Looks like I can cross one game of my list of Five Games That Need a Revival: the long dormant Oddworld series is getting a lot of attention lately, with several projects in development – including a new game!
Oddworld Inhabitants, the original developers, may have migrated to film, but they’ve handed the reigns over to Just Add Water, who are busying themselves on several new Oddworld projects, as revealed at Thursday’s Game City Nights event in Nottingham, England.
First up, as mentioned earlier, there is an Abe HD remake in development, but more details have emerged. Unfortunately, it seems production is yet to begin, with the team still trying to decide if they will remake Abe’s Oddysee or Abe’s Exoddus, or combine the best parts of each into a new game. They have even considered making a completely new title in the same vein, although they have stated that a remake is more likely. All that’s confirmed at this point is that there will be a 2.5D Abe game in HD, hopefully sometime next year.
Before then, the third and fourth games in the series will receive HD facelifts. Munch’s Oddysee is due in October or November, and Stranger’s Wrath sometime in the Summer (meaning, for Aussies, June to August). The Oddboxx compilation of all four titles, currently only available on PC, will also be released onto the Playstation Network, and will include the HD versions of the two later games.
The Stranger’s Wrath remake is shaping up to be quite interesting, as it will support Playstation Move and 3DTV, and can automatically upload gameplay videos to YouTube. An additional feature was also hinted at, but was mysteriously censored at the last minute. Looks like we have to wait till E3 for that one.
And of course, the most exciting announcement: the new game. The Hand of Odd was originally announced in 1998, but was later cancelled. Using the original design document, the team at Just Add Water is remaking this shelved title. Platforms for the game are still to be determined, but the team are reportedly considering PC, Mac, iPad, Android tablet devices, and even Facebook. The original design was to be a Command & Conquer style RTS game, an interesting departure from Oddworld‘s usual puzzle/platformer games. They are looking to modernise the game though, comparing their new direction to a more accessible, FarmVille type of game. I’m not sure how that will pan out, but considering the series’ track record, it can’t be too bad.
