Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! is a 2014 cinematic platform video game developed by Just Add Water and published by Oddworld Inhabitants as a "ground-up remake" of Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. The game was released in North America on 22 July 2014 and in Europe on 23 July 2014 for the PlayStation 4. The title was also released for Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Wii U. It has been ported on iOS and Android and released worldwide on 14 December 2017. A Nintendo Switch version was released on 27 October 2020.
A sequel, Oddworld: Soulstorm, was released in April 2021.
Gameplay
In Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty, the player controls a Mudokon named Abe. Similar to the original, the gameplay is a sidescrolling platformer with an emphasis on puzzle solving, with New 'n' Tasty reimagined in a 2.5D graphical style.
Abe has the ability to talk to and direct other Mudokons with an enhanced GameSpeak feature and the characters have more dialogue and responses when compared to the original game. The player's goal is to save all 299 Mudokon slaves (compared to 99 from the original game) at RuptureFarms which can be done by opening bird portals for them to escape through; several Mudokons are hidden in secret areas which often involve complex situations for the player to resolve. As with the original, the game has two endings depending on the number of Mudokons rescued by the game's finale; rescuing 150 or more throughout the story is required for the Good Ending, whereas rescuing fewer than 150 Mudokon slaves results in the Bad Ending.
Unlike the original game, there is a difficulty setting that changes gameplay elements such as Abe's health and enemy reaction times according to the difficulty level selected; "Hard", for instance, adjusts the game to replicate the original game's difficulty.
Abe has no direct way of attacking or defending himself and can be easily killed; thus, he must rely on his wits and resourcefulness to overcome enemies and dangerous obstacles. He has the ability to chant (for opening portals) and can use his telepathy to possess Sligs, who serve as RuptureFarms' security force; Sligs lack Abe's physical finesse (they cannot jump, for example) but carry firearms and can operate switches, temporarily changing gameplay. Other enemies cannot be possessed, and must be dealt with by solving the many puzzles in the game, which often involves setting up elaborate traps. Some enemies in the game must be outrun; in some levels Abe has a mount called Elum that helps in this. There are some areas in the game which require the player to memorize Abe's whistles, farts, and the verbal commands of Sligs to unlock electric fences and disable security devices, allowing Mudokons to pull levers and platforms.
The game has more random generators than in the original game, which can make it difficult to predict enemy movement patterns and behavior. Sligs have randomly generated AI and some flying mines also have random flight patterns.
To make use of the online functionality, the remake now comes with leaderboards. The makers observed players of the original game making speedrun videos and competing with other people, and have enabled players to check the leaderboards for the fastest completion of each mode, the best overall time (any%), and how many online PlayStation Network, Steam, Nintendo eShop and Xbox Live members completed the game 100%.
Plot
Taking place on the titular Oddworld, much of the early and end-game takes place in RuptureFarms and its four "zulags", which comprise a meat processing plant. Other locations range from RuptureFarms' stockyards and free-fire zone, to the external mazes of the Monsaic Lines, Paramonia, and Scrabania. The two latter levels can be approached in either order and each feature a temple with multiple trials completed by lighting a flintlock and replicating the bell chime to unlock the exit door. Thereafter Abe must return to RuptureFarms to rescue the remaining Mudokons. The final level requires Abe rush to RuptureFarms' boardroom within a time limit to destroy the company owners and their robotic security system.
Development
Announcement and development
In July 2010, Just Add Water announced that it was working on a new Oddworld title.