My favourite things: the tragedy of Oddworld, a lost classic
Oddworld is a legendary franchise, a video game series that has flown under the radar. It is made by now-indie video game developers Oddworld Inhabitants. It is engaging both as a video game, and as a greater story waiting to be unraveled. It is a story that has not, and most likely will not, reached its true potential. That is because the video games have not yet had the opportunity to delve into the mythos of the universe.
Oddworld is a story about an alien world, and a rebellion against the Magog Cartel, a consumerist collection of monumental and monstrous corporations using slave labour. The five installments were to be called the Oddworld Quintology. In each installment, we get introduced to a new character and we go higher up the food chain as the stakes escalate. The old world unravels in reform. Each protagonist is the underdog, tread upon by this unjust system. The plot structure harkens to Joseph Cambell’s classic template for the Hero's Journey.
There are five, soon to be six, games so far within the series. Only two of those are from the Quintology, the other games being bonus games. The games are
Abe’s Oddysee
Abe’s Exoddus
Munch’s Oddysee
Stranger’s Wrath
New n’ Tasty
Upcoming (Soulstorm)
In 1997's Abe's Oddysee (I couldn't spell Odyssey for years because of this series), Abe, an ignorant employee at a meat-processing plant, discovers that his employers (the Glukkons, one race from the Magog Cartel) plan to use his species (the Mudokons) as the next product, because they have exhausted every other resource. He runs away, going on a spiritual journey, returning to liberate his former home and save his fellow Mudokons. He has the ability of possession, necessary for completing certain puzzles. Though Abe is constantly unarmed, he can possess Sligs (the armed guard/soldier species) and have them deal with obstacles that necessitate armed intervention. Also, Abe dies incredibly easily, making the player cautious and patient. In addition, the game has many hidden areas featuring people you have to save; you have to pay attention to your surroundings and listen for these hidden areas.
The story continues in 1998's Abe's Exoddus, where several gaming aspects are improved in addition to a longer, bigger game. The plot of this game is that the Magog Cartel creates a new addictive product to continue enslaving Mudokons, as well as defiling native Mudokon landmarks for profit. You can save anytime, you can call and walk with more than one ally, possess more creatures, and the characters have emotions/statuses that are relevant to how you save them (some are angry, or sad, or delirious), among other elements. These are all improvements. Regarding emotions, angry Mudokons don’t listen to you, drunk Mudokons are sick, blind Mudokons can only follow your voice, etc. You have to deal with their emotions and circumstances appropriately. This emotional component to the characters is nothing revolutionary, but it’s part of Oddworld Inhabitant’s desire to connect the player’s experience to empathy. Also, you can possess your own farts. I keep bringing this up whenever discussing the franchise, because, while juvenile, it's just so creative and wacky; I love it!
The background art for the first two Abe games were pretty remarkable. The backgrounds are actually digitalized paintings. The game makes great use of silhouettes.
The story continues with 2001's Munch's Oddysee. In Munch's Oddysee, Abe teams up with Munch, the last of his kind after mass overfishing. They go on a whirlwind journey, with the duo also seeking to acquire the last can of eggs of Munch's species, the sole hope for his species.
This game had a lot of content and ideas that didn’t end up in the finished product. It suffered a difficult production history; this, unfortunately, is evident with the game. The final result is not as good as the previous two games. There was a lot of ambition and reality couldn’t quite match up. The game is Oddworld’s attempt at moving from a 2D game to a 3D game. A consequence is that the environments are more bland and generic, and they do not evoke the same emotions of the first two games. The puzzles are also repetitive. For example, there’s one level where you need to get a group of Mudokons across a field of mines and guards. So you have to carry a Mudokon, and then go back to pick up another Mudokon. Rinse and repeat nine times. I personally didn’t mind this, but it is frustrating for most players. More annoyingly, you’re told to save some eggs by using a crane in the final levels. You have to save each egg independently by moving the crane over one, picking one up, dropping it correctly, and then moving the crane back again. This game is also significantly easier, which removes some of the tension. As a new character, Munch is not as effective as Abe; in addition, he moves quite slowly. This is slightly remedied by how Munch can use wheelchairs (a neat game mechanic), but there are some times where there are no wheelchairs available. Despite that, I still really love this game.
The original plot of Munch’s Oddysee would have been wonderful to see. Abe and Munch, among the other things they do in the game, rescuing Abe’s captive mother Sam. Mudokons are a superspecies, mostly male with few queens. Sam is the only known female Mudokon queen. Sam’s character seemed quite intriguing, a gentle spirit burdened by the world she lives in; with a kind of two-faced persona. This two-faced persona is a foil to Munch; Munch originally would have been a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde character. He has his normal persona, but his trauma and experiments enable him to have a physically strong alter ego. These are intriguing premises. Munch and Sam’s personal issues show how far oppression fractures your sense of self.
The spin-off, 2005's Stranger's Wrath, switches to a western-inspired story of the Stranger, a mysterious bounty hunter raising money for a life-saving surgery. All the while, he comes across a great mythos, encountering natives, outlaws, conservative chicken people, and more. It was also a 3D game, but was more warmly received than Munch’s Oddysee. This was because the game introduced new features such as taking bounties.
2014's New n' Tasty is a remake of Abe's Oddysee. It would probably be my least favourite game; I consider it too flashy in comparison to the original. This is extremely detrimental to the atmosphere of the game. The dark environment of the factory is instead bright, with slave Mudokons talking out loud. Also, Lorne Lanning, Oddworld’s creator, does most of the voices for the characters in the franchise, and he generally does an incredible job. However, his voices for New n’ Tasty don’t carry the same charm, instead they come off as obnoxious. In New n’ Tasty, everything feels really cartoonish, which removes any sense of legitimate horror.
The upcoming game is called Soulstorm (a great title), an expansion/remake of 1998's Abe's Exoddus, which was originally rushed. It was made in nine months, after being haphazardly demanded by GT Interactive, a publisher that, at the time, owned half of Oddworld's company. Like how Toy Story 2 was quickly made after being deleted (relatively), it's an incredible accomplishment, especially because Abe's Exoddus has double the content of the first game, and is often considered to be the best game in the series.
Oddworld is a far sweeping-epic, telling something true about humanity while also being far removed from humanity so as to be escapist. Indeed, no humans are in the game, it's all just aliens. It's about spirituality and consumerism and the darker aspects of capitalism. Nature versus rampant industrialism. The goal of the creators was to talk about our society without being preachy or too heavy-handed. Something with true integrity. Oddworld is generally pretty good at escapism and avoiding preachiness, despite the way the story may sound. It must be clarified that the series is not anti-capitalist or anti-corporate, but merely exploring insidious aspects of ideologies. This is mixed in with humorous moments, some of which is dark humor. The extreme stupidity of the Magog Cartel (in how they over-consume and are so completely negligent regarding morality and environmental consequences) is basically a bloated parody of our world and entities like the GOP. It’s this fusion of drama with humor, carried with an impressive realistic stop-motion-esque animation style for the cutscenes. For the time it was made in, the cutscenes are pretty high-quality. The creature designs are imaginative, subverting the cliche of generic designs. They're reminiscent of real-life creatures, while also being so completely alien. There's also comparisons to aboriginal culture and general mythos, which I love. The visuals, especially when relating to the cutscenes are stunning; Abe reaches his hand out to find an imprint of it within the moon, the aforementioned silhouettes featured in the gameplay, and other such visuals. Abe is quite an intriguing character; an otherwise idiotic and goofy everyman who also sees the extreme sadness of the situation, a complex duality. The series also deals with the tragedy of the commons, a consequence of exploitation. Abe is pushed into action after seeing that his race is on its way to destruction and Munch is the literal last of his kind. It fuses humor with serious commentary and does a good job at it. This is then emboldened by the music, which is consistently amazing.
The story has these hints of a larger narrative. This is compounded by the number of cancelled games and games in-progress, which all looked very promising. Again, the original plan has still not been accomplished. When I read the interviews with Oddworld’s creator, Lorne Lanning, I was blown away at all these ideas. And there’s all this incredible concept art too!
Reality forced Oddworld Inhabitants to depart from their initial vision, though they claim to be working on it again. Twenty+ years and they're still at it. Again, the story, especially relating to character arcs, has not yet been seen in its entirety. The moral implications of Abe’s violent rebellions, amongst other plot/character elements, have also not been explored. This is a shame considering their storyline potential. As it stands, the characters and plots of Oddworld aren’t particularly developed.
The series has understandably gained a dedicated fandom, but it's still rather niche currently. However, despite being obscure now, they used to be more mainstream. There are people who approach Oddworld Inhabitants and say that they found Oddworld so inspiring. I love it, one of my favourite things ever; the surrealism, the music, the game design, the character and creature designs, the artistry, the escapism, the social commentary, etc.! I love the games, warts and all.
Oddworld: Soulstorm is the next game, a remake/sequel to the series. The idea is that the game not being rushed allows for the creators to make the game as they initially wanted it to be. Personally, despite its initial promising visuals and dark story trailer, the gameplay seems to be fast-paced, visually cloying, schlock. Although they did release another clip showing a tease of the area where you have to face a terrifying yet-unseen threat (speculated to be adult Fleeches (creatures from Abe's Exoddus)). It being delayed for three years is also somewhat of a warning sign, but also possibly a sign of how carefully the game is crafted. Also, it must be again be noted that OI is an independent studio, so there's more entailed difficulty with their efforts. I'm cautiously optimistic. I hope that the game succeeds, also because Oddworld's future is dependent on its success, but I don't know.
Another interesting thing about Oddworld is one specific feeling it evokes. It’s about aliens. But it doesn’t really feel like they’re aliens, in the way most science fiction portrays aliens. They feel human, yet they aren’t human. Again, that’s what I think Oddworld was able to accomplish. A world that’s so unlike ours and yet like ours. There’s also that whimsical approach towards nature. But it also doesn’t whitewash the dangers of nature.
Oddworld wants to create a unique experience centered around morality. In all games except Stranger’s Wrath, the game has a morality system where you have to save a certain number of Mudokons to get the good ending. This is quite hard in Abe’s Oddysee/Exoddus, in which the player is incentivized to survive first and foremost, as the game is so difficult. This means that in playing the game, you are more likely to neglect other creatures, especially ones in hidden areas. Munch’s Oddysee is significantly easier and doesn’t carry the same punch. Although if you do get the bad ending, you are in for a horrific cutscene. Blimey…
Oddworld wants to show you that your actions have consequences. You can kill Mudokons or other innocent creatures. But you’ll face consequences for it. This is part of how Oddworld Inhabitants strives to make an emotional collection with the player. They laid out a feature called Gamespeak, which is where the protagonists have all these different things to say, given the situation. I think this feature is neat, but I also think that Oddworld Inhabitants overplay the supposed uniqueness of this feature. It’s not anything groundbreaking. Abe’s Exoddus did this feature very well, with how Mudokons were in different emotional states.
There are several intriguing titles in the series that have been cancelled or delayed. I don’t expect them to come out anytime soon, if they come out at all.
Squeek’s Oddysee - This would have been the third game in the Quintology. We met Abe and Munch, but now we meet Squeek. Beyond his name, the fandom knows about this character aside from a few details. We know that the game probably features the unethical Vykkers and that Squeek is a cyborg whose special ability is some form of symbiosis.
When asked about the story by Wired, Lorne Lanning said this.
“Squeek's kind of a spoiler, but I'll tell you this. The idea was that the Vykkers, who were animal researchers that would kill a million bunnies just to make a better fabric softener, had been making robotic life support devices because so they could repossess people's body parts like how you'd get evicted. They'd stick what was left of you in this clunky robotic form and tossed you out on the street. That's who Squeek was but who he REALLY was would come out in the story.”
The concept of how taking away body parts is treated like eviction is great science-fiction, showing how technologies can be used for questionable means, in the vein of Black Mirror. It is torturous to not know what or who Squeek is, but hopefully one day we might see this character. According to Sherry McKenna, co-founder of Oddworld, Squeek is her favourite character.
Two games following Squeek’s Oddysee - The idea of the Quintology is that it’s five heroes. There is an installment for each hero and in each installment, the story escalates; we go from Oddworld’s equivalent of the third world to Oddworld’s equivalent of the first world. I’m very intrigued about who the final two heroes would be like. How would they be personality-wise? How would their stories compare to Abe and Munch’s? How different/similar would their designs look like? Alas, just like with Squeek, these questions will not be answered for a very long time indeed, if they do get answered.
Sligstorm - More an idea for a bonus mini-game than a game. The idea is that you play as an Albino Slig. He faces discrimination from the other Sligs and eventually turns against them to survive. I love the idea of playing as the "enemy". Even though the Albino Slig goes against his kin, their existence and position as a protagonist gives us a greater insight into Slig society and culture.
There was a fun easter egg for this game in the Alf’s Escape DLC for New n’ Tasty, where you see a morose Albino Slig drinking at a bar. Unfortunately, I couldn’t buy or play that DLC because it wasn’t available on PS3. And this is very sad.
The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot - If nothing else, I love this title. It has dramatic weight to it, juxtaposing the violent word “brutal” against the calm word “ballad”. We follow Fangus, a shepherd. His land is taken over by the Vamps, a cat-life Mafia in the drug trade. He’s enslaved as a gladiator fighter. He is taken from his normal life and thrust into another world (A classic story beat.) Then one of his opponent’s destroys the stadium, allowing Fangus to escape, but not before being infected with rabies. Fangus reunites with his flock, who are now rabid. He must free his home before he succumbs to his rabies.
I like that Fangus is a dead man basically no matter what. It raises the stakes because he only has so much time to fulfill his goal of freeing his home. I always thought that the Magog Cartel would have some connection to the Vamps. This would be great at expanding the universe and amplifying world-building. Oddworld is a big planet and this is another part of the same whole. The game was described as a modern reimagining of Cats vs. Dogs. Which sounds silly, but also quite intriguing. A classic conflict given new blood. The game is also supposed to be even darker than the other games, which could be pointless edginess if done wrong, but harrowing if done right.
Munch’s Exoddus/Hand of Odd - Both these games aren’t really of interest to me.
Munch’s Exoddus was a short sequel to Munch’s Oddysee. It follows Munch, on his journey to a land where he can raise the Gabbit eggs he rescued at the end of Munch’s Oddysee.
Hand of Odd was a real-life strategy game, where you can play as either the Industrialists or the natives You can destroy your environment to further construct mechanical buildings, or live in harmony with nature. It’s a choice-based game. If they had gone through with this idea, I’m unsure of whether their finished product could match their ambition. Especially regarding Munch, where they had so many ideas and yet, could not feasibly do them. Nonetheless, it is a relatively intriguing premise; another way to explore Oddworld.
Another thing is I would love to see Oddworld branch out to different media. I would love to see Oddworld comics. An Oddworld movie has been discussed, with an overview of the plot available for the public. There were also discussions about Oddworld for Netflix, but who knows.
Also, I have recently read two fantastic essays about Oddworld that can be found here, going over Abe’s Oddysee and Munch’s Oddysee:
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