Since breaking onto the gaming scene in late 1997 with Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, Oddworld Inhabitants has amassed a reputation for creating engrossing adventures with culturally relevant thematic undertones, amazing art direction, creative characters, and an engrossing combination of platforming and puzzle solving gameplay mechanics. Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath deviates from past forays into the Oddworld universe in that platforming and puzzle solving elements have been replaced with action and adventure/exploration, while the venerable ‘Gamespeak’ mechanic has all but been replaced with new, equally-innovative and well-executed gameplay additions. Oddworld Inhabitants have taken a number or risks in the design of Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, and the result is a game that stands as one of the most rewarding experiences to be found on the Xbox, and the best game to come out of the developer’s doors since Abe’s original trek through Rupture Farms.

Story

Fans of Spaghetti Westerns such as the Sergio Leone classics of the 1960s will instantly fall in love with the atmosphere Stranger’s Wrath provides, an incredibly unique re-envisioning of the Old West that contains all the visual and contextual staples of the timeless genre in addition to rewriting a few rules to make things a bit more imaginative. First and foremost, homosapiens have been tossed out the door and players are instead treated to a variety of delightfully creative inhuman inhabitants ranging from bipedal chickens, to a race of creatures that can only be described as diminutive, amphibious-looking phallic symbols, as well as a few reappearing races from past Oddworld titles. Then you have the title character, a hairy half-lion half…something else with a personality modeled after the nameless gunslinger famously portrayed by Clint Eastwood and simply referred to throughout the game as ‘Stranger’. Unfortunately the inherent stoicism of the character inhibits his ability to become as instantly likeable or relatable as preceding Oddworld protagonists; Stranger rarely speaks, and when he does it’s in a deep, emotionless (is ‘gruff’ an emotion?) monotone voice. That said, what he lacks in charisma Stranger more than makes up for in ability, as he is far more capable of engaging the enemy through direct measures than Munch or Abe ever were through the use of subvert mid control and other guerilla warfare.

As a bounty hunter, Stranger must track down various outlaws and bring them to justice as a means of collecting moolah, the game’s currency, in order to pay for a rather specialized medical procedure to be performed by a rather sketchy medical practitioner. The true nature of the operation as well as the ailment plaguing the main character are revealed over the course of the game through several intelligent (though some might argue, predictable) twists that serve to intertwine a number of engaging subplots. One twist in particular not only has large narrative impact, but causes a rather large change to the nature of the gameplay as well. To truly appreciate the story, one must appreciate the narrative hints given to the player over the course of the experience. For example, at one point a few hours into the game Stranger rescues a civilian being held by a band of outlaws in a Temple; one which happens to feature a rather large statue bearing a strong resemblance to the hero. While this occurrence is explained through information and events encountered later on in the game, the developers aren’t so blatant as to provide a flashback sequence of every single clue they’ve left for you to connect to the eventual revelation. The Da Vinci Code it’s not, but watching the errant pieces of a simple plot puzzle fall into place over the course of the game is a satisfying reward for being open-minded enough to play through the somewhat slow-paced opening chapter. Once the storyline takes off and the build-up really starts however, it’s incredibly easy to get sucked in to the adventure.

One final subjective note before hitting the gameplay elements of Stranger’s Wrath, I was personally let down by the comedic element presented in this game. Whereas the past games had a brilliant balance of sophomoric, goofy and at times slapstick humor intermixed with the more subtle and intelligent witty cultural satire, most of the humor in this latest Oddworld excursion is fell flat for me, as the former style of comedy was present in spades, while the latter was for the most part missing in action.