Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition

Get ready to return to the dangerous and bizarre world of Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition. Join Abe as he continues his weird odyssey and his continuous quest to save the Mudokon race. A revision of a legendary point-and-click game, this Enhanced Edition corrects many of the downsides of the original version of the game, delivering the experience that we should have gotten from the get-go.

In many regards, this title feels like a modern take on a somewhat dated classic. In some others, however, it feels like some of the inconveniences of the original ` have just been modified to become modern bugs.

A Bizarre Odyssey

If you have played any of the previous games in the series, then you know what to expect with this one. You will be placed in control of Abe and tasked with solving puzzles and completing various tasks.

The mechanics are standard fare for the genre, so if you are familiar with the type of experiences, you should feel right at home here. If not, then there is a bit more work involved than normal to grasp everything that goes on.

One of the things that have always separated the Oddworld series from, say, Another World, is the series' bizarre yet charming art style. That’s still in full display in Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition. As players navigate the environments, they will find a variety of characters and settings that are all unique and quirky. This can be disorienting at first, but once you get accustomed to it, it actually becomes quite fun.

One area that might scare newcomers is that even this remake features some of the classic Oddworld trial and error gameplay. You’ll die, a lot even – but in this game, that’s just part of the gameplay loop.

A Modern Vision

As you might know, Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition is a modern take on Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus. While the original game is a treasure trove featuring many gameplay tropes of that era, this new and revamped version offers some essential improvements that make the experience feel much more solid.

For example, the pre-rendered backgrounds are now gone – replaced with gorgeous 3D environments. This actually makes things easier when moving around and finding the solution to some of the puzzles, as the scenery is now much easier to read than ever before.

On top of that, the controls have also been vastly improved. Moving Abe around no longer feels like a chore. In fact, the game’s movement and platforming might be one of the highlights of this remake. This is especially true if you consider the fact that this game was originally released back in 1998, when most people were still using the classic keyboard-and-mouse setup.

The experience is not without its flaws, however. Menu navigation still feels like a relic of late 90s video games. An array of pesky bugs and technical issues can also sour the overall experience, though they never outright ruin the impressive presentation of the game.

Pros

• Improved graphics and sound design.
• The story itself is surprisingly compelling.
• Impressive visuals and a great soundtrack.

Cons

• Some of the puzzles might be too obscure for less experienced players.
• Technical issues and bugs may cause some frustration.
• The bizarre art style takes some time to get used to.