Oddworld: Soulstorm
Rating Summary
Based on 39 critic reviews
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Top Critic
Soulstorm has oodles of charm, but tedious design and annoying bugs make an experience that only the most hardcore and forgiving Oddworld fans might enjoy
Top Critic
Oddworld: Soulstorm clearly comes from a very passionate, dedicated group of developers. Although it is very rough in places, there are parts of it that really do stick out as excellent examples of both gameplay and storytelling. With more refinement this could have been a shining example of what ground-up remakes could be, but it just falls a little short of the high standards set elsewhere. It's still charming and funny, just like the Mudokens you're trying to save, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.
Top Critic
Abe’s weird little world is a bit darker than I was expecting, but it works, after a fashion. The curious juxtaposition of the art design and the narrative makes a strange, yet compelling, impression on the player. The gameplay can trip you up if you’re not used to that stiffer 90s PC platforming style, but you eventually find those muscles. I ran into a few nasty roadblocks, but I never got impossibly stuck. More than the mechanical hurdles, my biggest hurdles were conceptual. Returning to this world, this flavor of frustration and satisfaction, won’t be for everybody. If you’re looking for a portal into an oft-forgotten slice of gaming history, Oddworld: Soulstorm will open that for you. This is an elevated, modernized window into puzzle platformers of the recent past. A little patience and a little perseverance will introduce you to a strange new world.
Oddworld: Soulstorm is undoubtedly the best-looking entry in the series yet, with dazzling cutscenes and beautiful environments. However, when it comes to gameplay, Oddworld: Soulstorm comes with a lot of bugs, and clunky and confusing controls. This made the overall gameplay more sluggish and cumbersome than it ought to be, and, in turn, made tricky levels frustrating and tedious rather than pleasantly challenging. If you’re keen on the Oddworld franchise and are looking to get lost in Abe’s world once again, Oddworld: Soulstorm will have plenty on offer. However, if you’re looking for an immersive platform adventure with straightforward controls, Oddworld: Soulstorm might not be your best bet.
Oddworld: Soulstorm is a satisfactory offering that's free for PlayStation Plus subscribers in April. But for those that may be thinking of purchasing the title, you may have some Soul searching to consider.
Even amongst some odd design decisions from yesteryear, annoying bugs, and some dull mission moments, I really want another one of these games now.
Abe's second game is so much more than the remake of a PlayStation title that wasn't even going to be in the main series. The base of the original game and the previous remake is greatly expanded, in the visual, artistic, in the sequences, and in the playable. But expanding is not always improving, more is not always better, although in many moments of the game it is.
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Top Critic
Oddworld: Soulstorm is an excellent remake of a delightfully weird '90s platformer with tons of charm, challenge... and annoying bugs.
Top Critic
Oddworld: Soulstorm's charm, characters, and sincere narrative are imprisoned within buggy, erratic software.
Top Critic
Abe's Exoddus gets a generous upgrade in this slightly patchy adventure.
