When Oddworld Inhabitants released its first game, Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, in 1997, it married familiar 2D platform mechanics with a visual style that had not yet been seen in games. With so much time having passed, it would have been understandable if last year’s remake, Oddworld: New ’N’ Tasty, had failed to recapture the magic, but that was far from the case.
In our review, we called Oddworld: New ’N’ Tasty, “the rare remake that improves on the original, thanks to fresh ideas mixed with a still-fresh gameplay foundation.” Now Oddworld Inhabitants has a remake of the second Oddworld game, Abe’s Exoddus in the works.
Oddworld Inhabitants president Lorne Lanning told viewers on a Twitch stream that fans had requested the remake, and that it is currently in the very early stages of development, according to VG247. As with the last game, the name of the remake will be determined by fans.
It seems that there are much higher stakes here than with Oddworld: New ’N’ Tasty. The sequel will be more broadly marketed than its predecessor, and its success will determine the quality of future titles, which Oddworld Inhabitants would like to make into AAA productions.
A stronger marketing push will almost certainly be necessary. While Oddworld: New ’N’ Tasty did fairly well, a big part of its relative success came from being made free for PlayStation Plus subscribers, which boosted the game to 2.4 million downloads.
No further details on the status of the remake or an expected release date were given, but it’s almost certain that the engine used in last year’s game will be used for the sequel. Abe’s Exoddus was pushed out quickly to meet demand, running on the same engine as Abe’s Oddysee, and that same process will likely be used here.
While the upcoming remake might take longer than the nine months in which Abe’s Exoddus was produced, it probably won’t be another years before we see another Oddworld game.
