The second part of the quintology dreamed by Lorne Lanning, Solstorm moves directly from the New ‘n’ Tasty, similar to the way Abe’s Exodus succeeds Abe’s Odyssey. Even if, here and there, some would talk of Soulstorm as a remake, this new episode is actually much more than that. Redesigned from A to Z, it allows itself to recreate the original landscape. Thus, the game opens with a series of press clippings introducing Glucon Molk as responsible for the fire in his own factory. Regular gamers know that this is in fact the result of Abe’s actions, which made 300 comrades of their comrades truly willing to sacrifice their workers and turn it into canned meat. The screenplay continues with a genuine introductory cinematic, which sets the tone for the progress made in the field by the developers. The series has always offered high-quality cutscenes for its time, and the feature is answering the call once again. Some of these sequences are worthy of animated footage, in which the characters’ facial expressions are enough to give the events a comic or dramatic tone. Each of these scenes is therefore a real small reward for the player, who will be able to benefit from everyone watching more than an hour of joy.

We won’t reveal the details of the scenario here, but you can imagine that Abe will once again have to save as many of his teammates as possible. So we find the “Gamepeck” system, which allows easy ordering (waiting for me to follow) to our disciples or to all those around us to secure the portals safely. Using the passage of some of these faithful to activate a particular mechanism. Mudokas’ behavior is generally very good, as they prove to be “intelligent” enough to systematically reproduce Abe’s behavior. This will not prevent them from being crushed through a door or consumed by more or less canine creatures from time to time! After all, taking care of your followers is part of a player’s job. Spell, another mechanic previously inherited from Oddworlds, is also making a comeback. This ability allows you to capture certain enemies, and use them to open a passage or eliminate other opponents.

MOTUS and views

Oddworld Soulstorm also provides a good dose of infiltration, as it is possible to walk on tiptoes, so as not to arouse the Sleeping Guard, for example. The animation which is actually quite hilarious, especially when many followers reproduce it automatically. The same goes for the time when our disciples want to hide in the adjoining cupboard to follow Abe’s example. Hiding behind walls (sometimes disastrous) or in a puddle of smoke is one of the “discretionary actions” at our disposal. In addition, it is now possible to tie a sleeping guard and / or find him to steal some stuff. The vigilance system uses three levels of alertness (calm, medium, high), which are clearly indicated on the screen, knowing that it usually takes a few seconds of hide and seek for the guards to return to their initials. Enough to do.

The stage aspect of the game is proving to be more enjoyable than before. Abe has an easy double jump, automatically turns to the right when climbing or descending, and even gives the player a valuable signal when they reach the edge of a platform. The harshness of the gameplay of the 90s is a thing of the past. In addition, Soulstorm is now innovating by integrating an inventory and a craft component. Rummaging you in jars, trash cans, dumpstars and other cupboards to send you water bottles (to send them in flames to extinguish) or beer bottles (to throw on a campfire to set wooden walls on fire or burn alive) Permission is granted. But it is also possible to recover various components, necessary for the construction of mines, antidotes, flare bombs and other smoke screens. This craft aspect is rather welcome, as it enriches the gameplay without ever making it prominent. Even this allows our disciples to be equipped with certain items, depending on whether or not they will use them, depending on whether they are ordered to behave aggressively or passively (these two commands follow the classic / Being added to the wait pair).

(2 + 3) / 2 = 2,9?

Technically, the game is clearly breaking the 90s 2D and even upgrading the new ‘N’ Tasty’s 2.5D. Developers are now talking about “2.9D”, the term is a bit marketable but which still reflects a certain reality. The camera changes its position and zoom level regularly (sometimes very clearly), to play on perspective and to offer panoramas, viewing angles, and a sense of spaciousness that is possible with the “fixed” screen Will not happen, whether 2D or 3D. If we are generally content to move left or right, making it even easier to begin with, we still have the impression of actually evolving into a three-dimensional and “open” universe. This aspect works very well and goes hand-in-hand with overall satisfactory graphics. We can always notice here and some effects are less successful than others (eg some explosions) or textures that have little detail, but the general effect is very good. In any case, the artistic direction is so unique and pleasant that it takes precedence over the purely technical aspect. The game is not free of faults, starting with the absence of French voices. Luckily local captions answer the call, but some of them sometimes forget some spaces between words. It’s not much, but it still looks bad, like small insects that still have to be wiped out (the body of a talker frozen during a cinematic “cinematic”, portal to birds that refuse to reappear …).

In addition, the selection system becomes a bit tricky when multiple actions are possible at the same location. We want to be able to bind an enemy before finding him (so as to avoid his waking up), but the game sometimes forces us to the contrary, when it is not in favor of the opening of the cupboard located in the background. . We were also surprised by some of the tutorial posts appearing in the fourth or fifth levels, when the verbs involved were already useful, if not necessary, in previous levels. All this could not stop us from appreciating the adventure, and found great joy in saving as many issues as possible. According to the percentage of followers released, there are over 1300 released, and the game offers us more or less four endings (“worst”, “bad”, “good” and a bonus sequence). Another motivation to play the role of savers: freeing at least 80% of the issues in seven of the fifteen basic levels gives access to two additional levels. Thus the lifespan exceeds a dozen hours, and may even be doubled if one wishes to explore all the secret areas. In the end, Oddworld Soulstorm fulfills all its promises and is therefore the best for the future. Because yes, we hope that one day there will be an end to the quintology that was promised to us more than 20 years ago…