Retro Gaming - Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

I used to play Abe's Oddysee a lot when I was a kid. Last month, I was feeling a little nostalgic, so I decided to replay it and see whether it stood up well today. Although game design has improved rapidly since this 2D platformer was released, back in 1997, it's still a great deal of fun.

You play as Abe, one of the many blue skinned Mudokon slaves working at a meat plant called Rupturefarms. Abe is working late one night when he overhears his boss, Molluck the Glukkon, planning to turn the Mudokons into a new meat product to make up for falling profits.  Abe runs away, determined to escape from Rupturefarms, unaware that he has a destiny. It's a fairly straightforward story, albeit with an interesting anti-McDonalds message.

Oddworld is full of fascinating creatures and enemies, including the Sligs, yellow slugs with mechanical legs who carry guns. Enemies are strong enough to kill Abe with just one attack, and Since Abe doesn't carry a gun, the player must find ingenious ways to avoid direct confrontations.

Abe's main ability is to use "Gamespeak" to communicate with fellow Mudokons and lead them to freedom. Abe can also "chant" to possess enemy Sligs and use the Slig GameSpeak to solve certain puzzles. It's always good to have games where you don't just mindlessly shoot every enemy on sight.

The number of Mudokons that you rescue will determine the ending of the game. If you killed or left behind too many Mudokons then you'll get the bad ending. The more you rescue, the better the chance of getting the good ending. A lot of the replay value in this game will come for trying to rescue all 99 Mudokons in the game.

The graphics for the full motion video sequences still look fantastic. The in-game Pre-rendered backgrounds are beautiful, from the grimy, industrial feel of Rupturefarms, to pine forests and dry desert land, give a good impression of vast distance. Only the character sprites themselves look a little rough and blocky, although the sprite movement is as fluid as possible with 90s graphics.

There are no catchy themes or songs in Oddworld as the music is primarily about creating atmosphere. Whether it is reflecting the harsh industry of Rupturefarms or the nature of the Oddworld wilderness, the music succeeds in this goal well.

So, all in all, I enjoyed the experience of replaying this game. I might even try replaying the sequel, Abe's Exoddus.
4/5