Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee is set in the fictional Oddworld universe and take place after those of Abe's Exoddus. The player controls Munch as well as Abe, the hero of the previous Oddworld games. Abe's abilities haven't changed much since the last installment: as before, GameSpeak must be used to communicate with other creatures, leading them to safety. His fellow Mudokons can now be ordered to attack enemies. Abe can also grab and toss Mudokons or Munch to lead them to area they cannot access otherwise. Possessing enemies also comes into play, and is needed to solve many of the puzzles. Possession abilities can now be used to ignite quarrels between enemies and make them fight each other.
The player can change between Abe and Munch instantly throughout most of the game. Munch brings on the table new abilities of his own: he can use his sonar to control or immobilize specific creatures, as well as swim. Another new addition is the possibility to use vending machines, which sell various...
It is fairly obvious, based on the data discussed above, that platforming turns more into a chore. If we add to the equation the bad AI of the creatures the player is trying to save, the scale keeps tilting to the negative side.
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee adds one more dimension, but throws what made the original a classic out of the window. Not only this doesn't have the beautiful visuals of the PlayStation duology, or its fantastic atmosphere and narrative strength, but it's also far from a fun, cinematic puzzle-platformer - in fact, it's not even a puzzle-platformer, but...
Ultimately, Munch’s Oddysee as a game hasn’t aged particularly well. It shows very plainly that it was made in a transitional era, when 3D adventure games were still coming into their own and finding ways to create purpose for themselves. The charm of the Oddworld franchise is here of course, and performance of the game is excellent. As far as ports...
Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee on the Nintendo Switch brings back this chapter in the Oddworld series and while the gameplay mechanics are solid and the Oddworld universe remains attractive, it's clear that there was not enough work in this conversion to make it appealing enough beyond fans of the original game, especially when it comes to its visual environment...
When Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee released on the original Xbox, it came with high praise and was one of my personal favorite titles from that system. The game was mind-blowing at launch, but almost two decades later, a lot of it is rough around the edges. The cutscenes, world-building, and storytelling hold up to this day, but almost all of the gameplay...
