Oddworld: The story of a unique, though maligned franchise.
Way back in the late 1990s, a company founded by special-effects experts called Oddworld Inhabitants began a years-long journey to tell us tales of the adventures of non-human, yet sentient species on a bizarre, diverse planet known as Oddworld.
The first in this offbeat series, Abe’s Oddysee, was released in 1997. Like its sequel, Abe’s Exoddus, it’s a 2D side-scroller. It told the tale of a simple, rather weak, but strangely empowered alien being. Abe is one of many who was working (slaving, really) at a meat processing plant, RuptureFarms, known for processing all kinds of Oddworld’s native species into food.
When Abe discovers that the top executives at the factory, the Glukkons, plan to repair their sagging profit margins by turning Abe’s race, the Mudokons themselves, into their new product, he flies into a panic and begins his run across the factory and beyond, rescuing his fellow slaves with his nascent magic and foiling the plans of the Glukkons and their henchmen, the Sligs, and other hostile species, Slogs, Paramites and Scrabs.
The second game in the series is basically more of the same; after Abe shuts down RuptureFarms he journeys to Nekrom, the ancient burial ground of the Mudokons, where more corrupt executives discover the addictive properties of a vile brew distilled from the marrow of long-dead Mudokons, and ply it to unwitting, gullible living Mudokons. Abe takes charge yet again and works against the heads of the SoulStorm Brewery, with new magic and facing new dangers along the way.
The third game, Munch’s Oddysee became a launch title for the Xbox, in 2001. It graduated to a full-3D platform adventure, and continues the story of Abe. He is now tasked by the oracle of his people to find the last remaining Gabbit, a one-legged aquatic beastie by the name of Munch, who, after horrific experimentation, now has the ability to zap things with his brain!
Well, actually, that’s pretty cool, but the mad scientists intended to use him to find other innocent creatures to experiment on, such as the unbelievably cute, yet ravenous Fuzzles, the previously-featured doglike Slogs, and others yet to be discovered. Your goal as both Abe and Munch, using Munch’s newly-acquired sonar, are to find and rescue those creatures who have already been ensnared as Munch was, and take out yet ANOTHER group of corrupt executives that seek to keep the Oddworld Inhabitants down.
Finally (so far), in 2005, Stranger’s Wrath was released. It tells the story of a bounty-hunting Steef (somewhat between a steer and wolf, oddly enough) known only as Stranger, as he utilizes live ammo (literally) to hunt down the scum and evildoers in a more gritty, Western-inspired area of Oddworld.
Unfortunately, due to executive meddling, Oddworld Inhabitants has, as least for now, stepped out of the games business; they would have gone into a cycle of not getting paid while being forced to crank out games on deadline, and they didn’t want to go through that and have their quality suffer. But this excellent series will hopefully see growth in the future!
For now, check out the OddBoxx, featuring these four, on Steam today! Five out of five for all four!