New 'N' Tasty: Abe's Odyssey

I was very excited yesterday to discover that one of the old Playstation games that I grew up with was being faithfully remade using modern technology. I had no idea that this was happening, which only added to my excitement when I realised that this project is actually quite far along in its development (potentially only a few months away from being released). I am talking about Abe’s Odyssey – or “New ‘N’ Tasty” – which I remember playing back in 1997. The game followed the unlikely protagonist Abe on a quest to shut down a gigantic, corporate meat factory named Rupture Farms, upon the discovery that his species (Mudokons – who were also used as slaves within the factory) were next in line to be processed into consumable produce. The story was similar to ‘Soylent Green’ in that respect. Along his journey he learned about the once-sacred nature of the land he lived in, and the way things had been before corporate industries took over.

The game was incredibly difficult, as Abe carried no weapons and could be easily killed by just about everything he encountered. Nevertheless it was a lot of fun, figuring out how to escape from highly deadly environments, rescuing enslaved Mudokons, and taking possession of enemies. I was therefore very excited to stumble upon the news that the game was being remade, exactly as it was, with incredible attention to detail in order to recapture the design of the original. The big difference is the use of modern technology, which means that the game retains its identity, but looks better than ever, with richer detail given to the environments. 

Thus far only short video clips of gameplay and a handful of screenshots have been made available, but it all looks very encouraging. It certainly looks as though it will recapture the joy – and frustration – of playing the original game back in the nineties. I am very curious to see more footage from this game, to learn if there are any changes made to the story (expansions or deviations) and if this game proves to be a success, will the developers reboot the entire franchise. I really enjoyed ‘Abe’s Exodus’, but after that I never played ‘Munch’s Odyssey’ or ‘Stranger’s Wrath’ so I can’t really have an opinion on those games. If ‘New ‘N’ Tasty’ truly resurrects the franchise, perhaps the developers will be granted a second chance to make their originally planned Oddworld Quintology. 

I certainly hope that this game ends up being a success, because it could then allow for the resurrection of other beloved game franchises of the nineties, which have either fallen on hard times, or lain dormant for far too long.