Oddworld works so much better in 2D, but there’s definitely a good game in here, it just needs to be polished up a lot. This entry goes for a more classic level-based progression. Each stage is sort of like a world in Mario 64, but instead of having multiple objectives you have a big puzzle to solve to get to the end of the stage, and a side mission to rescue as many mudokons/fuzzles/eggs as you can. Honestly it works pretty well. There aren’t many different themes – I think all levels fall into 3 types of aesthetic, so they become memorable purely by the layout and tasks you have to do, and in that sense some levels definitely stood.
As for the inclusion of Munch…well he plays really well in the water, but otherwise there’s nothing he can really do that you couldn’t have just let Abe do. It does add an extra layer of puzzle solving by having 2 characters at once, but it comes with the drawback of having way too many times when you need to keep catching one character up to the other, and it just feels slow.
Speaking of padding the time out, the new carrying mechanic for Abe leads to waaaaay too many sluggish paced sections where you have to pick up, throw or carry multiple Mudokons to get past an area or over a barrier. And then there’s the eggs you need to save one-by-one in the final levels. It just slows things down to a halt and is really annoying.
One of the biggest difficulties I had with the game was how many tasks are assigned to a single button. The B button (Switch) is used to jump, pick up objects and interact with things. And don’t get me started on the amount of times I pressed Y to run, but ended up burping/farting instead
Another way it’s rough around the edges is the sound design. For some reason some sound effects are insanely loud and drown out the dialogue of the spirit guy who gives you hints throughout a level. Even just the sound of a Mudokon scratching (which plays CONSTANTLY thanks to Abe doing it himself) feels way too loud.
While the overall feel of the game is different from the first, the cutscenes feel right at home, with the same charm and quirky dialogue. Unfortunately there’s far less of them now, replaced instead by newspaper shots between levels.
It's a decent entry to the franchise, but it really shows its age more than the originals ever will.
As for the inclusion of Munch…well he plays really well in the water, but otherwise there’s nothing he can really do that you couldn’t have just let Abe do. It does add an extra layer of puzzle solving by having 2 characters at once, but it comes with the drawback of having way too many times when you need to keep catching one character up to the other, and it just feels slow.
Speaking of padding the time out, the new carrying mechanic for Abe leads to waaaaay too many sluggish paced sections where you have to pick up, throw or carry multiple Mudokons to get past an area or over a barrier. And then there’s the eggs you need to save one-by-one in the final levels. It just slows things down to a halt and is really annoying.
One of the biggest difficulties I had with the game was how many tasks are assigned to a single button. The B button (Switch) is used to jump, pick up objects and interact with things. And don’t get me started on the amount of times I pressed Y to run, but ended up burping/farting instead
Another way it’s rough around the edges is the sound design. For some reason some sound effects are insanely loud and drown out the dialogue of the spirit guy who gives you hints throughout a level. Even just the sound of a Mudokon scratching (which plays CONSTANTLY thanks to Abe doing it himself) feels way too loud.
While the overall feel of the game is different from the first, the cutscenes feel right at home, with the same charm and quirky dialogue. Unfortunately there’s far less of them now, replaced instead by newspaper shots between levels.
It's a decent entry to the franchise, but it really shows its age more than the originals ever will.