Oddworld: Soulstorm

Oddworld: Soulstorm is an excellent remake of a delightfully weird '90s platformer with tons of charm, challenge... and annoying bugs.

Oddworld's newest revival looks incredible, but its classic stealth-platforming feels old-school in all the wrong ways.

Abe's Exoddus gets a generous upgrade in this slightly patchy adventure.

Oddworld: Soulstorm's charm, characters, and sincere narrative are imprisoned within buggy, erratic software.

Soulstorm has oodles of charm, but tedious design and annoying bugs make an experience that only the most hardcore and forgiving Oddworld fans might enjoy

Oddworld: Soulstorm is an advancement on previous games in the series in every way, but that’s both its biggest achievement and the source of its problems. The complexity and variety in its locations is commendable, as is the wealth of tools at your disposal for dealing with its many tricks and foes. But many of its systems don’t work together reliably, or don’t respond with the necessary speed, which leaves an experience that’s rarely as entertaining as it promises to be.

There are some cobwebs to shake out of Oddworld: Soulstorm, and some that will remain even after a hot shower, but you'd be hard-pressed to name very many games that are doing what this series is doing in 2021. I'm glad that Oddworld Inhabitants is still around, doing their weird and interesting thing.

Oddworld: Soulstorm presents itself well and shows a grand vision for the series, but as a modern game in 2021, it's just not where it needs to be. It can be extremely awkward to pull off even basic manoeuvres, some new features miss the mark, and certain levels made us want to quit altogether. Bugs exacerbate some of the gameplay frustrations with wonky AI, and ultimately the play experience can be frustratingly rigid. Fans will love this reimagining of a classic, and the franchise's unique charm shines through, but it's a tough sell for anyone coming to the series fresh.

We like the Oddworld series, and we wish Soulstorm were better. The ingredients are there: the world itself and Abe's story have a uniquely grimy charm. No section of Soulstorm's 15-hour adventure feels quite like the last, with enough new enemies and mechanics introduced to keep things both interesting and challenging. Yet at the same time, technical issues mar the experience much like the dirt and rust that covers Oddworld, and small inconveniences add up to make completing the game much more trying than it should be. We hope one day an Oddworld game will be a must-play adventure worthy of the series' late-'90s prestige, but Soulstorm on Switch hasn't quite freed Abe and the Mudokons from the fetters of poor performance and archaic design.

Oddworld: Soulstorm is an excellent adventure game and platformer, with cool mechanics that keep gameplay fresh. The environments are stunning, and the 2.9D animation makes the world feel three-dimensional and lived-in. Only held back by a slew of bugs, Oddworld: Soulstorm is a great installment in a classic franchise.