The strange adventures of Abe in Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssee was an iconic title on the original PlayStation. An oppressive atmosphere coupled with puzzle elements and a brain flexing challenge made for a great time for a lot of players. A remake entitled New ‘n’ Tasty made a ton of sense and did a great job representing the classic on modern consoles. Fans have always wondered what would become of Abe after the events of that game and now the second journey is underway with Oddworld: Soulstorm which just got its first gameplay trailer.
In the aftermath of the bombastic finish to RuptureFarms, Abe struggles to find his place in the world, alongside 300 freed Mudokons. During their travels, they come across a weird and tasty drink that seems to contain a sinister liquid.
According to the press release Oddworld: Soulstorm will continue to challenge ideas of capitalism, environmentalism, consumerism, and addiction. What’s insane is that while there have been a few other Oddworld games throughout history, fans clamoring for more Abe will be happy to know that this is the second of five planned projects in what’s being called the Oddworld Pentalogy.
It was also reported in the same press release that the Oddworld franchise has sold over 15 million games.
It’s always awesome to see retro franchises come back in big ways. The PlayStation unlocked the potential of gaming for a lot of development studios and with CD-Roms being cheaper than N64 cartridges there was more room for experimentation. Without that perfect storm of creativity and circumstance, we may never have gotten Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssee. With the game putting a lens on some of the biggest fears and criticisms of society, it’s a pretty important game and one worth discussing. It will be interesting to see how critical Soulstorm ultimately is of these social structures.
With more games on the way after Soulstorm, it looks like now is a great time to be a fan of Oddworld.
Those unfamiliar with Abe and his journey have plenty of time to get acquainted in New ‘n’ Tasty as Soulstorm will be launching on consoles and PC in 2020. For more information, check out the official website.
For coverage on something more in the immediate future, check out the latest trailers for A Plague Tale: Innocence.
