Oddworld: Soulstorm - Tasty It Ain't (Game Review)

Publisher: Oddworld Inhabitants
Developer: Oddworld Inhabitants
Platform: PS4, PS5, PC
Genre: Side-Scroll Platformer

It's been years since I've played an Oddworld game, in fact Oddworld was talk of the town in terms of the gaming buzz back in the late 90's to early 2000's. A lot of its charm came from the unique character design, abstract alien worlds, goofy scenarios, the slapstick charm, and well the slimy gory parts of it with a grieving sense of macabre but also ample amounts of levity tucked in between them. Oddworld is just what the first world would describe it, really odd.

The series has been on hiatus before a remake of the first game was made back in 2014 and since then the has changed entirely. So here we are now, with a PlayStation exclusivity and well, Abe, the Mudokon protagonist of this game finally coming to terms with who he is without needing 2 more additional games to get there. But despite the great premise, charming personality, and contrasting themes, this game is well, a bit undercooked.

There are issues of both technical and executional nature. I mean the game is far off from being really fun and upto standards from modern games of this date. This isn't a remake, this is an entirely new game. The issues that plague this game are ones that devs could have easily rectified and taken more time to put QA into the final product.

You cannot face what's ahead if you choose to hold on to those strings of oppression. You must find and embrace your full voice.

The game takes off awhile after the first game, Rupturefarms has been destroyed and the Mudokons that were eslaved have been set free thanks to Abe. Unfortunately the Glukkon CEO is pretty angry of how things turned up and wants to destroy Abe as well as the Mudokons who've escaped. Capture them if possible.

Abe having no choice, sets on a quest to transpire a full on Modokon revolution with him being on the forefront. A nice touch of Anti-estalishment and Anti-capitalism shtick nuzzled in. In fact, the story is really where the game gets interesting not just because of the allegorical nature but also how the game tackles its characters and there's a lot of characters to look at.

Despite the grim nature, and the decadents and despair that surrounds it, the game has its charm thanks to how the Mudokons are voiced and some silly way characters get killed off including the antagonist race. Plus I like possessing the ones who are set on killing me, always a joy to lead them to their eventual doom.

The game is a simple yet vastly open side-scroller. You wander here, you go pick items up, and you throw them against the enemies when coming to face them. Of course, it's a bit more complex than that. At first, you pick water bottles and brews, water bottles take out fire and brew light up areas with fire around them. Then there's the element of puzzle solving and tactical strategy that's required. You have to look at the areas of each level you're in and find a way to either neutralize the enemy or just bypass them.

You can even possess them though not always as they have built these floating countermeasures that'll zap you or your spirit form. Though possessing them to engage their comrades can be really fun and give reprieve from their bloodthirsty nature before you blow them to bits and pieces. But there's more to apply with these aspects of the game design.

There's more of course, you have to be pretty stealthy often. Tip-toeing while also zipping up unconscious enemies and robbing them for item gathering. Hiding in lockers or using smokes to hide you from snipers snuffing you out. While there's a checkpoint system every 5 minutes you pass an area, this is in a game like this, it's pretty easy to die. Especially very often in fact.

As you go along, you collect items which needs to be used for all the encounters you face. But the other part of the game that's important is the part where you save the Mudokons, you'll need a potion at first before saving up the Mudokons and have them following you around. Sounds about easy right? Eh, not quite. This part is where you have to do everything and control your Mudokons or else they'll die.

The game gets more interesting as it makes level changes, adding in different factors to pass through them or solve tricky puzzles. It keeps things interesting and varied. Because more often than not, the game plays like something from 2013. Parts of the gameplay and the way they're designed at times often feels outdated. That is of course, if you can get past the technical hurdles.

And boy, to these problems pop up pretty often. My character gets stuck, some abilities don't work as they're supposed to, Abe doesn't know how to grab a ledge from double jumps at times, going crouch to stand doesn't go timely, input laggings, and dumb A.I. The A.I is so bothersome and poorly done that they make the stealth sections even more of a hassle they should be. It feels and plays clunky half the time and almost had me on 'Homer Simpson tearing his hair out' moments of frustrations.

Game is visually gorgeous, in fact the scenaries on the background can be pretty breathtaking and immersive complemented with good art design. The audio is part looney, part heavy industrialization. You'll lot of gears grinding and some whip noises as intuitive audio while playing the game. It puts that contrast of being silly and slightly disturbing.

I do want to recommend Oddworld, I really do. Problem is, this game is pretty long, and I had to constantly deal with the weird control issues and bugs that pop up. Plus, the gameplay feels pretty outdated once you've finished it halfway. For an Oddworld game, this was a pretty disappointing entry to the series.

Though I do feel like maybe it'll fix the issues with a patch in the future, am not holding my breath. It's interesting premise wasn't enough to compensate for the lackluster gameplay even.

A few pros and cons if you will -

Pros:

• Gorgeous world and planetary setting that breathes life and the opposite
• Good level designs
• Challenging and interesting ways to overcome your enemies
• Charming characters thanks to good voice cast and writing
• Pretty hard R without any F-bombs

Cons:

• Gameplay feels sluggish and outdated
• Technical issues ruin the fun
• You get tired after a certain point