extinct and the glukkons are hatching a plan to introduce a fresh ingredient to the line – mudokon meat.
Horrified, Abe sets off on a quest to free his fellow workers, and help them escape back to the plains of Oddworld.
The side-scrolling platformer was a triumph, a story filled with magic and whimsy, and challenging gameplay that could have you tearing your hair out at times.
Three more games followed in quick succession – Abe’s Exoddus, Munch’s Oddysee, and Stranger’s Wrath – which continued to flesh out Oddworld and its bewitching inhabitants.
But after the release of Stranger’s Wrath in 2005, that world fell silent.
A superb game, it was considered a commercial failure on the XBOX, selling just 600,000 copies by 2012.
Thus it would be nearly 10 years before fans got a chance to revisit Oddworld again, with the release of New ‘n’ Tasty! in 2014, a full remake of a then 17-year-old Abe’s Oddysee.
A remake of Abe’s Exoddus was supposed to follow hot on its heels. But developer Oddworld Inhabitants went back to the drawing board to create a full reimagining of the game. The result was Soulstorm.
Described as a ‘complete story retake of Exoddus inspired by the original tale’, it was in essence a brand-new game – thrilling for longterm fans of the franchise, and a great way to introduce new fans to the series.
If you’ve not experienced the joy of Oddworld yet, then can I heartily recommend you try the following.
Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee – New ‘N’ Tasty (PEGI 12) PS3, PS4, XBOX ONE, Switch, PC
The original and best – with a few delicious upgrades. This 2014 remake enhanced the original game without removing any of the magic.
Unlike Abe’s 1997 outing, now you must save 299 fellow workers from the genocidal meat factory – and how successful you are depends on what ending you get.
The key to success here is to explore every nook and cranny of the environment for hidden paths, ladders and secret areas, you don’t want to unknowingly leave a comrade behind.
Gamespeak is enhanced, allowing you to have longer and more meaningful interactions with coworkers as you guide them to safety from RuptureFarms.
One of the biggest changes – and the one I was most grateful for – was quicksave. You can now save your progress whenever you like, something that proved surprisingly controversial.
Having experienced the bitterness of clearing an area of mudokons, only to die before reaching a save point and having to do the whole level over again – I was more than appreciative of quicksave.
New camera angles are also better at revealing upcoming threats in advance, so gone are the days of running blindly into a mine, or slumbering slig.
Above all else it looks stunning – updated graphics add rich layers to the world. Shadows seem darker, the factory filled with thrashing, whirling, chopping and dicing machinery, feels more threatening than ever.
But when you make it onto the plains of Oddworld, with Abe and his tribe under the night sky of their home planet – it’s simply breathtaking.
Oddworld: Soulstorm (PEGI 16) PS4, PS5, PC
Named after the brew made from rendering mudokon parts, while Soulstorm sticks with the series’ much-loved 2D graphics and gameplay, it vastly expands on Abe’s abilities – and on the size and scope of the story.
And that’s wonderful, as it allows us to get closer to Abe and his tribe.
This is the first title to introduce a loot system, with Abe able to crack open and explore bins and lockers for items to craft with.
The levels themselves feel more sprawling, with multiple paths that can be taken to your objective. This feeling of vastness is in part down to the camera, which pans out at every opportunity so you can take in the sheer scale of the level.
As a character, Abe feels more nimble – the ability to double jump making life a little easier if you miss a ledge or overhang.
But while the game has been modernised, the things that made it so much fun are still in place.
Abe can still possess an enemy slig, and pass gas to the delight of his following colleagues.
That drive to save all your fellow mudokons is still very much there, and the utter guilt you feel when one is killed or has to be left behind is devastating.
There are times when the controls feel a little clunky, and the AI can be a little wobbly, but as an Oddworld devotee I can forgive almost anything.