Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus

Game Title: Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus
Released: November 17, 1998
Game Length: 14 Hours
Grade: B+

Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus

Elements: When it comes to looking at Oddworld's sequel, it is hard to imagine that they managed to add so much in a game in nine months of time. They most definitely did not plan to make another one and in such a small development window. I expected a little short game where you rescue some guys in a mine, but it turned out to be much more than that. The manual shows off twice the amount of content as the previous game. You can take control and "Gamespeak" with a large variety of creatures, encounter and deal with mudokons that are under a number of different statuses, avoid the smiling greet machines that will instantly kill you, and take a wild ride in the track-system mine cart. There is a "Status" option in your menu that tells you your current rescue status of saving now 300 mudokons. The music was just as eerie and atmospheric from the first game. Mudokons still speak in rhyme. The Grid System is used like its predecessor. It was released on Playstation and Windows the end of 1998.

Save System: There is one major difference the sequel has over the original. You are able to save wherever you want. You can open the menu to pause the game and the window automatically closes the moment you click on QuickSave. Dying will automatically load that file. There are no physical checkpoints, but the game will automatically save at the beginning of each level. As well intended the system is, there are a few problems. There is also no QuickLoad option. The only way it resorts back is for you to die. That's why there is a "restart path" option in case you somehow soft-locked yourself into a corner. Your QuickSave does not establish a file for you to load if you ever quit your game. This means that you need to make sure you manually save your game periodically or before you quit the game. There were two times the game crashed unexpectedly and I resort to my "hard" save file a few checkpoints back.

Unique Mechanics: In the original game, there was this brief period where you could control Sligs to access doors and command Slogs to attack people. In Abe's Exoddus, you have the added ability to take control of Scrabs and Paramites. Although their interactions are limited, there will be a few puzzles that will require you to communicate with their own kind. What isn't available in its re-imagined form is the ability to control Glukkons and command Sligs to perform certain actions for you in most of the puzzles at the end. In addition to the mine cart, being able to create and control exploding farts (as in literal fart bombs) is something else you won't see anywhere else. As for the mudokons, many will need to be calmed, slapped, or handled carefully depending on what mood or condition they are in. If you aren't careful, some will even decide to kill themselves by slapping their foreheads. Once you reach the jungle, you will have to fight against tough leeches that will constantly nick at you until they swallow you whole.

Story: The full introduction is pretty weird to watch. The backstory has this funny little explanation telling the events of the first game while directly telling you to play it before trying the sequel. There are three spirits that show up and points you to the next destination. You don't go in alone but have a bunch of buddies that get themselves in trouble after drinking something they shouldn't have once you get to the mines. So you are sort of stuck tackling a bunch of issues at once at the start. There are several tie-ins with the universe like how the door for RuptureFarms is "Out of Service" or how the Ykers Lab door ties in with the sequel. Fee Co Hub is designed as a central docking system that connects to all the other factory areas of the game.

Miscellaneous Notes: I had trouble with several levels of the game. For example, you cannot heal your buddies from the beginning of the game until you visit the shaman in a whole different district. Telling certain mudokon to turn valves or to sit tight can be exhausting now that the game practically injects several of them in the same area. Thankfully, you now have the option to make commands to all your friends at once. At one point, I had to look up how to pick up meat. Although the ending segments are pretty interesting with how you take control of the bosses, I never managed to reach that point. There was a Slig Barracks level where I decided to rage quit for my mental health. This might have been for the best seeing how there were a ton more levels to go. It is too bad because there were some very interesting lore sections where Sligs come out of holes and attach themselves to their robotic feet not seen anywhere else.

Summary

Review: Although the original game does very well in establishing a large world to explore, Abe's Exoddus expands on it in more ways than one. They properly fix a lot of issues from the first game by adding a save system that can be used at any time and allowing you to communicate to several of your pals all at once. They add a bunch of new mechanics, develop intriguing levels that further explore the industrial side of the corporate types, allow you to take control of almost any creature and interact with others, and encounter a few surprises along the way. The only problem is that since there are no checkpoints, the challenge of completing the game becomes increasingly difficult with all the additional timed chases, pinpoint jumping, and fast reaction segments. If you are able to endure the extent of completing all the levels in this game, then I highly suggest getting this game. It might very well be the best in the series.

 

11-8-2021