The second part of the quintology dreamed up by Lorne Lanning, Soulstorm directly follows on from New 'n' Tasty, just as Abe's Exodus followed Abe's Odyssey. Even if, here and there, some will speak of Soulstorm as a remake, this new episode is actually much more than that. Redesigned from A to Z, it even allows itself to rework the original scenario. Thus, the game opens with a row of press clippings presenting the Glukkon Molluck as responsible for the fire in his own factory. Regular players know that these are actually the consequences of the actions of Abe, who freed 300 of his comrades from the clutches of an entrepreneur willing to literally sacrifice his manpower and turn them into tinned meat. This screenplay foretaste continues with a real introductory cinematic, which sets the tone for the progress made in this area by the developers. The series has always delivered high-quality cutscenes for their time, and this feature once again answers the call. Some of these sequences are worthy of an animated film, the facial expressions of the characters alone being enough to give a humorous or dramatic tone to the events. Each of these scenes is therefore a real small reward for the player, who can benefit in all from more than an hour of happy viewing.
We are not going to reveal the details of the scenario here, but you can imagine that Abe will once again have to save as many of his fellow creatures as possible. We therefore find the "gamespeak" system, which makes it easy to give simple orders (follow me/wait) to one of our disciples or to all those around us, in order to lead them safely to the portals at the liberating birds, while using the passage of some of these faithful to activate such and such a mechanism. The behavior of the Mudokons is generally very good, since they turn out to be "smart" enough to systematically reproduce Abe's behavior. This will not prevent them from being crushed by a door or devoured by a more or less canine creature from time to time! After all, taking care of his followers is part of the player's duties. Bewitchment, another mechanic inherited from the first Oddworlds, is also making a comeback. This ability allows you to take possession of certain enemies, and use them to open a passage or eliminate other opponents.
MOTUS AND SEWED MOUTH
Oddworld Soulstorm also offers a good dose of infiltration, since it is possible to walk on tiptoe, so as not to wake up sleeping guards, for example. The animation that follows is also quite hilarious, especially when many followers reproduce it automatically. Same observation for the times when our disciples seek to hide in the surrounding cupboards in order to follow Abe's example. Shelter behind low walls (sometimes destructible) or hide in wisps of smoke are part of the "discreet actions" at our disposal. In addition, it is now possible to tie up a sleeping guard and/or search him to steal some items. The alert system uses three levels of vigilance (calm, medium, high) which are clearly indicated on the screen, knowing that a few seconds of hide and seek are usually enough for the guards to return to their initial round. 
The platform aspect of the game is more enjoyable than ever. Abe has a handy double jump, automatically turns to the right side when you want to climb up or down a ledge, and even gives a valuable hint to the player by staggering when he gets to the edge of a platform. The rigidity of 90s gameplay is well and truly a thing of the past. In addition, Soulstorm innovates by now integrating an inventory and a crafting component. Searching through jars, trash cans, dumpsters and other cupboards allows you to obtain water bottles (to send into the flames to put them out) or beer bottles (to throw on campfires to ignite wooden walls or burn enemies alive). But it is also possible to recover various components, necessary for the manufacture of mines, antidote, lighting bombs and other smoke screens. This craft aspect is rather welcome, because it significantly enriches the gameplay without ever becoming too predominant. It even allows us to equip our disciples with certain objects, which will use them or not depending on whether they are ordered to behave aggressively or passively (these two commands being added to the classic follow/wait duo).
(2 + 3) / 2 = 2,9?
Technically, the game obviously abandons the 2D of the 90s and even evolves the 2,5D of New 'n' Tasty. The developers are now talking about "2,9D", a term that is a bit marketing but which still reflects a certain reality. The camera indeed regularly changes position and zoom level (sometimes very pronouncedly), in order to play on the perspectives and to offer panoramas, angles of view and a feeling of gigantism that would not have been possible with "fixed" screens, whether 2D or 3D. If we are generally content to go left or right, which also makes it easier to get started, we still have the impression of evolving in a truly three-dimensional and “open” universe. This aspect works very well and goes hand in hand with overall satisfactory graphics. We can always notice here and there some effects that are less successful than others (some explosions for example) or textures that lack a bit of detail, but the general impression remains very good. In any case, the artistic direction is so singular and pleasant that it takes precedence over the purely technical aspect. The game is still not free from defects, starting with the absence of French voices. Localized subtitles happily answer the call, but some of them sometimes miss a few spaces between words. It's not much, but it still looks bad, just like the little bugs that still need to be eradicated (body of an interlocutor frozen during an ingame "cutscene", bird portal that refuses to reappear…).
In addition, the selection system tangles the brushes a bit when several actions are possible in the same place. We would like to be able to tie up an enemy before searching him (in order to avoid his awakening), but the game sometimes imposes the opposite on us, when he does not favor opening the closet located in the background. We were also surprised by the display of some tutorial messages in the fourth or fifth level, when the actions involved were already useful, even necessary, in the previous levels. All this did not prevent us from sincerely appreciating the adventure, and taking great pleasure in saving as many Mudokons as possible. There are more than 1300 to release, and the game offers us more or less four endings (the "worst", the "bad", the "good" and a bonus sequence) depending on the percentage of followers collected. Another motivation to play the saviors: releasing at least 80% of the Mudokons in seven of the fifteen basic levels gives access to two additional levels. The lifespan thus exceeds a dozen hours, and can even be doubled if you try to find all the secret areas. In the end, Oddworld Soulstorm fulfills all its promises and therefore bodes well for the future. Because yes, we hope to see one day the end of the quintology that was promised to us more than 20 years ago...
