Oddworld: Soulstorm (Zero Punctuation)

[@theescapist]

Watch this week's Zero Punctuation episode on It Takes Two - www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/it-takes-two-zero-punctuation/ - Watch it early on KZbin and support our content via KZbin Memberships for just $2 / month.

[@xyzmangaka19]

Balan Wonderworld review next?

[@theescapist]

@@xyzmangaka19 Indeed.

[@jordanrussell1257]

@@theescapist then monster hunter rise

[@jordanrussell1257]

@@theescapist wait a minute Yahtzee agreed to cover a game that's already known to be bad

[@LightStrikerQc]

Does he need an Hellpoint key?

[@Kasaaz]

I love that this episode required the creation of a Pavarotti asset.

[@calvinclark9478]

He used another one before regarding a game being smothering in some way. Cannot remember it for the life of me.

[@TheShoobaLord]

Who?

[@dkilgu82]

@@TheShoobaLord 3:35 the mask he’s holding is an opera singer known as Pavarotti.

[@Kasaaz]

@@TheShoobaLord An opera singer, a member of the Three Tenors.

[@VicDealio]

@@calvinclark9478 Transformers: War for Cybertron. Right next to a reference to Othello.

[@aericraadley]

honestly as kid Abe's Oddysey scared me half to hell with how "realistic" it was.

[@insaincaldo]

I would maybe say visceral or graphic.

[@RaxusXeronos]

Fucking...Scrabs...and the other creatures who's name I've forgotten but starts with P... Anything involving them turned the game into a horror platformer..

[@pierre-mariecaulliez6285]

@Aran Ryan Nonono ! They're cute ! ... So long as there is only one of them ;7

[@jonathanblair5920]

@@pierre-mariecaulliez6285 beyond the first couple encounters... there was rarely ONLY one paramite, lmao

[@LuffyBlack]

I regret never have played the original but I remember the idea sounding terrifying. Reminds me of Heart of Darkness

[@kungfuskull]

I remember my dad got me the first(?) One because he wanted to steer me away from all the violent games like Blood and Quake etc, and then we played a bit together and I remember many nightmares about this horrific cannibalistic people-meat factory game my dad bought. 😐

[@josiahreynolds6032]

Lmao

[@freetoplayking7362]

Did it steer you away from those games though?

[@kungfuskull]

@@freetoplayking7362 hell no. 🤘 and it's lovely to see the indie shooter renaissance going on lately!

[@kungfuskull]

@@freetoplayking7362 🤔 if anything it just pushed me further away from platformers of all kinds, which I am now trying to get back into. I suck, but it's fun to expand horizons.

[@freetoplayking7362]

@@kungfuskull good for you

[@Ajaichavez]

"Children's bone cancer ward's production of Othello: The Moor of Venice" I put this video on to escape my senior year Shakespeare assignments on Othello

[@ithiusdomino]

I would pay to see Yahtzee summarize works of Shakespeare

[@timothybyrne9764]

Just remember. Its tragic, and to bulk up your argument with why i should care.

[@VicDealio]

Write your entire essay about Montano. The teacher might not like it, but they'll respect the effort.

[@Mark73]

How's that working out for you?

[@lucalinadreemur9448]

And then the "taken over the factory's janitorial services" bit. I'm trying to escape thoughts about my wife talking me into working for the janitorial service at a factory. The being with her aspect i love, but i hate the idea of working there

[@VerbalLearning]

If there's one thing i'll never forget Oddworld for (at least the first one) it would be it's characters sound effects and voice lines. "Freeze!" "Get 'em!" "Look out!" or "Heddo. Heddo. Follow me. Okay" and of course the humming meditation noise of "Yoyoyoyoyoyoyo" and the list goes on.

[@trblemayker5157]

Any game that has crafting bolted onto it for no reason just screams "We ran out of ideas"

[@Kaefer1973]

I'd have agreed with you 2010 when the Tactics Ogre PSP adaptation came out and featured the worst needless timesink of a crafting system ever conceived by mankind. By now you need to phrase it harsher.

[@Bruno-cb5gk]

it was actually my biggest annoyance with CP2077, it just felt like the epitome of clutter and made no logical sense.

[@daddysempaichan]

@@Kaefer1973 Thankfully, you don't HAVE to use it, but seriously, who the fuck forgot to add bulk crafting, and who decided to include the ability to fail crafting and deletes the crafting material. The game still fun thou, and the payoff is good if you can tough though it. But yeah, fuck whoever designed it. I spent hours in the menu and reloading saves for better RNG.

[@Kaefer1973]

@@daddysempaichan It's one of the reasons I don't think the PSP version is any better than the original. The UI got better and it had more content, but that crafting system (even the animation took to long considering how many times you'd have to watch it) and that skill system that absolutely didn't allow for any fun hybrid characters. Not to mention that most beast units became worthless and the reputation system no longer made any sense. The fan patched version is pretty good though.

[@daddysempaichan]

@@Kaefer1973 Interesting. I'll keep a note of that fan patch.

[@jamesshaver2376]

Climbing down a ledge was absolutely the hardest part of the game

[@AngryLittleGnome]

Hold the left stick down. Done.

[@darthkahn45]

@@AngryLittleGnome Hold circle my dood.

[@fajaradi1223]

@@darthkahn45 Why don't just walk over the ledge?

[@masterofdoom5000]

The powerful, oppressive tone of the first two oddworld games seems forever untouchable by the series own makers. A real shame, Oddworlds greatest strengths were the strong visual and sound design components that made me feel weak and timid.

[@daniolus]

I feel like a lot of games from that era had a sort of uneasy grimy feel to them that we've never really been able to recapture since. The Crash Bandicoot games are a good example - even they had more of a dark edge back then, which the remaster missed completely. Cortex was always an idiot, but he was still scary because he didn't SOUND completely useless. Now he's been flanderised into the typical loser villain. Same with Crash, he was less goofy and more cool.

[@PsychoSavager289]

No fart jokes? In the original Abe's Exoddus, you could drink a soulstorm brew, then fart a cloud of explosive gas. You could even chant and then possess it, make it fly towards an enemy and have it explode on command, all the while making a "ffffffttttttttt" noise as it moved. Don't tell me they removed this!

[@funnyman8161]

@@night1952 I mean, if they want a darker tone, I really don't see why it's a bad thing, seeing has how Oddworld has always had dark themes about slavery, mass genocide, and religion. I think it's a nice step to take in my opinion and there's no inherent issue with leaving humor alone for this installment.

[@funnyman8161]

@@night1952 when your game can't be saved by farts something has gone awry... Either way though, I will still give this game a chance if I ever pick it up on PC. I've watched streams of it being played, it looks pretty fun to me and I'm a sucker for gritty darks tones especially in a setting like oddworld. But it's understandable that others are put off by the lack of a sense of humor, or less of a focus on it because that's what really made Oddworld, Oddworld.

[@YokiDokiPanic]

@@MerryMac1000 I really love the redesigns. Everyone has a unique look now and Abe is *finally* blue! It annoyed me to no end that everyone would refer to the dude as blue when he's more of a greenish purple.

[@funnyman8161]

@@YokiDokiPanic I mean "Dat Greenish Purple Bastard" doesn't roll off the tongue that well, but I see what you mean

[@Alberich_Prince_of_Dwarves]

@@MerryMac1000 which is weird to me, because the PS1 titles are already gritty and realistic IMO. The whole "working on a meat plant as a slave only to be turned into the next product" and the scary, industrial vibe with dried blood on every surface sure felt scary to me as a kid.

[@andrewgoff484]

Bean of Arabia - someone call Rowan Atkinson's manager right now.

[@TheTomac]

Seriously. do it.

[@tretozo]

I'm in.

[@RatelHBadger]

I'm getting Python flashbacks... Scott of the Antarctic, Scott of the Sahara, Bean of Arabia just screams tax dodge... And I LOVE IT!!!

[@pepperet5216]

we need this

[@THRAKORZOD]

Its a shame cause the game world is pretty interesting and the cutscenes are beautifully animated.

[@Reseng]

I know Oddworld can do better. I'm still going to buy it and love it, but next time I want them to take their time and makes something epic

[@soldier257]

Ironic that the crafting element made Abe feel like he’s become the janitor to Yahtzee cuz that’s precisely what Abe’s job was before being his people’s Messiah. He cleaned floors with a floor buffer.

[@nicklager1666]

Oddworld the game that wants to tick of all the boxes as far as genres goes but somewhere along the way it lost its roots. And what made the original so good. I can still hear and see the playstation logo before me when i think of Oddworld.

[@momint2]

Am I the only one who'd actually watch Mr. Bean cast as Lawrence of Arabia? That sounds hilarious

[@Dracinard]

I realise that was meant to be a criticism, but if a game's tagline was "Lawrence of Arabia as played by Mr Bean" I'd be completely sold.

[@MandleRoss]

He runs a three-legged camel off the road every 5 minutes.

[@VincentHuijts]

Isn't that just the "life of Brian"?

[@daidarabotchi3891]

@@VincentHuijts Sort of, but I'd say Brian is the only competent or sane one in his world, whereas Bean is a singularly strange and fabulously inept.

[@kadosho02]

Wait, I recall there was a skit on Mr Bean's show, where he did exactly that. Of course wacky hijinks ensue.

[@lewisirwin5363]

3:16 "Our enemies hide in _Metal Boxes,_ the cowards, the FOOLS-" -Oh. Wrong Soulstorm.

[@aarondimoff5180]

Never thought I'd see a Three Tenors reference, but that's why we love Yahtzee. Your only opera singing fan appreciates it.

[@kungfuskull]

Not only 👍

[@aarondimoff5180]

@@kungfuskull Nice, what do you sing my dude?

[@notsogoodbassplayer]

Same not only my guy.

[@CurryOnMyTurban]

Did you ever hear him sing some (I think) Marriage of Figaro? I think it was during Let's Drown Out Just Cause 2. Great series, would recommend

[@aarondimoff5180]

@@CurryOnMyTurban I have not, but with how obscenely cultured Yahtzee is, I have no doubts.

[@1Up2081]

You'll have to do Balan Wonderworld *sometime* , Yahtz.

[@greenhat8978]

Can't wait to see him tear that game a new one

[@kadosho02]

Oh no.. oh no no no no That game as I have heard, is the stuff of nightmares.

[@1Up2081]

@@kadosho02 Gameplay nightmares, mostly. There's no violence or gore, if that's what you're thinking.

[@mjade1097]

That seems like it’ll wait for the year end roundup time; there’s not really much to say about it despite how disappointing it was

[@ivanrzhanoy9389]

I hope he'll just say it's complete shit after 1 minute and start talking about the game he actually likes

[@3dpprofessor]

2:23 Oh my goodness, Mr. Bean recast as Lawrence of Arabia would be hilarious.

[@kayeplaguedoc9054]

The other thing that went wrong in announcing the series as a 5 part epic right from the get go: The first game was a surprise hit, and when it was a surprise hit, the studio wanted a sequel fast. The original Abe's Exoddus was not even *meant* to be part of their original plan, but they knew they couldn't really fight it and knew they didn't have time for a new engine so they made Exoddus as a "bonus" game even though they were already working on what they intended as the second game, Munch's Oddysee.

[@hurrdurrmurrgurr]

They should just make a new game and say yep, that's your five.

[@mahtimonni97]

What I really want is a sequel to Stranger's Wrath. Monkey visual brain like chicken person western aesthetic!

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Yee. I just want these to live long enough to remake Stranger's Wrath.

[@tannerboyle6540]

It's like the video game version of rango and it's so good

[@waaaaaaah5135]

I've been waiting for a sequel to Stranger's Wrath for many years...I don't see it happening unfortunately

[@Bluecho4]

Stranger's Wrath: The best Oddworld game by virtue of being totally unlike any other Oddworld game, maybe. It was definitely inspired.

[@battlion507]

I honestly want this game to come back: The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot! Anyone remember that? And how it was cancelled before it even got to production because the creator the Oddworld series didn't want his franchise' and company bolted on to Activision. *cough* toys for bob *cough*

[@kripht]

They should do oddworld movies. No famous voices, just focus on abe's story. I want to know why his hand matches the moon shape!

[@smogstreaming]

Lorne Lanning said, in the original game, there's a cutscene which didn't quite make it in, which shows meteors hitting the moon to make the shape of his hand. It's there to represent that there's something much bigger at play, and it's guiding Abe in the right direction. (Not God specifically, he used the term "Spiritual" to describe the event).

[@TheNateness123]

What the guy above me said, there's a whole backstory to how the ancient mudokons took it as a sign of supremacy pissing off the glukons so they went off and practised alchemy science etc till they took control of oddworld along with a bunch of other shadowy races we haven't seen yet

[@Silath01]

@@smogstreaming wasn't alot of that explained in Exodus? I mean the real Exodus not this fake soulstorm shit

[@finalninju6021]

Have Lorne voicing Abe as usual though of course 😂

[@MandleRoss]

I've never played any of these games or have any idea about the story involved but it's because he's the chosen one. I hope that brings you some closure.

[@GamingKurtastrophe]

Love how this episode came out the day of another update further correcting half the issues yahtzee faced.

[@AriaKyuKyu]

What issues? :0

[@abrahamtan5766]

Well the video is actually available to members a week early, so.

[@GamingKurtastrophe]

@@AriaKyuKyu slug AI, some traversing issues now and then, there were also a few cases where it was possible to back track and then get soft locked unable to progress, that's been fixed. There's been a few things mentioned in the patch notes. Pretty much every issue Yahtzee had about the game has been fixed.

[@GamingKurtastrophe]

@@abrahamtan5766 so? Bit of patience and he would have had a different experience but then I guess that's something he's not really famous for.

[@AriaKyuKyu]

@@GamingKurtastrophe oooh that is good, but definitely first impressions matter for him, I bet he is not going to give it another try soon ^^;

[@15oClock]

Today I learned there was a sequel to Abe's Odyssey. Odd that.

[@Pedro_Colicigno]

There are multiple sequels, I think it was 3 games, exodus and another one I can't recall. Odyssey is still the best one imo

[@8E_3T]

@@XDieKillDieX Wasn't Stranger's Wrath a spinoff? I know Exodus was a non-main series sequel like Bravely Second is to Bravely Default. Munch's Odyssey was the main series sequel because they wanted the Odyssey games to be the main series.

[@benjaminsimpson5089]

@@XDieKillDieX interestingly Abe’s Exodus was considered a spin-off at the time. According to the original manual anyway (remember them?)

[@gingermcgingin1733]

@@benjaminsimpson5089 video game manuals are a dieing art. Used to be they'd have personality & give you greater insight to the game's world than what the game alone provided (the 'all their in the manual' trope), or at the very least provide a glossary of the characters & items in the game. Nowadays we get naught but control sceams & legal notices.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

@@8E_3T Yeah, Stranger's Wrath is an unrelated story taking place in the same world. It's essentially the only game that ever made good on the "cinematic video game universe that will serve as the backdrop for a legacy" dream of Oddworld.

[@Gagriel12]

The action set pieces especially confuse me, because they seem to conflict with Lorne Lanning's original vision of the game and Abe's character.

[@shawklan27]

This game's tone just confuses me in general

[@Gagriel12]

@@shawklan27 Ars Technica has a really interesting video that is a nearly 3 hour interview where Lorne breaks down the origin of the game and his thoughts behind its design. As inspiring as his story is, there is a clear lack of understanding of the flaws in his vision for Oddworld. You can see how he was a bit in over his head with the whole thing.

[@FatMan2539]

"[...] we seem to have taken over the factories fucking janitorial services" to be fair, Abe *did* start out as but a humble cleaner and only started his adventure after stumbling across a board meeting where the Glukkons were planning to use Mudokons as the primary ingredient in their new line of snacks

[@jordanj809]

0:43 truer words are rarely spoken. Also I love Yahtzee's never-ending hatred of the Sonic franchise and its fans

[@neoqwerty]

@@GreyWolfLeaderTW admitting being in the Sonic fandom is like admitting you like Nickelback: you just don't do that.

[@kingsleycy3450]

You know, the Oddworld franchise has been around for as long as I have been a gamer, but I have never heard anyone recall it fondly the way people do for Spyro, Crash, Klonoa, Ape Escape etc.

[@nightcatarts]

I am fond of the Oddworld games. Sometimes it's nice to play a platformer that's a bit more puzzly and a bit less reflexy, & there wasn't really anything else to fill that void at that time.

[@stpirate89]

I thought Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exodus on PS1 were great, the puzzles were tight and the world was pretty cool to explore, especially Exodus when there were more creatures that had different abilities and movements etc. New 'n' Tasty was good, as it was a good recreation of the first one and stuck to the same gameplay. I've played less than 2 hours of soulstorm so far and I think I hate it, they've taken out a lot of what made the first two games great (or changed them so much they're no longer great) and added a load of shit.

[@nightcatarts]

@@stpirate89 I've not had a chance to even begin New & Tasty yet, but I think I might give this one a miss for some of the reasons stated. It looks fine but doesn't really seem to feel like an Oddworld game.

[@elvisprucelee]

who's Klonoa?

[@kungfuskull]

I remember my dad got me the first(?) One because he wanted to steer me away from all the violent games like Blood and Quake etc, and then we played a bit together and I remember many nightmares about this horrific cannibalistic people-meat factory game my dad bought. 😐

[@darkevilhunter]

One of the biggest problems in this game compared to the originals is the almost complete lack of music. The odd, atmospheric droning noises were one of the series defining features, which Soulstorm sorely lacks. Sorry to say but as a fan of the originals I am very disappointed.

[@xcellentcreations3312]

Something tells me that oddworld soulstorm's problem is that its trying too hard to keep up with today's game culture and simultaneously to trying too little to be like the first game.

[@JamesDavy2009]

Reminds me of a game that was hyped for eight years, but garnered massive disappointment. I'm of course referring to _Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts._

[@Pickoffarwim]

@@JamesDavy2009 Except Nuts and Bolts was nothing like the first 2 games

[@xcellentcreations3312]

@@Pickoffarwim to me, this reminds me of kingdom hearts 3 where that game appeared to be badly written

[@sirapple589]

Xcellent Creations I mean to be fair, the story of Kingdom Hearts seems like whoever wrote it wrote it game by game and did a huge bag of cocaine before every writing session.

[@BrandonjSlippingAway]

Well they claim it's meant to be more like the original vision for it (remember Exxodus was cranked out in a ridiculously short time frame). The thing about that is you can never really know the extent in which that's true, or ignore that it's been over 20 years of games industry development now.

[@Nionivek]

I'd totally watch Mr.Bean casted as Lawrence of Arabia.

[@brucebladarac]

The sour taste this review left is probably how isaac hayes felt when south park did the episode on scientology

[@casualbird7671]

I mean, scientology deserves no forgiveness :>

[@brucebladarac]

@@casualbird7671 yeah, well, clearly it meant a lot to the guy

[@ArkaynAdrian]

I appreciate the joke you are trying to make but Isaac Hayes was actually very close to death and incoherent when he quit South Park and it turns out that the Scientology people took advantage of that and it wasn't how the man actually felt.

[@hazukichanx408]

@@ArkaynAdrian That's news to me, but it certainly sounds plausible... I'd easily trust most "spiritual guides" to help us slowly and formally sign away our life savings while we die of some treatable illness.

[@smeghead250]

As an Oddworld fan, I am... apprehensive of this review, particularly as the latest one has shoehorned crafting in 😬 Edit: As always, scathing but fair.

[@uzzi3760]

The new one sucks

[@simple-commentator-not-rea7345]

Something tells me that many Yahtz fans will clarify to me that it's not that Yahtzee hates crafting in video games, he just hates it when they're forcefully included in games that could in theory work just fine without them

[@uzzi3760]

@@simple-commentator-not-rea7345 exactly

[@insaincaldo]

@@simple-commentator-not-rea7345 Well who the hell wants shoehorned tedious, in a game that is already fiddly and unforgiving. At that point it's a cheap waste of time.

[@KingBlackToof]

@@uzzi3760 Crafting, Double Jumps, Abe can use a Flamethrower.... that doesn't ring Abe at all.

[@Deerkins]

This is the first time I heard him explicitly tell us not to buy a game.

[@Intelwinsbigly]

Ur profile pic looks more like a goat or a rodent than a dragon.

[@kungfuskull]

Watch the MindJack review.

[@elinfini]

There were other examples in the past (such as Mindjack).

[@jvoz671]

Interesting. I am once again faced with critic telling me not to buy an Oddworld game when previously this is how I got started playing this franchise.

[@jameswagstaff984]

Even if you don't like it, it best to help oddworld inhabitants to hopefully make better games

[@MmeCShadow]

An interesting point about the game trying to 'mimic' the old feel of the original in its design is that those design decisions he mentions as hurting the game weren't present in the original. The original was a puzzle-platformer with tight and consistent rules. The screens played out the same because they were designed to present you very specific puzzles, and while they could be tough or obtuse they were rarely unfair (in the sense that you did everything right and the game just decided not to cooperate).

[@khrashingphantom9632]

A new Oddworld game AND a new Zero Punctuation video? Honestly never thought I'd see the 2 back together again.

[@icarue993]

again? he reviwed one of the old ones?

[@khrashingphantom9632]

@@icarue993 Yes many years ago. I'm pretty sure it was either a remaster version or Stranger's Wrath. Although I really think it was Stranger's Wrath.

[@jamesdecastro7366]

This is the only KZbin channel I actually pay for

[@saintallison]

Same!

[@SnuSnuDungeon]

mmh quite yes

[@gigginoxplayer]

Yahtzee’s been harsh before but he seemed particularly spiteful about this which is odd. What a world we live in, aye?

[@tuna5305]

Even the most objective souls become jaded in this shitstorm we call the gaming industry.

[@titanlink7898]

Great joke, Mr. President.

[@ArcienPlaysGames]

In this case it makes sense. They removed most of the gameplay mechanics that made the game special and introduced a massive slew of new mechanics to the series that made the game bland.

[@titntin5178]

I see what you did there.... xD

[@vinnythewebsurfer]

Carlos I fuckin swear.

[@FrogworfKnight]

This really saddens me, because I loved Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus. It expanded on everything in the original in the right ways: improving the speech options, adding emotions (maybe mental state is better with the "insanity" and "blind" emotions?) to the mudokons to add more to the puzzle elements, added a quick save feature so you weren't locked into set auto save points, and added more options for Abe to possess. It did all this, while still keeping to the same general mood (admittedly a tad lighter than Oddysee). When I got my hands on New N' Tasty (admittedly after the controversy with that game had passed and patched up), I was eagerly waiting for the possibility of a remake of Exoddus, and was overjoyed on hearing about Soulstorm. Now though, every review keeps saying the same things... Littered with game breaking glitches, unnecessary added features, removed features... It's disheartening.

[@jmurray1110]

I’m surprised the second one was lighter since I’m fsurjt certain the blind status wasn’t exactly naturally occurring In fact to my recollection they’re eyes were sewn shut to stop them realising they they were desecrating the graves of their ancestors as a means of producing a soft drink

[@FrogworfKnight]

@@jmurray1110 And yet the mood of the Abe's Exoddus was still somehow lighter. I can't explain it, as you are right on that the blind mudokons eyes are sewn shut so they won't know what they are digging up (and if you want to really want to talk about disturbing, there is also what happens if you make a mudokon sad twice in a row without saying sorry). Yet somehow, I still feel like Exoddus was lighter in its overall feel. Maybe its the overall dialog in the cut scenes?

[@Pimploaf_YTP]

@@jmurray1110 Exoddus has cartoon sound effects and comedy routine dialogue in the cutscenes. The things that are driving the plot are every bit as dark, but the presentation is much lighter, and now you can remote control explosive farts.

[@aturkishgamer9790]

2:23 I think a movie with Mr Bean as Lawrence of Arabia might be kinda awesome

[@hipolitoalanis443]

Another one for the Bottom 5!

[@Supermac97451]

Bold of you to assume the human race will last that long

[@augustljungberg1266]

@@Supermac97451 I bet there will be a video released in that case named ”worst 5 games in human history”

[@Sela1]

Really sad Yahtzee didn't like the game, the originals were an integral part of my childhood and the setting was truly unique and I was happy with the fact that they're returning to the IP.

[@hazukichanx408]

There are a lot of clueless visionaries in the games industry... if I'd even made it in, I'd probably be just the same. Great ideas, amazing creativity, and no idea how to consistently make good games... which, in fairness, is not an easy thing to do, all things considered.

[@misterbadguy7325]

Well, he did have some rather nice things to say about the original, if that makes you feel any better.

[@Psychol-Snooper]

Mr Bean as Lawrence of Arabia is BRILLIANT! Lean just a little towards Blackladder with the non-Bean characters and I'm 100% buying tickets.

[@davidhill2020]

I'm surprised there was no mention of Munch's Oddysee or Stranger's Wrath

[@TheBatBro]

I've actually been enjoying the heck out of Soulstorm. Good review as always though.

[@minias1444]

My dad was friends with the guy who initially created Abe Odyssey and specifically got me the game to see how cool it was... i was slightly underwhelmed.

[@josiahreynolds6032]

Why? It's great

[@HnTr_VDH]

The original? Thats a classic tho.

[@titntin5178]

Hmm, so you had zero taste even back then?

[@kinghijinx5892]

Personally, I thought the original Abe's Odyssey was great. Exodus is pretty good too. I just don't like anything after that except for some of the stuff from Strangers Wrath.

[@FirestormMk3]

I remember rumble packs. Heavy awful buggers that initially turned be off vibration. I also remember that mercifully Goldeneye was genre-defining and not awful and forgotten because someone nyxed reloading by popping the rumble pak out and back in.

[@foxeye245]

I’m guessing that Yahtzee has never heard of Strangers Wrath.

[@radicalraddish6292]

I'm sensing a pattern this year of yahtzee reviewing new additions to old franchises that turn out either not great or absolute garbage

[@but_in_space_though2919]

Jeez I forgot about how big Memory Cards used to be. And to think most modern games have file sizes that eclipse Memory Card sizes these days. You gotta get a whole 2nd hard drive just to install the most recent COD balance patches.

[@JamesDavy2009]

Back in the day there were memory carts that slotted into your controller.

[@Sonicfalcon16]

Its interesting how oddworld stayed around being a 2D game on the play station which focused on 3D but was loved to get a 3D game and still is around

[@SnuSnuDungeon]

The end of year list is going to be a stiff competition this year

[@hashemh8603]

Not in the good spots unfortunately 😂😂

[@glctcthnkr8059]

@@hashemh8603 it takes two is really fun I guess

[@amonggaming3822]

Fun fact about new and tasty, David hayter played all the modokens (voice actor of solid snake)

[@KeithFraser82]

Zero Punctuation indie rock track of the week: *Drive Me To The Weirdo Convention* by the *Laser Hat Bishops*

[@ToaArcan]

Soulstorm, you say? Spess Mahrens! Todeh the enemeh is at oua doar! We know oua duteh and we will do eet. We fight for our honor as Blod Rehvens, as SPESS MAHRENS, and we fight in the nehme of the Emprah!

[@lewisirwin5363]

3:16 "METAL BAWKSES"

[@torchiest]

0:24 That's Mercury if you were wondering.

[@FlamingAtheist]

I think I remember Strangers Wrath being one I was really excited for back in the day

[@dodgyhodgyo4]

That was the last original Oddworld game. It's been 18 years since then

[@jordanloux3883]

Welp, enjoy Caddicarus breaking all you windows.

[@tetsedah]

This made me laugh harder than I thought it would.

[@LabrnMystic]

What about combining escort missions and the search for crafting elements so you want to keep multiple escorts alive because they will bring you the components?

[@paulrus-keaton439]

Yes Yahtzee I too remember Rumble Packs. I remember never having one for my N64 and missing out on the Stone of Agony gimmick from Ocarina of Time. And to this day I still have no idea how to access the data on a N64 memory card; I did it once on accident.

[@JamesDavy2009]

@@GreyWolfLeaderTW You hold START when you turn on the console and as the data loads, making sure the Memory Pak is set properly.

[@DavidMyrmidon]

The Games almost did get to five, stopping at 4 (Stranger's Wrath). As far as Revisions go, this is not bad. It had it's signature flaws sure.. but The Overall world building is still awesome.

[@BugsyFoga]

Glad to see oddworld is keeping the cinematic platformer alive.

[@elmoelmerson172]

Well, that’s the problem, it’s not that pure and faithful to the genre anymore, gameplay wise.

[@simoneval2619]

Honestly i think that "alive" it's a strong word for the subject. I'll say "frankenstein it back as much as it could" is a more appropriate statement.

[@vladsaioc6269]

@simoneval2619 Limbo, Inside and Little Nightmares were successful revivals of the genre, so it's definitely possible to make good titles even today.

[@PerkinsVR]

soulstorm is just a 2.5d platformer unfortunately. abe can double jump now 💀

[@BugsyFoga]

@@PerkinsVR thanks for telling me that 2 years later.

[@Cephalopod51]

"...some visionary genius sat bolt upright in bed and said 'What if there was a world that's like primitive Earth, but, get this, everyone looks weird.'" That statement is not quite accurate. Oddworld is based on Earth, but it's not based on primitive Earth. The creatures of Oddworld don't even act like cavemen. Oddworld has advanced technology, cities, factories, corporations, and businessmen. The Mudokons don't use technology themselves, but they're based more on various shamanistic, animistic, spiritual, nature-based, and tribal peoples on Earth. Mudokons are amalgamations of a lot of different peoples whose belief-systems inspired the Mudokons' reverence for nature and their spiritual heritage. Still, doing an Oddworld-styled game set in an alien prehistoric Earth is not a bad idea, especially if the caveman Earth aspect were combined with the oppressive technology and corporation aspect. "Oddworld started out with this rather original mystical and darkly comedic vibe but in later games made the tactical error of leaning more towards the comedy when the comedy was based mainly around farts and doing embarrassingly bad Star Wars prequel level gags in the Monty Python old lady voice and was generally about as funny as the children's bone cancer ward's production of Othello: The Moor of Venice." That's not quite true, either. The ability to be flatulent and the humor surrounding Abe's flatulence was in Abe's Oddysee first. The second game just took the function further by allowing you to control balls of exploding gas to destroy enemies from a distance. Both games had the same degree of dark humor, though Exoddus was a little more boisterious in its humor. Even with additional comedy, Abe's Exoddus was still pretty grim and serious as much as the first game, and still pretty darkly humorous. However, I do think a lot of Abe's Oddysee's atmosphere and feel got lost in the sequel. But Exoddus was a straight-up continuation of Abe's Oddysee's graphics, engine, and gameplay. It seems odd to critique Exoddus like that, since both Oddysee and Exoddus are very much alike. But if you were talking about Munch's Oddysee, I would agree. The experience of Munch's Oddysee was just not the same as those of the first two. Munch's Oddysee was intended to be the really great sequel, but it didn't go as well as intended. Stranger's Wrath, however, is another story, and completely blew Munch out of the water. "So while I wouldn't say the Oddworld franchise never got off the ground, it certainly never really cleared the treetops..." You ought to play Stranger's Wrath. It's set in another part of Oddworld, with a different hero and different gameplay, and it succeeds in taking Oddworld's humor and gameplay to whole new experience. And it's a stealth FPS/TPS and a Western. You really ought to check it out. Still, I agree that Oddworld had a lot more potential in taking its cinematic platformer aspect into more interesting, more immersive, and more interactive directions. "...is presently weaving around the painfully solid giant redwoods of irrelevance by remaking the first couple of games, sort of an attempt to recapture that original freshness the way one does with Febreze and a pair of old underpants." I think Oddworld Inhabitants should release a modified version of the original Abe's Odyssee, with the addition of the save feature from Abe's Exoddus. It should still retain the original's graphics and gameplay, with maybe some higher resolutions added. The original is still praised for its atmosphere and experience, some prefer it the most over Exoddus. Considering that the first game is so damn hard without the save feature of the later games, and only a few of the most hardcore fans have been able to beat it, why not re-release the original with a better save system? There's still a lot to the original Oddworld I prefer over New N Tasty. I do think it's a shame that Oddworld Inhabitants botched the remake for Exoddus. I think there are a ton of ways Exoddus could be remade without making the gameplay harder or bugger. OI works best with their games when they are focused on what they want to do, keep the gameplay simple, and not over-clutter the experience. Maybe they just got really distracted while developing Soulstorm. I think they ought to do another spin-off in the vein of Stranger's Wrath, and maybe even someday a straight sequel to Stranger's Wrath too.

[@minakoaino3917]

Escorting in the original Dead Rising is actually great fun

[@Tay-xj5ud]

I would've gotten it if it was 3D like Munchies Oddessy. That was a very fun game.

[@darthkahn45]

This was largely our own fault. They had an original and inventive Quintology that would introduce a new unique main character in each game all planned and we screamed "BOO WE JUST WANT ABE" So now they're just making Abe games. And they fucking suck because we are so opposed to change and creative freedom. Now we'll likley never meet the most interesting, unique and dark protagonist they had planned, Squeek.

[@josephnewsome2935]

1:06 caddy wants to know your location

[@TuffMelon]

I mean, Avatar 2 and 3 have apparently been filmed (pre-production completed? I forget) but since their original timeline was to have 2 out by 2015... they might be a bit behind.

[@Blackhawk19892]

Filming usually falls under 'production'. Studios are so vague pre productions can mean anything from having every character cast and every scene perfectly storyboarded to 'the catering company might turn up on the day'. If Avatar 2 had been filmed by now we'd know about it and have set pictures all over the Web

[@TuffMelon]

@@Blackhawk19892 I had misremembered, the images i were thinking of where to do with them wrapping up the 2020 filming for 2, and 2022 was the intended release date (though obviously things could have changed). There are a couple of images out there (quick google search will get you to them) but at the end of the day the set pictures wouldn't be too great either, let alone from a journalistic point of view. Movie is 99% CGI, so you might have a hard time convincing people the images you take weren't just from the first movie's filming.

[@jeremiahlewis410]

Rumble packs, GameGenie/Shark, still finding memory cards over a decade since I last saw a machine that uses them.

[@onedeadsaint]

has it been a year already?!

[@mongothedestroyer88]

I personally would love to see a Mr. Bean Laurence of Arabia crossover.

[@MisterBigPip]

Lorne Lanning (Oddworld co-founder) did an interview as part of War Stories, in it he explains that because the publishers GT Interactive gave them a deadline of one year to complete part two of their franchise, Exoddus was never the game they wanted to make. Ultimately it screwed up their development of the Oddworld Cinematic Universe and at least this game Soulstorm (albeit twenty years late) is the part two they had wanted to make. Good luck to them I say. (My instinct reaction to it being free on launch for PS5 players did stink a bit of lack of trust in the product though)

[@laurenescarcha3246]

I LOVED the Oddworld games when I was growing up.

[@tyramirez6628]

@@lostalone9320 pfffft ahahahahah

[@elmoelmerson172]

don’t mind them your avi is cool, and I loved the oddworld games growing up too, still do.

[@Oddman1980]

A few weeks ago, my parents told me they had found my old ps1, and would I like to take it home with me. I did, and I tried some of my old games... the silly thing worked flawlessly. There were games I saved 20 years ago on the memory card that were still there.

[@RollingSwarm]

4:57 - is that... is that an original Space Crusade dreadnaught I see?!

[@angeldeb82]

LOLed at the bulgy-eyed ZP Abe and getting his friends killed by imps! LOLed at some funny bits too! :D

[@ArkaynAdrian]

Yeah as someone who loves Oddworld this really does sum up the feeling (albeit confused if I am disappointed or not) I have from playing Soulstorm.

[@DirtyFishy]

I didn't see advertising for this anywhere. Didn't even know it was out until a couple of days.

[@michaellively6467]

I loved Strangers wrath

[@dtronattardo7858]

0:52 as someone named Douglas and is ace this is so much funnier than it should be

[@Mr_T_Badger]

You know, I never really remember running out of memory on those old 1 Meg memory cards. Certainly never did on the 8 meg PS2 memory cards either. Now I’m lucky if a single saved game is twice that size on a game that takes up 40 sodding gigs of data. 🤣

[@DanVzare]

I never filled up a PS1 memory card either. Nor did I ever fill up a Gamecube memory card. But I certainly filled up my PS2 memory cards. I had two 8mb and two 16mb PS2 memory cards, and I filled up three of those cards, and filled more than half of the last one. Some of those games took a lot of space, I'm looking at you The Sims.

[@gus.smedstad]

I'm old enough to remember the Oddworld games when they came out. There was enough buzz about them that I vaguely felt like I should play them, but I never got around to doing so. Now I gather I should be glad.

[@TheTomac]

Yes because when remakes get fucked up it always means the original games were trash amirite

[@lucariosom1267]

1:35 it took me 3 days to get that joke. So either im too stupid or putting myself into the mindset of such people is a serious challange like outdoors iceskatting on a July afternoon where the neighbours kids have pissed into the lake.

[@faptaincabulous2557]

I felt the same sadly, but about the lack of almost all the mechanic from exodus, rather than the bugs, even though they were horrible

[@landonletterman831]

Rumble packs, hell, who remembers the expanded memory unit for the N64? Or the memory cards with tiny screens on them for the Dreamcast

[@R3DE3MER]

Loved this one, it went everywhere and nowhere all at once.

[@rylian21]

Look, I've got the pitchforks if someone else brings the torches.

[@ZombiesWerePeopleToo]

I actually have incredible nostalgic affection for the 3 oddworld games I played (oddyssee, exodus and stranger's wrath, never had an xbox to play munch's oddyssee) so when I saw there was a new game in the series I was quite excited. I wish they’d do more games like stranger’s wrath, where they just completely remove themselves from abe and use the aesthetic and world they’ve cultivated to tell a totally new story.

[@soldier257]

Note for future developers/publishers. If you wanna take a classic, awesome game and run it into the ground as fast and harshly as possible, add crafting elements.

[@Dr.Death8520]

3:42 this is genuinely what it's like to play chess with someone a bit too young/not quite the memory for 6 different movement sets. I just allow their slightly illegal moves and try to win regardless XD

[@TheComedyGeek]

i really liked Abe's Oddyssey back in the day, but I doubt I could put up with it now. I am so much fussier and crankier now.

[@hongquiao]

Abe's Exodus lacked the atmosphere of Abe's Odyssey, but it had quick save! ...Also you could fart toxic clouds and then posess the toxic cloud to scout ahead, and make it explode when it was close to ennemies.

[@JamesDavy2009]

Or if you waited long enough.

[@zim._hates_dib]

It’s insanely stupid once you realise you have to rescue working Mudokens after Rupturefarms was burned down!

[@Hyper_Drud]

How is that stupid?

[@Barakon]

4:37 hey, I wonder if they wanted to commmentate on virtue signaling behavior in corporate settings & also about how a lotta shit that’s in recycling bins doesn’t actually end up being recycled.

[@wiggle_duck9063]

That 'dinner while sitting on spikes' comment sounded like a reference to the second Blackadder series

[@alloounou6900]

Knowing that ZP Mr. Bean exists and is archived with tons of other assets is strangely humourous.

[@Ingel_Riday6690]

I actually liked "Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee" on the original Xbox. It was a pretty fun game, although it seemed to be in a marketing nightmare scenario. Xbox needed a launch-day platformer for the youngsters, and Munch's Oddysee was a platformer, sure... but for youngsters? Munch's species of frog people with human level sentience has been hunted to extinction by industrial slug-barons and Munch, the last of his kind, has to recruit Abe to help him get the last can of frog people caviar... so that he can fertilize the hopefully still-viable eggs. Then maybe he can raise the young and find another frog-person somewhere to boost the brutally limited gene pool next breeding season. Yep, that sounds kid friendly. :-/ Oddworld: The Stranger was pretty good, too, and had better marketing. However, I don't think it sold very well and now we're stuck in "retro-gaming" nostalgia land with 2.5D Oddworld remakes of 20+ year old games that are staying way too faithful to the source material's gameplay. Oh well.

[@faptaincabulous2557]

People can defend this with "it's not a remake of exodus" and all that shit but yahtzee hit it right on the head. They took out: Paramites, Scrabs, mine cars, blind mudokons, mudokon moods, laughing gas, possessing literally anything that isn't a slig, and the worst one of all, CHASE SEQUENCES! And they replaced them with crafting sloppily slapped onto the already existing throwing mechanic, which was annoying to have to do if the situation ever got anywhere near to tense, which in an ODD WORLD GAME, should be every time. Sure its not a remake, but they said this was going to be what they wanted to make instead... This isn't a remake, its just a worse follow up to odysee than exodus was. However the story and cutscene were 10/10 at least and I look forward to at least watching the story of the next game if its another one like this.

[@terrakage4462]

Hmmm fair... but honestly I like the game a lot still. I don’t really care if it’s taking it a bit more seriously. I’m shocked a lot of people don’t like it but I can see why.