Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee scores 8/10 in the verdict of The Games Market editorial team.
Once Upon a Time
Oddworld Abe Oddysee for PlayStation
by Simon Larocca·January 9, 2024
Per many, the PlayStation marked the transition between the old and the new, between the world of arcade video games spread mainly through cabinets in bars and arcades, and what would become, thanks to the introduction of the ultimate killer console, a new universe of home video game entertainment waiting to be discovered.
Non, of course, have I forgotten Nintendo’s and Sega’s 8-bit and 16-bit home consoles, nor the Dreamcast and its unfortunate and undeserved downward trajectory, but it is a fact that the PlayStation set new standards, for better and for worse.
E I, among the good that the Sony console has sowed over the years, easily include Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, one of the best-known and most-played titles ever and which saw the debut in 1997 of the PlayStation mascot of those years. I’m talking about the alien-slave-worker Abe, of course!
In the world imagined by Oddworld Inhabitants, developers with overflowing creativity and who have recently returned to the forefront thanks precisely to the aforementioned saga, Abe and his fellow Mudokons live on a planet where work does not make one free at all and the strongly industrial society has no other goals than profit and exploitation.
Abe’s odyssey takes shape the moment he accidentally discovers that the company he works for will be serving a menu based on Mudokon, just like him! From that moment on, Abe will do everything he can to free himself and his companions from a horrible fate, unaware that his act of rebellion, as often happens when a single brave person decides to take his life into his own hands, will set off a chain of events that will change things forever on his planet.
Forte of an innovative gameplay for the time and a side-scrolling story progression like the finest 2D arcade titles from a few years earlier, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee revolutionized the concept of platform and puzzle games, hybridizing the two genres in an absolutely perfect combination, without ever losing the most distinctive element: fun.
Playing this title, in fact, is a fabulously fun experience: hours and hours in which you’ll rack your brains trying to keep Abe from dying in the most varied ways, and despite this, like it happened to me, you’ll also let out a laugh at the umpteenth alien smoothie, before starting again from the previous point and trying your luck once more.
The increasing difficulty of the game is accompanied by a gradual and quite well-balanced learning curve; the timing of movements and button presses that will allow you to avoid traps and enemies will improve as your gameplay experience progresses, even if certain mechanics will not be so immediate, especially at certain points in the game: personally, I have always found this first Oddworld a rewarding example of gameplay, challenging enough to guarantee a minimum level of challenge.
Abe’s story was as profound as anything one could admire on screen at the time, but it has stood the test of time with its contrarian message and a fierce critique, though cleverly masked by the funny expressions of its iconic protagonist, of conformity and homogenization, as well as workplace exploitation, issues sadly as relevant as ever in the society we live in.
8
Pro
Successful hybrid between platformer and adventure with well-designed puzzle elements
Abe is the ideal avatar, funny and of disarming purity, perfect for showing players the iniquity of the dystopian setting
Gameplay that encourages you to keep going and discover every secret
Contro
Even though the learning curve is balanced, the presence of some puzzles and tricky gameplay sections will put you to the test
Apart from Abe, the other characters in the game are merely background elements
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
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