For gamers of a certain age that owned a PS1 (or just 'PlayStation'), Abe the Mudokon is a familiar character, famous for some of the cleverest puzzle-platforming gameplay of the age. With Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty we have a remake of Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, though it's actually more a refresh than remake. Make no mistake, this title has been developed from the ground up, to the point that its meaty file size and requirements to run seemingly held the Wii U version back longer than anyone would like. Now that the game's not-quite-new as it lands on Nintendo's system, but is it still tasty?
For starters, this title stands out as a puzzle platformer with a relatively detailed and cohesive story at its heart. Abe is a floor cleaner in a RuptureFarms food processing plant, which produces pies and fast food made out of various meats. Upon stumbling across a fiendish plan from the owners (the Glukkons) he's spotted, and thus begins the 'Oddysee' - as it was called in the original - in which he seeks to escape, encounters Mudokens away from the factory and begins a quest to liberate and rescue his comrades.
Abe himself is a rather simple fellow, yet there's undoubted intelligence to the scriptwriting here. The overarching morality tale targets the selfish nature of modern industry, the cynicism and dangerous behaviour of profit-seeking corporations, and could even be interpreted as a polemic in support of vegetarianism. It's rather bold, yet at the same time keeps its message in check and doesn't over-extend, leaving the player to relate to Abe and the small but intriguing cast. From attractive cut-scenes to poetic lines in loading screens, this is a title with a beating heart and artistic merit.
Once you get into the gameplay, you have puzzle platforming with occasional moments where the tempo ratchets up. For the most part you're making relatively linear progress through a mixture of rooms and wider areas, all while assessing danger and considering the way forward. Moments of dashing, jumping and rolling are in the minority - though welcome when they come - as you spend a great deal of time steadily figuring out your surroundings.
There's some depth to the controls which, to the game's immense credit, isn't daunting when actually playing. In addition to running, jumping, rolling and using items, you can also throw objects and communicate with other Mudokon's with a variety of 'gamespeak' commands. Then there's chanting, which is integral in solving puzzles and even controlling some enemies - Abe begins the game relatively helpless, sneaking and dodging foes, but those tables turn with progress.
All of this combines rather nicely for an engaging experience, for which strong design points can also be assigned. Solutions always have logic to them, even when the puzzles are rather fiendish or tricky to execute, and some concessions are also made to ensure that you can avoid heightened frustration. Checkpoints are frequent, but you can also quicksave with the Select button at any time, which is a welcome feature.
The stages, ultimately, are the star alongside our charismatic protagonist. Carefully structured, they're also great to look at, as this eShop version holds up in delivering an attractive version of the game. The visuals are indeed rather tasty, and the sound design also plays its part in the overall experience.
There are some drawbacks here, though, which prevent this game from taking what would have been its rightful place among the very best games on the eShop. For starters there are some issues with framerate, which become troublesome in some up-tempo sections, particularly when riding Elums, kind-hearted creatures that offer help with some run and jump sections. The framerate is always playable, but regardless of whether we were running the game off an external hard drive or the Wii U's internal memory it hit some trouble spots. The frequent checkpoints and quicksave features ease the pain, but some of our deaths could be attributed to stumbling over slight input lag and a stuttering framerate.
A method for making quick or precise sections easier is available, though. Enabling 'Classic' control options replaces analogue walking and running to assigning the latter to a button, in addition to making it easier to jump from a standing start. We could find no workaround, however, to the fact that the off-TV mirroring on the GamePad drops sound during cutscenes. It's odd, as the rest of the sound is intact, so it has to go down as a bug at this stage.
If performance were better optimised this would join the ranks as one of the top titles on the eShop, but even with its flaws it's only one notch down from that status. Always playable, it's easier to forgive framerate dips when the overall product is of such a high quality, providing a timely reminder that experienced developers are producing immersive experiences that can be as attractive as some retail titles. It's a relatively lengthy adventure - especially for those new to the series - and multiple difficulty settings and collectible challenges add replayability. It is, ultimately, worth its premium price.
Conclusion
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty has had a protracted journey to the Wii U, and remnants of that legacy can be found here. Overall, however, we have an attractive, beautifully designed and clever platformer on the eShop, which is also fairly unique on the store. Sometimes a wait is worthwhile, and this one's odyssey to reach Nintendo hardware was worth the effort.
Comments 31
I feel that although I got this with PS Plus a few months ago,manat I should buy this again on the Wii U just to show that I full support them making future games for the system.
Mudokon*
Awesome, may download this one someday too, I got the original for the PS1 so looking forward to this one.
On my backlog it goes. Xenoblade and Fire Emblem are currently making me completely unable to even consider fitting another game on my current play sessions.
I hope Alex Olney has played this by now!
really worth checking out on This Game! somebody said that this game has co-op. i would like to play co-op with my Brother on this version
Maybe one day all games will be purchased this way. No box, No game card, nothing physical to touch or trade. And will these games always be with us to redown load to whatever Nintendo console we own in years to come?
Taking all that info account, ÂŁ20 is a big ask for an old game that's had a makeover. We have come a long way since PS1, I'm not sure the game has.
I wonder if this price reflects the Wii U's lack of games. Could they get away with it if we had a choise of new games to purchase. I doubt it.
Really looking forward to picking this up.
This game launched in mid-2014, and has been offered as a free download on Playstation platforms, and has seen sale prices of $7.99 on PC. With this in mind, I can already tell that with the journey here, and the fact that tons of folks already have it, there's no way it'll sell well on the Wii U, all but assuring we'll never get further support from this developer. The long road it took to get here is admirable, but I feel like the end of this game's story has already been written, like many other delayed third party titles-- it'll sell poorly, it'll be seen as an indication that the Wii U user base isn't interested in this style of game, and we won't get more of it.
Also, am I the only one who sees titles like this hit the eshop and immediately hit control+f and look for "framerate" only to be unsurprised when there's a note somewhere in the review that it's spotty and it affects performance? Just a tragic trend I've noticed time and time again with even indie titles ported to the Wii U. I want to believe that in 1.5+ additional years a bit more optimization could have been made to insure a smoother experience, but alas.
@chewytapeworm I most certainly have!
Was waiting for this review. Onwards to the eShop and spend moneys on a quality game.
Psst, there's a typo in the beginning - "Abe the Mudoken", should be Mudokon (saying to be helpful, not to nitpick).
$14.99 is really steep for this. It's gone on sale on PSN a handful of times, for $1 about a bunch of times, same with The Cave, which acts similar to this in gameplay, which is also $15 on the WiiU, and has the same $1 sale on PSN, or even free on PS+ I think once or twice. Yet another example of it being too expensive to port a game over. That can't bode well for sales. I expected a 7 or 8/10 on this totally, they seem to have that average going for them. I've not played this or any game in the series, but I must say after reading about the series in a whole, it's usually quite glitchy. Framerate issues are always a thing for some reason and apparently they're kind of short games. Also this game has been out for a while. It's kind of random this came to the WiiU, but maybe they'll add more eventually. This style game is quite popular for the WiiU it seems. If it goes on sale for at least 50% off at some point I may consider it. They're not uninteresting, just a touch pricey for the length and appeal.
@zool ÂŁ20? I just got it for ÂŁ12
Not buying until they put the rest of the oddworld hd games on wiiu.
@AlexOlney Good man! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did fifteen "odd" years ago!
Bought it. Bit sad that Ninty doesnt have a refund button. The framerate drops are ridiculous for a retail game on a console, I was utterly surprised this game got through ninty's supposedly strict Q&A process. The Elum rides are unbearable, it felt like running crysis on a pentium 4 (Im old). The parts where the framerate held solid gave a great experience and brought me right back to when I was around 16 and played Abes odysee on release day, sadly though for the money outlay I'm disappointed.
Also, the game has co-op, why was this not mentioned?
Ugh. Brutal port.
Have this on my Xbox One and love it. Never played this much on the old PS1, and I'm glad to see what I missed as a kid.
I encountered way too many annoying bugs on the Wii U version. Made it a rather frustrating experience. Jealous of those who don't seem to have any problems. I hope an update is on the way so I can continue/restart the game.
Does this game have Co-op or not? If so how does it work etc. This info really is essential to the review if it's a feature!?!
@ULTRA-64: It has a mode called 'Co-Op' which is a bit misleading because it's not simultaneous multiplayer. It's just taking turns with a friend. It seems all this mode does is activate a second controller.
This has really breathed some life into my Wii U.
Really I would recommend buying it, it's challenging, addictive, and rewarding with it's colourful imaginative story telling.
My only gripes are the frame rate drops like crazy when a lot happens on screen.
The sound can be very glitchy, sometimes loosing all character sound when a lot is happening, again probably down to processing.
The voice over work has changed, and the art style isn't quite as grim as the original.
Mudokon pops have been censored aswell ! No longer a severed head on a stick.
But all that aside it's great fun like the original.
I hope more Oddworld comes to Nintendo, but if sales are shoddy, which I expect, it's not going to happen.
@zool You might be right. Never played an Oddworld game, so I couldn't say for sure. The game has been appealing to me since it was launched on the PS1, but asking "full price" for an e-shop game that doesn't run all that well, seems a bit much.
I don't have many problems with the download-only release.
I see your point in trading(and with that I mean returning it after playing it for an 1-2 hour). That's an option I've been wanting for quite some time. I never sell my games, but to have the option would be nice.
Concerning the replay-ability: you'd run in the same problem with physical releases if the new system didn't have backwards compatibility.
@Order2Chaos that's true about the replay ability of physical copies on future consoles. But we download everything now, books, music, movies and games. I would hate to think that one day I no longer have access to these.
@zool Mostly I go for physical copies of games. With the download only games I'm not too bothered with a digital only release though because they're smaller games that I generally care less about than the full scale retail titles.
@zool I really understand that sentiment. I do that as well with books. I don't like the idea of having to do everything off-screen, plus the feel of a book in your hand, feeling the paper when you turn a page, love it.
The turning point for me was when I found my storage space lacking at some point, and had to make the choice, build closets entirely dedicated to store newly bought physical media or store them on a Hard Drive. The choice was simple(with some persuading from my girlfriend).
Recently bought this for PS4, and can highly recommend it. Story-based platformers are rare enough....having one that actually works well as both story and platformer is a treat.
Nice review and nice score, but I'll wait till the price goes down.
We bought it, and were dissapointed. Half way the game we were not able to make any more progress because of a stupid bug, the game wont load the save anymore.
Wasted 15 euro on something i could not test out before i bought it.
So we took my old ps1 and play it without troubles.
The original is better in many ways. There was really no need to make the graphics better and ask 20 euro for a game full with bugs. Also the scrolling is better in the original. Its like the game is skipping frames. Also the loading times are shorter on my ps1 -.-
@MarioPhD " we'll never get further support from this developer"
I have to highly disagree with your statement there. Oddworld Inhabitants are currently the only company that I know of that are willing enough to listen to their fans and engage with them. They were kind enough to give people early copies of New 'n' Tasty before it came out and the people who did have been reporting bugs and suggestions to their support team and from this the person running the Oddworld Inhabitants twitter account has stated that they are working on patches to improve the WiiU version from everything that was suggested by the people with early copies. Not many companies actually do that at all.
Also considering quite a lot of people bought the WiiU version including people like myself who already have the game on other systems and also a lot of other people who have it on other systems too. I also have to disagree where you say it will sell poorly.
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