Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

This game will always have a special place in my heart, although there are a few issues that prevent me from declaring this a perfect game.

The first issue is the checkpoint starvation, this wouldn't be a problem if there was a quick save feature like the sequels have, however there isn't one which results in the game being brutally difficult just completing it from start to finish. That's not even considering rescuing the Mudokons which you need to redo whenever you die before reaching a checkpoint, this is made worse by the fact that you only need to rescue half of them to get the good ending which can easily be done in the main sections of rapture farms (worse still is that the bad ending is far more entertaining than the good ending.) There are also the whistling puzzles, they're not terrible, but they don't add much, and were understandably phased out in Abe's exodus.

With the negatives out of the way, I can bring up the positives and why I love this game so much. It's the art direction, sense of humour (something only Abe's exodus and this games remake has been able to recapture over the years) and the premise of the game. Having the story told in flashback is inspired as you effectively decide the outcome of Abe's outcome from the opening cutscene. Said cutscenes are beautifully animated as is the gameplay which does a wonderful job in translating Abe's actions into the environment which I can't stress enough, is absolutely beautiful to look at.

It's rough around the edges, however if you can overcome the difficulty of the game (primarily by emulating it) then it's a game that's well worth your time.

Oddworld is a game I remember from all the way back as a kid, I think I rented it as a kid at our local video store and don't remember much. Then when I got older I eventually bought this since I heard so many good things. Well the game is a creative enough puzzle game of navigating through obstacles and saving your friends through planning and reacting to the environment. The game actually starts off strong and gives you time to react and plan things out, but then the game enters bullshit territory and becomes trial and error the game. You will find yourself in many situations where you simply die because you are expected to know where enemies are or traps on a new screen and then die if you don't instantly react or know where to go. Now this wouldn't be a problem but the checkpoints in this game are horrible, sometimes you will go back several screens just for dying on a trial and error segment. Now I understand games punishing you for making mistakes or lacking skill but this just seems unfair when the game expects you to react on the fly to obstacles you don't even know are coming and there is input lag when you jump that makes things worse, the platforming in this game is stiff as hell. Now if you can put up with this bullshit there is a solid story with different endings you can get, plus hidden secrets, but I feel the journey isn't worth it, sure the graphics, art, design, and World setup are all unique and creative, but when you have frustrating design and awful checkpoints it puts a little damper on these things.

One of the best cinematic platformers of the '90s held back by some frustrating design decisions and a poor finale. The cheap deaths and input lag on movement is frustrating to no end. I kind of love it but at the same time its flaws left a bad taste in my mouth.