I was a big fan of Abe’s Oddysee and Abe’s Exodus the two decades (really?) ago that they were published. At the time they came out, they joined Rayman as interesting platforms with more depth than Mario or Sonic. The two Abe games featured a fantastically odd world (which should have been expected from Oddworld Inhabitants), a grim but entertaining esthetic, great voice work, and characters you wanted to know more about. What was also true about the Abe games was that they often depended on somewhat twitchy fingers and often you would be off by a frame or two, leading to a strong desire to smash your keyboard into teeny tiny pieces.
This remake of Abe’s Oddysee boasts a true recreation of all of those characteristics. The problem is, like the Sonic CD port before it, what this game highlights is the inadequacy of a touch screen at replicating a keyboard or game pad. Everything that made this game what it was is still here, this is a really redesign port of a really great game, but this is also clearly a port for iOS that was done once the game was already designed for the PlayStation/steam/whatever other modern online gaming marketplace.
I’m glad that I can play this game again. It’s a perennial for me. But when SoulStorm comes out, I’m making sure to purchase it through Steam.