A reality dominated by the logic of consumption. A factory where employees are treated like beasts. More and more extinct species. A despotic leader. A loser and vulnerable worker. No, our story is not set on Planet Earth, but on the continent of Mudos a Oddworld, where social disparities are the order of the day. We first landed on this strange world in the distant past 1997, when the iconic Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee debuted on PlayStation, soon entering the hearts of gamers everywhere. After 4 titles (with a fifth and last one coming out soon), this beloved brand returned to curse old and new fans in 2014, the year of release of Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty, remake of the first title initially released on PlayStation 4 and subsequently on all other consoles of the time. Starting today, finally, this videogame pearl, developed by Just Add Water and distributed by Oddworld Inhabitants, it also lands on Nintendo Switch in all its glory. Abe is back, and he's never been less fit ...
An anti- "oddisea"
In the unfair world of Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty we know the unfortunate protagonist from the very first moments of the game: the Mudokon Abe, a model employee who got into trouble because he was in the right place at the wrong time. In fact, the poor worker found himself eavesdropping on the shady plans of Molluck, head of the Slaughterhouse Hernia, where Abe is forced to work together with his fellows. The future of employees would appear to be more disastrous than ever: Molluck wants reduce all the Mudokons from the Hernia Slaughterhouse into a snack, as he did for scrabs, paramites and the now extinct Meech. Abe, of course, cares about his greenish skin as much as Molluck cares about his money, so tries to escape from the totalitarian factory trying to save as many colleagues as possible.
It would be a decidedly noble and heroic undertaking, too bad Abe is as frightened as he is fragile. Yes, our friend cannot attack the enemies he encounters along the way, nor can he resist for long when attacked. It will be up to us to look at how to make the most of Abe's abilities during the levels of Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty, trying to use the dexterity and above all, the dialectic of our favorite Mudokon, to prevent it from ending up in mush.
In the course of levels with a marked platforming imprint, our goal will be to reach the end of each stage by looking for the bird portals, to be activated by doing to sing Abe. This interesting mechanic also allows you to control the minds of enemies in the absence of surveillance towers. In this way, you can use your opponents to attack or push the enemy in your control to death. But that's not all: Abe can use the GameSpeak, his language, to communicate (even non-verbally!) with other Mudokon and guide them towards salvation.
Given Abe's feeble nature, the richly seasoned platforming levels of environmental puzzles, they have one strong stealth component where patience and timing are rewarded. The beauty, however, lies in looking for alternative solutions to overcome the levels: you could, for example, wait for the right moment to sneak away from the Slig, or own one, or try to get around obstacles in a hurry, risking to collect some bullets. . Fortunately, Abe's lives are endless, because Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty is very difficult, consistent with the original title. If you want to lead Abe victoriously on his "oddyssey", you will soon discover (and probably at your expense) that accuracy is a fundamental component of the game.
Speaking of accuracy, let's introduce one thorny questionI controls. If already the version for PlayStation 4 of 2014 did not shine particularly, the port on Nintendo Switch proposes the same flaws by adding more uncertainty due to the Joy-con drift that plagues some hybrid consoles. By default, we use the left Joy-con pad to move Abe and the directional arrows to communicate with the Mudokons, but this choice necessarily makes the movements less accurate. Unfortunately it is not possible to customize the commands at will, but this is a small price to pay, which can be avoided with a bit of habit, to play a respectable title that has an edge over the 1997 original.
Oddworld: New'n'Tasty - Much more than just a remastered version
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty is a remake in all respects, which entailed not only a total overhaul of the graphic and sound interface, but also a good number of improvements. Among the two most useful, we mention a more checkpoints in the levels (hardcore fans don't want it, but they save a lot of curses in some difficult points) and, above all, the ability to save at any time thanks to the "quick save" option in the pause menu. Also, again to make Oddworld purists turn up their noses, wells have been introduced 3 difficulty levels, but this does not turn out to be a particularly relevant novelty: in fact, the only difference lies in the amount of energy of our Abe. Thus, while in hard mode Abe will die in one hit, the Mudokon will be slightly more resilient in normal mode. Does this really make the game easier? Not really: if you advance without planning your moves, it will be of little use to resist a few more bullets!
Continuing to talk about the innovations of Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty, the GameSpeak has been revised in such a way as to lead multiple Mudokons at the same time. A nice convenience, considering that in this remake the the total number of Mudokons to be saved goes to 299 compared to 99 in the 1997 edition, raising both the level of challenge and the longevity of the game. As in the original, rescuing the unfortunate colleagues is crucial to unlocking one of the two possible endings, the positive one: Will Abe find his freedom or will he end up in a snack produced by the Ernie Slaughterhouse?
Passing instead to the artistic side, Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty is an accurate remake, and it shows. There HD graphics do it fully justice at Oddoworld: Abe's Oddysee without distorting its colors and textures. Furthermore, in the levels, the direction is better treated, allowing players to have a broader overview and to better ponder their strategy. The cutscene they are an example of the masterful work done by Just Add Water, which has taken (almost) frame by frame the old game videos enriching them in the lights and gestures of the characters. Also there colonna sonora, which can be listened to at will in the game extras, makes a good impression, with its minimalism to bring out the sound effect that have always distinguished the game, including sirens, laughter and fart.
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty it is localized in the in-game lyrics and subtitles (with some forgetfulness and occasional inaccuracy), while the dubbing is only enjoyable in English, unlike the 1997 edition with Spanish voiceover. The multiplayer, which certainly could have been interesting on Nintendo Switch thanks to the presence of the two Joy-con, is more of a bonus than an actual game mechanic, providing for the alternation of the two players as it happened in the Super Mario Bros. for NES of 1985. The game is now available at € 29,99, a price that is probably excessive for a 2014 stock, which lasts from 6 to 10 hours and what it costs well € 10 more compared to the version for PlayStation 4. The game, despite the price, remains one unmissable pearl for old and new fans alike.
