Oddworld: Soulstorm Reviews
Soulstorm is a conservative sequel that improves on every aspect of previous Oddworld games. It brings back the 2.5D platforming and puzzle solving levels, with better controls and an impressive artistic design.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Oddworld: Soulstorm is the best 2D stealth puzzle adventure game ever made. From its variety of well-crafted gameplay elements to its sprawling levels that beg to be replayed; it's an incredible journey and with quite a touching story, too.
There are some cobwebs to shake out of Oddworld: Soulstorm, and some that will remain even after a hot shower, but you'd be hard-pressed to name very many games that are doing what this series is doing in 2021. I'm glad that Oddworld Inhabitants is still around, doing their weird and interesting thing.
Oddworld: Soulstorm is an advancement on previous games in the series in every way, but that’s both its biggest achievement and the source of its problems. The complexity and variety in its locations is commendable, as is the wealth of tools at your disposal for dealing with its many tricks and foes. But many of its systems don’t work together reliably, or don’t respond with the necessary speed, which leaves an experience that’s rarely as entertaining as it promises to be.
I don’t simply just adore Oddworld: Soulstorm, I also deeply respect its vision. Lorne Lanning and his team took their time to craft an incredibly well-polished game aimed specifically at fans of the franchise. Yet it’s so fun to play and has such an engaging story that even those who have never played an Oddworld game before will still have a great time with its endearing characters, polished controls, and creative puzzles. This game took forever to come out, but it was most certainly worth the wait.
Abe's Exoddus gets a generous upgrade in this slightly patchy adventure.
Oddworld: Soulstorm is Oddworld at its best. It's creative, clever, funny, enjoyable to play
A highly enjoyable platform puzzler, with some cleverly complex set pieces and great presentation – but it lacks that final layer of polish that could have made it something really special.
Oddworld: Soulstorm presents itself well and shows a grand vision for the series, but as a modern game in 2021, it's just not where it needs to be. It can be extremely awkward to pull off even basic manoeuvres, some new features miss the mark, and certain levels made us want to quit altogether. Bugs exacerbate some of the gameplay frustrations with wonky AI, and ultimately the play experience can be frustratingly rigid. Fans will love this reimagining of a classic, and the franchise's unique charm shines through, but it's a tough sell for anyone coming to the series fresh.
Oddworld: Soulstorm's repetitive gameplay doesn’t make it a bad game, but it does limit the demographic of players that will thoroughly enjoy the game all the way through. Its story and visuals are very impressive and help carry a lot of the game's weight, but playing through hour-long levels with little story elements in between can make Oddworld: Soulstorm a very slow burn. Fans of the Oddworld franchise and 2D platforming games won't be disappointed, but Oddworld: Soulstorm won't keep everyone hooked for very long.
Oddworld: Soulstorm is clearly a labour of love, and I can see that in everything it does. The ambition that bleeds into its story, characters, and gameplay are all evident, but the execution is just sorely lacking everywhere it matters. Perhaps my perspective on past games is warped by nostalgia, but this isn’t the road I imagined Abe and company going down. It’s in the right direction, but they’ve veered off course and landed themselves in a ditch.
Oddworld Soulstorm is a strong follw-up to New'n'Tasty!. It's bigger, very clever, offers some some great new mechanics and its world is still incredibly charming and relevant. But, sadly, it lacks some polish and can be very frustrating because of its bugs or A.I. issues. Only the bravest will succeed in saving all the Mudokons, But in the end, it will be worth it.
Review in French | Read full review
A great narrative Oddworld game, but with too many technical problems and a I.A. that sometimes will destroy your nerves.
Review in Italian | Read full review
With an excellent stage and puzzle design, an engaging story that takes some unexpectedly dark turns, and a great presentation, Oddworld: Soulstorm is as good as the first entries in the series if not even better thanks to some new gameplay mechanics. The high challenge level and some other issues here and there may put off some players, but don't let them stop you, even if you just have a passing interest in the series, or the genre as a whole: a game like Oddworld: Soulstorm hasn't been released in a very long time.
Oddworld: Soulstorm offers a refreshing take as a reimagining of an old classic. It provides platforming goodness, a bit of trial-and-error with situations, lots of secrets to find, and thousands of Mudokons to save. Sadly, it does have some noticeable shortcomings related to its controls, friendly AI movement, and save system.
Oddworld: Soulstorm is a big, beautiful puzzle platformer with the spirit of Abe's adventures intact and some interesting new ideas, but it's all very quickly undone by imprecise controls, tedious level design and a shocking lack of polish. Oddworld fans will definitely want to check it out, but they may be better off waiting for a few more updates before investing their time, and even then might come away just a tad disappointed.
Even with some technical issues and a lack of originality, Oddworld: Soulstorm is still one of the ideal games of what Abe's adventures should be. Good.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Oddworld: Soulstorm is an imperfect game, like many other, but unlinke most of them it accepts the idea of taking risks to achieve something different. Unfortunately, it only sometimes happens, but it was worth trying. As Abe knows well, there's no way other than fighting (or jumping, or chanting…) to achieve what you want.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Oddworld: Soulstorm is hands-down the best entry in the series to date. It takes everything great about these games and packages it up in a beautiful and modern adventure that mirrors its classic gameplay mechanics used for over 20 years. Some of the item management systems weigh on the pacing, and the controls take a few hours to master, but there’s just something unique in every stage that makes this adventure enjoyable from beginning to end.
Oddworld Soulstorm modernises and reimagines the series classic gameplay, but doesn't hold back on the difficulty