Oddworld: It's Certainly That, Part 1

No one expected a game review for first post, did they?

Most of you probably don't know about the Oddworld franchise much. For many of you, I have mentioned it to you before. Oddworld is an expansive universe taking place on, well, Oddworld, an earth-like planet that has strange life, some descended from earth creatures. Personally, I like to think it's Earth hundreds of millions of years in the future. The first game, Abe's Oddysee, shall be covered in this blog.

 This game is a cinematic platformer, an old genre from the 90s. This genre is characterized by rotoscoped animation, feeble protagonists that die easily, and beautiful artwork for the levels. Every level is made up of different screens that transition between one another. This doesn't hinder reaction time, however. Most cinematic platformers tend to have many puzzles in them, and are trial and error. Unlimited lives are mandatory in this genre to accommodate the trial and error nature of the games.

  The games star Abe, a Mudokon worker for RuptureFarms turned into alien Moses. I'm not even joking. He cleaned the floors in RuptureFarms until he overheard the plot by Mullock, his boss, to get the company some revenue by killing the Mudokon slaves and selling their meat as treats. Abe runs away, and gets knocked out/killed by a fall from a cliff.  A Mudokon shaman by the name of Big Face revives him and enlightens him on the sacred status of Scrabs and Paramites, two creatures RuptureFarms has nearly hunted to extinction. He comes to the Monsaic Lines, one of the last refuges for native Mudokons, and learns of abilities he never knew he had.  He is then sent to Paramonia and Scrabania to pass the trials to receive the scars that would help him shut down RuptureFarms once and for all.

   As the game is a cinematic platformer, you jump around, run from enemies, and solve puzzles. The designs of the levels are very good and memorable, but can be difficult and reveal the trial and error portion of the game. Many hazards and interactable objects are placed around the stages, like bombs and switches. Stealth and timing are very important in the puzzles. Our blue buddy dies very easily, even bats can kill him. Sneaking past wildlife and Sligs is vital if you want to get through a level. When you have no other option but to run, time your jumps carefully, as it means the difference between life and death. He also has a few tools in his nonexistent belt, most notable of which are possession and GameSpeak. GameSpeak allows you to talk with other characters in game, like other Mudokons so you can get them to bird portals if they're at RuptureFarms or complete a puzzle if it's a native one.

   Abe can chant, which serves as a utility to open bird portals to save workers or teleport to other places. If he does it long enough, and in safety, he can possess a Slig on the same screen. Sligs carry automatic rifles that will kill whatever's in its way. These swamp things have their own (quite rude) GameSpeak to talk to each other and to their Slogs, relentless mutts that will chase after you no matter what. As a possessed Slig, you can tell the Slog to attack and kill another Slig in the way. If already provoked, they will attack your possessed Slig. When Abe stops possessing a Slig, he'll blow that poor bastard to smithereens. Possession reveals your location, even in shadow, makes noise that will alert enemies, and if two Sligs are on the same plane and you try possessing one of them, the other will kill him. Sligs and Slogs aren't your only worry. Those nearly extinct creatures I mentioned are apex predators. In Paramonia, Scrabania, and their temples, the respective predators of each are a danger to you.

Paramites, spider-like beings, are docile until in a group or cornered. You can feed them meat to distract them.

Scrabs, demented horse-monsters, are slow to act and will kill their own kind for territorial reasons, but will attack on sight. 

   Both of these animals sprint very fast and will run you down and kill you when provoked. You do have one friendly animal companion, and he's named Elum. Abe can ride on him and go very fast and jump longer distances. He's a very fun feature in the game.

    Abe can become something powerful yet hideous after obtaining the scars. Play the game yourself to find out what it is. Speaking of playing yourself, you could let the Mudokons die and save none of them if you want. 

   The Oddworld games are a twisted mirror of our own reality, dealing with concepts like environmentalism, modern day slavery, and capitalism. The story of the Mudokon tribes is similar to the story of the Native Americans, where they once ruled the New World, most Native Americans nowadays know very little of their own culture due to the work of horrible people who thought themselves higher. One species known as the Meech went extinct due to the Glukkons' exploitation of them, and the Scrabs and Paramites are close to that fate. The Glukkons pollute the continent and have enslaved both the Mudokons and the Sligs. Yes, the Sligs are slaves, too. The story's conflicts are more justified than they seem if you read deeper into it. The exact opposite of the chosen-people situation (a group takes down others under the dogma that they are superior) plays through. The old Mudokon tribes called themselves the chosen people due to a random cosmic event. The Glukkons, once spiritual, tried to surpass the Mudokons through black magic, and only left the nonspiritual folk to take their place after having the majority-spiritual wiped out. The remaining Glukkons were cruel, killing all the Mudokon queens but one, and putting most Mudokons under an enslavement similar to today's form. There is some wonderfully dark humor in the games, and it's great.

   As for the visuals and sound, It's wonderful. The game was beautiful, even if it was released in 1997. The OST is flawless and the sound design is excellent. Abe's chanting is almost mesmerizing, and the GameSpeak commands are clear enough.

   This game and the franchise in general is wonderful, and I suggest you play it. The actual game is very cheap, and comes in the Oddbox, which includes Abe's Exoddus, Munch's Oddysee, and Stranger's Wrath. If you want a modern version, Oddworld: New n' Tasty  will give you that experience.

Sorry for taking SO LONG. I hadn't got around to actually writing much of this due to laziness.

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