E3 2014 Preview: New ‘n’ Tasty: Oddworld Abe’s Oddysee

June 11, 2014

New ‘n’ Tasty: Oddworld Abe’s Oddysee is a huge nostalgia trip for me. I remember beating the original when I was still in primary school, from taking that leap of faith towards the end of the game, to abusing the Gamespeak feature to lead Mudokans to their doom. Now, the classic game is being launched into the current gen with this PlayStation 4 remaster, and it’s just as weird and wonderful as I remembered.

The big difference in this iteration lies in the presentation. What was composed of sprites and pre-rendered backgrounds before is now fully 3D and rendered in real time. What’s amazing is that it’s just as beautiful, if not more so, as levels are brought to life like never before with new animation.

This upgrade also brings with it the ability to incorporate several screens into one flowing level, removing the screen wipes and start-stop approach the original had. It also allows for more dynamic camera angles that get in closer to Abe, on in his mission to escape the factory where he works and save his Mudokan friends, before they get turned into its newest product.

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A couple of new gameplay features have been added as well, such as mapping Gamespeak to the d-pad to quickly order Mudokans around. Abe now also has a supply of stones on-hand to throw whenever you need. Developers Just Add Water also promise a few other tweaks and changes to keep things fresh while still presenting the original’s spirit.

There are only six weeks to go until New ‘n’ Tasty hits the PlayStation Store, so here’s hoping it finds a brand new following among gamers looking for an experience that’s more than a little bit odd.