We’re on the eve of Oddworld:New and Tasty’s July 22nd launch, and the Inhabitants have one more measure of tease to impose upon us in the form of an all new launch trailer, showing off the game’s completely real-time cutscenes, showing off a sample of what Abe will have to endure on his path to redemption.
Oddworld: New and Tasty, is a 2.5D remake of 1997’s Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. The cult platforming classic has, in it’s time off, received a number of upgrades that only time, independence, and technology could allow. Some would say that the version we are receiving now is the best possible version of the game conceivable, with gameplay additions since seen in later iterations of the game having made it in, along with the new perspective offering up a new set of challenges and perception quirks simply not possible in the 2D original.
For insight into just how much, Eurogamer also whipped together a handy comparison video of each title’s opening videos, with a small smattering of gameplay for good measure. Being able to see the game in direct comparison really breathes life into the comparison photos shown around E3, and shows just how much went into this reimagining on every level. If you don’t want the opening spoiled for you, DON’T view, but for the rest of us, something to notice: There has been quite the interesting shift from the original’s darker, some would say grittier tone in favor of a more Pixar-like animated aesthetic. This isn’t to say that the game’s anti big-business sentiment rife with the cruelty imposed upon the natural order of life (breath) is not intact, but it has been sanitized just a tad. For example, standing out in particular amidst the increased detail is a change to the original game’s depiction of Mudokon Pops, which now bear a resemblance to the Japanese release of Abe’s Oddysee. Might they be shying away in an era where the word “fuck” is now more commonplace than the recent renaissance of fully nude breasts in games?
Well, it was a head on a pike before…perhaps the hands were a bit too heavy the first go-around.
