Kris Wall reviews Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty…
Playstation 4 is quickly becoming known for the amount of ‘HD Remasters’ it’s playing host to . From remasters of last gen games like Tomb Raider and the superb The Last of Us to the newly announced Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition, Dead or Alive 5: Last Round and even a remaster of Resident Evil, a game that made its first appearance back in 1996 on the PS1, gamers would be be forgiven for being concerned that Sony could be stuck on reliving past glories than fully embracing the future. Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee made first contact on the PS1 in 1997, it was a great side scrolling puzzle platformer that was unlike anything else around at the time. Developed in collaboration between Oddworld Inhabitants and Just Add Water, New ‘n’ Tasty is a complete HD remake of that game.
Oddworld centres around Abe, a Mudokon slave at a meat processing plant called Rupture Farms. Abe discovers that his race are being slaughtered for food so decides to escape and emancipate his people. No small feat given that Abe is also kind of a bumbling fool. Abe himself is still a wonderful creation and controlling him is just as much fun as it ever was as he journeys from zero to hero of the Mudokon race. Aside from running and leaping all over the place, Abe has the ability to ‘chant’, which can help him manipulate parts of his environment, but rather more interestingly (and brilliantly) he can telepathically take control of the oppressive Sligs (think half robotic versions of the aliens from District 9) and bend them to his will, or communicate with his fellow Mudokon people to help him on his adventure
Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty harkens back to an era of puzzle platformers pioneered and perfected by the likes of Flashback and Super Metroid. Each screen represents a new challenge or puzzle for Abe to overcome, ranging from mild brain ticklers to severe mind melters as the game progresses. Leading other Mudokons to freedom is still brilliantly tense, the disappointment of losing just one slave to a patrolling Slig or a meat grinder neatly balanced out with the elation of rescuing an entire room with a perfectly executed rescue plan. Racing around on the ostrich like Elum evokes a sense of fun, pace and precision not seen since the days of Donkey Kong Country and most recently mirrored in Rayman Legends. New ‘n’ Tasty is a tough and challenging game, spiking in places such as the Paramite temple, but progress never feels anything less than rewarding.
The game looks absolutely beautiful, all rendered in lovely 2.5D, the HD makeover really brings the Oddworld environments to life. From the oppressive environments of Rupture Farms to the lush vibrant forests beyond that wouldn’t look out of place in Avatar, down to the intricate detailing on Abe and the rest of the world’s inhabitants, it’s incredible just how good that Oddworld Inhabitants and Just Add Water have made a 17 year old game look. I’d go as far as to say it’s right up there with the best of Ubisoft’s signature hand drawn style from Rayman Legends, Beyond Good and Evil or Child of Light and if you’ve seen any of those games, you’ll know exactly how good they look.
If there are any criticisms I could level at New ‘n’ Tasty it would be that the infamously steep difficulty curve still exists and not even the addition of mid-checkpoint quick saves can lighten the frustration of being splattered across the screen by a Slig for the 20th time, rather mercifully, respawn times are almost immediate so you can rush straight back into your next death. Sometimes the frame rate can drop out slightly too, which is particularly frustrating when you’re attempting to line up one of the games hundreds of precisions leaps and you plummet to your death from a technological hiccup and not your own mistake.
New ‘n’ Tasty looks great, sounds great and most of all, is great fun to play. I’d say that for it’s age, it’s currently a tad pricey but when you factor in you’re getting one of the best and most original platformers ever made, it’s not such a bitter pill to swallow. In an age where great platform games are fewer and farther between, Oddworld New ‘n’ Tasty is more more relevant to the genre now than it was back in ’97, a very tasty treat indeed.
Rating – 8/10
Kris Wall
