Oh, poor Lorne Lanning. His big plans for an ambitious quintology- each starring a new, unique protagonist- all with their own gameplay and quirks, all coming together at the end of the line to take down the massive and sinister consumerist machine was very promising stuff. It’s just too bad- as Oddysee began to make a name for itself, that he couldn’t escape Abe, nor could he quite sway people to stay onboard for his experimental, genre-shifting, console-hopping franchise. Now he’s stuck remaking and reshooting the best of Abe- and yet somehow making it all the more worse. It’s really one of gaming’s bigger ongoing tragedies.

Right then, Stranger’s Wrath? It’s alright.

The move to the sixth gen console generation was a bit of an awkward one. The scenes of Oddysee and Exoddus still remain gorgeous to this day- despite their age. This exotic, alien and even uniquely ‘brutalist tribalist’ look, while the factories are all too hauntingly familiar, grimy and industrial (an aesthetic that New ‘n Tasty would later hideously vomit bloom all over.). Munch and Stranger’s outings- still having a distinct visual flair, mind you- was just difficult to translate that same pre-rendered beauty into the third dimension. I don’t think it’s helped that both games seem to be made a bit on the cheap out of necessity.

Stranger’s crossbow is a fun mechanic that continues building upon itself as the game progresses, but the other aspects of gameplay never quite meet the same level of potential. The bounties aren’t always very engaging, and going to capture them all alive especially didn’t strike me as particularly intuitive, being more of an exercise in ‘oh god, am I doing this right?’ It really starts grinding you down, even before the last legs of the game become a total slog, and not the kind you throw a bone.

It surprised me that Stranger’s Wrath doesn’t go for the tried and true old western frontier vs. the coming of industrialization. The poignant tale of the cowboys dying out as the great civilization machine is born, it kind of writes itself. Maybe it was just that, too simple. Or such a dour ending was too risky when Oddworld Inhabitants didn’t have as much room to get risky. Instead it continues on with its nativism angle, a tribe pushed to the edge as the protagonist comes to terms with his spiritual roots and storms the beaches of Normandy! That… does end up happening, doesn’t it? It all ends a bit silly, even for Oddworld.

Stranger’s twist 75% into the game is definitely something. ‘A tad bullshit’ as I would put it lightly, only because I know you aren’t fitting another pair of legs into those boots, Stranger, sorry. Call me a bit overly pedantic, but it’s difficult to appreciate a twist that has little in the way of logistical possibility. It works quite nicely mechanically, though. What with money disappearing as something you pursued doggedly as a bounty hunter- going so far as to beat up innocent people over during the course of the game. Now you live the environmentalist’s dream, you’re a saviour of nature and your ‘ammo’ eats people to multiply, lovely!

Stranger’s transformation from anti-hero to protector is nice, cute even, I suppose I just lament what Stranger pre-Steefing-out would have brought to the table as contrast to Abe, rather than feeling like the two characters have been brought to a very similar point. That, and Stranger looks like a crappy WoW character in that armour of his.

It’s not the last of Oddworld, but it’s so far the last time it struck a more authentic note. Looking back on it now, Stranger’s Wrath really does feel like the sun setting on a wild frontier of video games that has all but disappeared into the great beyond. Now Lanning is pushing 60, the talent is drying up- and this industry is collapsing under the weight of hideous investment companies while gaming loses its identity to being little more than interactive movies and RPG-lite stat-checking (WITH CRAFTING!).

All his characters talk in circles and speak plainly about their immediate objectives, it’s all become very tired. “I have to save my people!” Abe shouts to himself. “Yes,” replies another Mudokon, “you have to save your people.” Abe gulps in fear. “But, butbutbut how will I save my people…?” He ponders. “You’ll have to…save your people...” The other Mudoken replies sagely. Then dies, or something. I don’t like Soulstorm, is what I’m saying.

A weird game, but probably my favourite of the Oddworld titles I've played. Like the others, the setting is imaginative and there's an endearing doofishness to all the dialogue and characters. Where this one diverges from the others is that it's interesting in a mechanical capacity. Merging a third person adventure game with a first person shooter featuring stealth as a central focus is ambitious to say the least.

Moreover, its conceptual approach to a shooter, where ammunition takes the form of different wildlife which can then be replenished or harvested in the wild is a pretty original idea. Functionally it doesn't make the biggest difference, but I thought it played into this series' concerns of environmentalism and exploitation really well.

It's flawed despite its good ideas, with some general clunkiness and uninspired boss fights, but eventually it just topples. This game completely abandons its stealth mechanics, its more open design, and its established atmosphere a little over halfway through, focusing almost entirely on shooting in linear industrial environments. A shame because that first half does some really cool things.