The Oddworld franchise has always been one of my favorites, possibly since I grew up with Abe and his crazy adventures. When Stranger’s Wrath was first revealed to the world, I was confused. Gone was Abe and his crazy platforming gameplay, there was ‘The Stranger’ in a first-person shooter entry. I must admit, I wasn’t a fan until I played it. Stranger’s Wrath offered tons of innovations and it’s still extremely playable nowadays. After spending some time with the Nintendo Switch version during EGX 2018, it’s clear this will be a great addition to anybody’s Switch library.
Same story, new platform
First thing first, the version I played was still in pre-alpha and rough around the edges. EGX 2018 marked the debut of a playable demo and the team only got a couple of weeks to come up with a playable version. Peter Chapman from Oddworld Inhabitants was kind enough to share some information about the current demo. Nintendo asked the team for a demo so they could showcase it at EGX 2018. Needless to say, Oddworld Inhabitants said yes and began working as fast as they could. Since the Nintendo Switch version is a port of the HD remaster and not the mobile versions, it wasn’t that hard to port. But, of course, the graphics weren’t on point just yet, especially since the game was only playable in television mode.
My first impression of the game remained a very positive one however. Yes, I did notice the rough graphics but it clearly stated it was in the pre-alpha stage. The movements of The Stranger and the way his living ammo reacted to everything around them demonstrated the direction the graphics will eventually go to. This is still the same game as before, this is still you hunting down bounties to pay for your expensive surgery. Nothing has changed and I must say, the game aged surprisingly well.
Still feels like a modern product
While playing this early version of the game, I was surprised by how well it actually aged. It feels like a first-person shooter that could have been released a couple of weeks ago and that’s perhaps one of the biggest compliments I can give the game. It proves that it was way ahead of its time and I’m certain a lot of new gamers will enjoy every second of it. Stranger’s Wrath offers a decent semi-open world to explore, a handy mini-map to track down your enemies, small environmental puzzles and they infamous living ammo. This is one of the reasons why the game grabbed everybody’s attention back in the days.
The Stranger is a very successful bounty hunter who uses his smaller enemies as living ammo. If you’ve played the original you know the brilliant chaos this brings to the table. Each type of ammo has its own unique ability and figuring out which type of creature to use in a certain situation is key to be victorious. Just like the other versions, the Nintendo Switch version offers the exact same kind of fun!
Early conclusion:
As said before, the version I got to see was an extremely early version but I was pleased with what I saw. Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath brings a different side of the Oddworld franchise to the hybrid console and thanks to its innovations, it still feels like a modern game. If you missed out on this one in the past, the Nintendo Switch version might be the perfect excuse to finally catch up with what you missed.
