I wasn't - and still aren't - a massive fan of the Oddworld games of old. Yes, they looked weird and disgusting but were humourous and clever too. Not that that helped sell them to me. Just not the kind of thing I want to play.
Despite the title, though, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is rather different. The 2D platform puzzler is gone, as is Abe and the Mudokons. In its place is a third- or first-person bounty hunt set in Oddworld's rendition of the wild west.
I'm much more interested in that than of saving workers from a factory, that's for sure.
Fun Times
From what I gather, though it may be sunny in Oddworld, it is still a bleak place to live. The villagers fishing net has caught a single, ugly fish, and their cemetery seems very full. The only highlight of their day is a bounty hunter bursting through, chased by his target. The highlight of our day is how great this CGI looks.
This is Stranger, a bounty hunter with a voice even deeper than Sam Fisher, though he does sound a little sillier. He's a man - or humanoid at least - of few words and makes excellent use of his environment to take down his targets, including its varied wildlife.
Attached to your wrist is a double-barrelled crossbow, and on each side sits a little critter, capable of being flung at or in the general direction of your opponents. Some critters make lots of noise to attract the attention of a guard, others act as traps to cause damage or tie a target up.
Whatever they do, they are at the heart of Stranger's Wrath, allowing you approach your bounty hunting in whatever way you like - including ignoring the critters and headbutting everyone.
The town of Gizzard Gulch, populated by the ugliest, fattest little birds you've ever seen, is blighted by thugs making everyday life even more of a hell than it is to live on Oddworld in the first place. There's a bounty for bringing some peace to the town, and the pay is bigger if the target is brought in alive.
That's pretty much the game. Go out from your town hub into different sections of the world and bag some criminals, dead or alive. Stranger is looking to pay some medical expenses, I read, so it'll help our cause if we can do things non-lethally wherever possible. Time to get practising.
On the approach to your target, you'll pass by both enemies to hoover up into some magical bounty hunting trap, and critters to catch and stuff into your crossbow. It's an interesting touch to have to hunt down your own ammunition, but they appear to be plentiful and easy to catch.
Enemies have states of alertness, but once they spot you they'll generally try chucking a knife or something in your direction, before charging in and getting walloped in the face by your spinning backhand attack.
The controls aren't too bad, actually. Most of the problems I had with them were only because the game uses 'JoyButtonZ+' instead of 'Left Trigger'. Or is that the right trigger? I don't know. Thankfully, you pick them up fairly quickly, and with a choice of first- or third-person, you can focus on playing the game in whatever way feels most comfortable to you.
A group of bandits have blocked off the path ahead, trapping some travelling caravans behind it, no doubt an attempt to rob them or something. Whatever their reasons, they're up to no good, so we can break out our crossbow and tackle them.
While you can tie a target up so that they're reduced to wriggling for the next few seconds, that particular tactic can't be used to trap all your foes for an easy bounty collection. They break free and start fighting too quickly after you've trapped them, so you have to mix things up and time each critter.
Maybe you keep one occupied by setting up a load of traps nearby, or try and get a couple to investigate the source of a sound. They all seem pretty eager to run towards something, rather than act like any guard in any other game, reacting with caution and suspicion.
At the end of the day, however you deal with them, hoover them up into your bounty bag of holding for a reward when you're next back in town, and on you trot - or gallop, as Stranger will sprint on all fours if there's enough room, and you're in third-person. Made me a wee bit motion sick, sometimes.
There are a bunch of bars on your HUD, one of which is definitely a health bar and therefore worth paying attention to. I'm not sure what the others are, but when it is safe, you can pat yourself down which serves as beating life back into you. Not sure how it works, but it's like literally brushing it off so that you can carry on. Again, another interesting mechanic. Stranger's Wrath is nothing like I thought it'd be - not that I knew anything about it going in.
Clearing the area, we find Filthy Hands Floyd, holding out with his last two goons. A press of the D-pad and we can set up our crossbow in peace, and think of a strategy to deal with the minions before approaching their boss, and our main bounty.
A trap and a web later, and Floyd is ours, absorbed into wherever it is he'll live until we dump him in jail. With that, it's time to return to town and see who is next on the list.
Some guy at the Water Facility. "Turn your brown water blue." Sounds delightful.
Final Word
I could have kept playing Stranger's Wrath with no major issues. It controls well, it looks pretty good, and while the writing isn't stellar, it's unusual. Well, it's odd. Suitable for an Oddworld game, I suppose.
The sole reason I didn't keep playing was just that it was late and I was tired, though the briefest of hints of motion sickness might have had a hand in it too. Both perspectives were snappy and responsive, and quick movements on wide monitors don't seem to sit well with me. But don't get me wrong, I was nowhere close to hurling. This game is a fine action-adventure for those that was something a little different.
And it is different. Those critters will make or break the game for you. If you like switching up your ammunition or gadgets between lethal and non-lethal, silent or statement-making, you might find that Stranger's Wrath can offer something quite substantial. If you don't like managing your inventory and just want to thwack things until they're unconscious, your mileage may vary.
I mean, I do lean on the simple side of things, but I can see myself trying out different strategies and finding out what works, even if I end up settling on one and ignoring the rest. It'll be interesting to see what the rest of the game holds.
Annoyingly, the 1001 write up spoils something, luckily I've no idea what. Work that one out for yourselves - I'm trying not to spoil the spoiler for you, should you want to play Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath.
I recommend you do. It's perhaps not a title you'd normally gravitate towards, but I reckon it'll reward those who do. A hidden gem in a world of dirt.
Fun Facts
This game has been remade and ported to several systems after its original Xbox release, including the Ouya. Remember that?
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, developed by Oddworld Inhabitants, first released in 2005.
Version played: Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD, PC, 2010.