The setting and world building of Oddworld is so uniqe that I couldn't resist revisiting it through this "new and tasty" version of the game. But I probably should've left my fond memories of playing this on the PS1 alone, even though I can't get me to dislike this remake.

I think the world of Abe has come more alive here and the actually playing is more aligned with the cutscenes, and just for that this is worth revisiting, or experience if you haven't played the original version. It truly come off as a world that exist in it's own and you just happen to be able to be a part of it. Everything happens between the characters, from Abe's perspective and a lot of developers could learn a thing or two from this game on how to deliver context, story and dialogue without having to rely on "exposition talking".

What I had forgotten was how clunky Abe is to control, and that I downright hated the parts where you control Elum. After finishing those sequenses it didn't feel rewarding in a mastering kind of way, but more just lucky with the timing of the jumps. And I can't help but feel some of the puzzles are way harder because the enemies can now spot you from positions where they earlier was off-screen.

I don't regret playing this remake, but it would've benefitted from making Abe, and especially Elum, easier to control, maintained more of the originals "grittiness", make the visual cues on the maps more obvious and have a least one more directory later in the first stage.

Reviewed on May 31, 2023


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