Shane
The years was 1997 when PlayStation gamers first met Abe, an inhabitant of Oddworld.
An iconic game of it’s time and still revered as one of the best games of it’s kind (puzzle / platformer) it also started an Oddworld saga which saw five titles produced and a sixth (Soulstorm) due for release this year (2020).
Of the series there was one game that stood out from the rest due to it’s diversity in play – when compared to the other four. This was Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath.
Released in 2005 exclusively then for the original Xbox, you play as a newly introduced character only known as Stranger.
A bounty hunter, Stranger roams from town to town picking up jobs to bring in, dead or alive, outlaws.
He soon discovers a plot taking place by a chap known as Sekto, where he is tormenting a race who were once guarded by a now extinct set of Skeefs.
Stranger takes it upon himself to free the civilians and take down Sekto.
Played in both first and third person view Stranger himself is a humanoid creature, a being with few words spoken but where his limited vocabulary ensues his actions and the originality of play make Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath one of the best in the series to play.
Now ported over to Switch, you can take Stranger everywhere with you with his penchant for critters and hatred for baddies.
In a first ever – that has yet to be repeated in any game yet, you will use small creatures found within the Oddworld environment as your ammunition for your crossbow.
From bees as bullets, Stunkz for stunning, Boombats as rockets and more you will have a menagerie of small critters at your disposal providing that you explore and find them.
Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath has an RPG-like element in the sense that you will converse with many NPC’s in differing locations usually in relation to either finding an outlaw, collecting your Bounty, buying items and some that you come across may have a side quest or at the very least offer a nugget of helpful info.
With a signature ‘Oddworld’ humour Stranger’s Wrath was a game that was ahead of it’s time – which, like the very original Abe game, has made it a legendary title in it’s own right.
It successfully broke away from the puzzle / platform genre the other titles in the franchise are and could easily be a winning stand alone game.
Stranger’s Wrath for Switch has had a HD graphical do-over with enhanced visuals for the portable console – even in docked mode on a large screen it looks like a current gen title.
Also released on Xbox Live, PSN, iOS and Android Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath has really found it’s home on Nintendo’s Switch.
One of my personally most played games of all time, Stranger’s Wrath is one that even after completing it, you go back for more.
Released: January 2020
Rating: G
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Just Add Water
Publisher: Microids, Oddworld Inhabitants
