Oddworld: New ’n’ Tasty

... and 22 year old me found his new favourite game in New n Tasty. Everything Exoddus and Munch added to the franchise was drip fed into the original game without compromising even an ounce of its lore, tightening the controls, and best of all expanding the player skill level for newbies more than any other entry. THIS is how you do a remake, and THIS is how you make a PlayStation classic from 1997 accessible to more people in the 2010s. It filled me with a childlike wonder experiencing a fresh take on Oddysee, and remains the game in this franchise since its release I come back to THE MOST. I cannot recommend this game enough. It is a masterpiece. Also Elum makes happy noises.

Loved original. Wanted to love this one too. It is so-so. Doesn't have the same charm. The backgrounds finally move-great. Cinematic volume level cannot be adjusted so no matter how you adjust volume in the game, the cinematics will be too loud. You need to lower widows volume be4 playing. What the heck? When Abe climbs up a platform, he blends into animation that is a bit lower so it looks like he sinks. Any Q&A at all? You may loose progress by restarting chapter which also erases your quicksave-of course w/o telling you anything. There is more but I don't want to write about it.

The game itself it's full of bugs and the the controls are simply awful You can be stuck on an elevator because one or more NPC doesn't go away, or just seeing them flying in the mid air just because in the same time they fall, you're just died... The keyboard controls makes a lot easy to do mistakes, you will end in doing a lot of stupid moves during critical and fast paced moments... This game is not good and well designed like it's predecessor.

I was a bit afraid to play this because I really hate to see poor remakes of great games, and Oddworld is one of my favourite series. But I didn't need to worry, as the other reviews say, this game still has the spirit of the original Abe games, and it's really great to play Abe' Oddysey in this new form. I'll list some advantages and disadvantages of this game: + Definitely keeps the spirit of the original game. The intro and other animations have even exactly the same scenes, just redone. + Exactly the same sounds and music, plus some more, e.g. working mudokons and sligs are talking to each other from time to time. + Still very challenging! On "hard" it is more or less like the original. On easier level Abe has health bar and can take some shots. + Some more tutorial messages in the game, but not too much. It still feels like a PC game, the hints system doesn't solve the whole game for you, which is the case with some other remakes and new console games. + More scenery in the background, it's just very nice graphically. There are more cut scenes, and now e.g. traveling to Scrabanian Temple on elum really feels more like a journey. - Some minor graphical glitches, e.g. slig shot by another slig looks as if it died of heart attack or something. Also dead bodies sometimes get locked e.g. between the ground and a wall and shake frantically. - Dead bodies - in the original dead mudokons or sligs just disappeared quickly, here they just lay there, dead. It's not nice to walk past them, next to a dead slig even, especially if it's shaking frantically. Creatures explode when going through electro bolts, instead of turning into blue mist. Just unnecessary gore. - I couldn't configure some keys, changing them just didn't work. And I had some problems with using the controller. - Easy mode with health bar, might be good for some. - Nits: I liked the original throwing mechanics more. And the chanting animation is not that great, I liked more the original. Great game!

I played the original Abe's Oddysee way back when. It's a timeless classic, and New 'n' Tasty pretty much improves on it across the board. If you haven't played the original, you're in for a treat! It's a pretty unique game; I have a hard time thinking of any game (outside the Oddworld series) that comes close to it. I'd describe it as a cinematic sometimes-stealth,sometimes-action puzzle platformer, with a personality that's a blend between goofy and grim. First things first, many of the older reviews here mention the game being buggy. I guess most of them have been ironed, as the game has been rock solid for me throughout. (Except for this one section: https://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/topic/227349-anyone-else-stuck-in-scrabania-on-hard-possible-bug/ ) As for how New 'n' Tasty stacks up to the original: - The obvious improvement is the graphics. What I actually find more impressive is that the original game was already developed as a cohesive 3D world back in 1997, but they had to pull tricks combining 2D and cinematics to create the illusion of a 3D world. No more need for such tricks now, so you can experience the (odd)world how it was always intended + with an extra level of polish. - The music has been polished as well. It was amazing in the original, and it still is here. - The gameplay remains very faithful, but you get some additional conveniences like quicksaves and talking to multiple Mudokons at once. - One thing I wasn't sure about is the way Abe controls. In the original, platforming was "unit-based". Now, Abe can move wherever he wants. It feels more modern/slick, but less precise sometimes. It's a minor thing though; you get used to it fast. (Also: if you're used to the original, you may like the "Sideways hop" option in the settings!) - Finally, I love the added banter/voicework of the mudokons and sligs; it adds even more personality to the game! Whether you've played the original or not, I strongly recommend giving New 'n' Tasty a try!