Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee - New 'n' Tasty Reviews
New 'n' Tasty is a fantastic way to rediscover a cleverly designed, grotesquely beautiful puzzle-platforming classic.
New 'n' Tasty! is angry because it holds a cartoon mirror up to the injustices of the modern world: to every clothes factory that falls down or blows up because corners were cut in the race to make 99p T-shirts, and to every water supply privatised in the name of hamburgers or fizzy drinks. Graphics lose their luster. Design tricks become predictable and then forgettable. Injustice, it turns out, rarely goes out of fashion.
If you haven't played Abe's Oddysee, this is definitely the best way to experience it
The most fragile hero of side-scrolling platforming returns in a beautiful reimagining of Abe's Oddysee.
When it works, Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty is a beautiful, quirky, and devious puzzle platformer that deserves a spot alongside the likes of LIMBO, Another World and the original Abe's Oddysee in the gaming canon. Unfortunately, it doesn't work nearly often enough.
We realise it's not a popular outlook. Games should generally be appreciated for what they are rather than blasted for what they're not, but that's very difficult to do in this case. New 'n' Tasty is an acceptable imitation of Abe's Oddysee, but nothing more. It has its moments of inspiration – the Stockyards stage is so beautifully realised that it can momentarily trigger that "this is what I remember the original looking like!" false memory – but it's not enough to make up for the frustrations that come from the many, many unnecessary changes. Even the sound of Abe's chant, which once sounded mystical and otherworldly, now just sounds like babbling. We're very torn. As this is the only way to play Abe's Oddysee on Switch, we begrudgingly recommend it. But we do so with our arms folded, and pouting. Harrumph.
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty has had a protracted journey to the Wii U, and remnants of that legacy can be found here. Overall, however, we have an attractive, beautifully designed and clever platformer on the eShop, which is also fairly unique on the store. Sometimes a wait is worthwhile, and this one's odyssey to reach Nintendo hardware was worth the effort.
If anyone knows how to bring a classic onto modern stage, it's Just Add Water. Not just an excellent port of a great title, but a solid game in its own right, Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty is fully able to proudly rub shoulders with any puzzle-platformer released in the last ten years.
It's an excellent re-imagining of an old classic that will surely please both veterans and curious newcomers alike. Even if Abe was the reluctant hero of Oddworld, New 'N' Tasty! is giving him the attention he deserves.
It's the same game released in 2014 for PS4, and then ported to PS3 and Vita. It's a superb platform adventure, with a touching message and an unforgettable cast. But, if you played back then, here you won't find anything new, neither good or bad, because everything it's here, from the real time savestate to... not controlling Abe with the D-pad.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If you didn't get a chance to play this as a kid or take the opportunity to play the remake, I'd strongly recommend giving it a go before Abe Soulstorm - the reimagining of the game's sequel - arrives on the PS5 next year. Though the humour is juvenile at best, with Abe often communicating in chuckles and farts, it is a perfect example of someone finding light and hope in utter darkness. We could all do with a bit of that right now, couldn't we?
Yet what New 'n' Tasty does right overwhelmingly outweighs its few annoyances. The level of care that went into this remake will make you fall in love with Oddworld all over again and if you've never taken part, now is the perfect time to do so. Just Add Water has proven that we definitely need more Abe.
Taken altogether, New 'n' Tasty still makes the Oddworld experience totally worth it. The game is more charming than it is frustrating; you just have to go into it knowing that it's a bit of a dungeon crawl where you have to keep track of the greater world around you rather than a straightforward platformer.
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty is roughly the same frequently soul-crushing, yet unique and rewarding game it was in the '90s. Even if you hated it back then, it's probably worth investigating the remake just to see if your puzzle skills have improved, even if there aren't a whole lot of extras ready for you this time around. In the end, Abe's adventure is a tale worth telling.
One of the best remakes ever, but also a puzzle platformer that defies its age to offer an enjoyable challenge to gamers both young and old.
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty is a great remake of a classic platformer that feels right at home on Nintendo Switch.
Abe's first side-scrolling adventure has been faithfully recreated and visually enhanced, making for a thoroughly modern feeling platformer and puzzle experience
Oddworld New 'n' Tasty tells a story of a world that contains a great amount of injustice, from the persecution of defenceless creatures to the tyranny of people who hold far too much power. It's a story that is just as relevant now as it was sixteen years ago. However, the title is also an ode to gaming from a forgotten era, when campaigns took a while to complete and violence wasn't the main objective. With a lick of HD paint and tweaks to gameplay to accommodate modern gamers, this title has found its place amidst the new generation of consoles and there is absolutely no reason why this type of game couldn't reclaim its crown. Long live Oddworld.
The remake of Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty is a success of style, fidelity and gameplay. Adding a few elements to the original, the game confirms itself as a milestone for a genre lost in time that finds a way to live anew.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Even with these downsides I cannot recommend New 'n' Tasty enough. There are not enough games of this type on the market these days, especially ones of this quality. Anyone who enjoys puzzle games owes it to themselves to check out this series. The Oddworld games hold a special place in my heart, and are definitely some of the most charming titles from a forgotten genre.