Oddworld: Soulstorm E3 2019 gameplay preview (Pic: Oddworld Inhabitants)
Discounting the critically acclaimed 2014 remake of Abes Oddysee, its been a long time since the series was firmly focused on its lead character, those familiar 2D style layouts, and gibbering to your legion of Mudokons via “Gamespeak”.
Its also been close to 15 years since the last original instalment in the Oddworld franchise. However, Strangers Wrath – which launched exclusively for the original Xbox before its superb revival last gen – was a completely different game. A first person shooter where every round of ammunition was a live creature.
Scratch just beneath the surface of any Oddworld game reveals just how inventive and ambitious they really are. The passion director Lorne Lanning has is infectious and its clear to see, from both the Oddworld games weve had in the past, and the ones that sadly never made it release, that he and his team are never short of ideas.
Stripped back to its barest, Soulstorm is a follow up to Oddworld: New n Tasty which has also been described as a “retake” of 1998s Abes Exoddus.
However, seeing the game in action and having the chance to play through one of its mid-game stages ourselves, Oddworld Inhabitants is doing more than simply carrying the torch and attempting to ignite fans nostalgia for this wonderfully warped series.
Abe is very much front and centre in Soulstorm. Next to icons such as Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon, he became a loveable yet unconventional mascot during those early days of PlayStation.
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For those who only have the slightest recollection of Oddysee or Exoddus, it will all come rushing back as soon as you see this game in motion. It faithfully adheres to that same core template with Abe navigating maze-like levels packed with puzzles to solve, Mudokons to save, and enemy Sligs to watch out for.
That said, theres so much more going on. Soulstorms stages have an impressive sense of scale and depth to them – they bend back and forth, continuing to angle the players perspective to add some extra cinematic flare.
Thanks to ongoing experimentation with Unity, Oddworld can now cram a crazy amount of things happening on-screen at one time with huge explosions, liquid flames, and other physics and lighting effects, as well as dozens of characters and the myriad of moving parts interacting in the background.
Lanning describes it as “a chemistry set of insanity” and we couldnt find a more succinct way of putting it. He and the team are fascinated with just how much they can squeeze in without Soulstorm ever crashing on them.
One of the biggest advancements this Oddworld revival has to offer is a proper inventory system with Abe now able to gather resources and craft them into a range of makeshift gadgets and gubbins.
While lobbing a jawbreaker will temporarily knock an enemy down, combining it with a roll of tape will give it an added lasso effect, preventing them from getting back up. Similarly, you can craft corrosive Fizzy Pops to burn through platforms, mod fire extinguishers into a flamethrower and other humorous yet useful recipes.
(Pic: Oddworld)
For targets that are slightly out of reach Abe can eRead More – Source
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