Oddworld Inhabitants’ follow-up to Oddworld: New ‘N’ Tasty! has been formally revealed to be titled Oddworld: Soulstorm, and is due to release in 2017. There’s an air of confusion surrounding the announcement, though. 2014’s New ‘N’ Tasty! was a re-imagining/remake of the original PlayStation game Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, leading many to believe that any potential sequel would be the same type of deal, i.e. a remake of Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus. However, the press release for Soulstorm makes no mention of the game being as such.
It reads as follows:
Oddworld Inhabitants Inc. are today proud to announce Oddworld: Soulstorm, now being co-developed by Oddworld’s own internal teams in California and the UK; and in conjunction with Frima Studio in Québec, Canada.
A follow-up to the critically acclaimed* release of Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, Oddworld: Soulstorm picks up from Abe’s genesis and directly follows on from the overthrow of RuptureFarms and the liberation of his blighted workmates.
Having defeated Molluck The Glukkon, his former boss and RuptureFarms’ meanest inhabitant, Abe soon finds himself – along with 300 newly emancipated Mudokons – without food, water or a place to call home. Stranded alone in the desert, they find solace in a strange new brew – a delicious drink that has insidious ramifications for their newfound freedom.
Series creator Lorne Lanning extends the confusion further by suggesting that Soulstorm will be re-telling of a story fans are already familiar with.
There was a deeper, darker, and more sinister story that we never got to tell. Soulstorm gives us the opportunity to flesh out more meat on the bones of an original spine, but re-tell the fable from a very different angle.
By the looks of it, we’re not so much going to get a direct remake of Abe’s Exoddus, but a different version of the original, complete with new features and an expanded narrative. But despite the misdirection, the name Soulstorm is undoubtedly a direct reference to Soulstorm Brew, the name of the drink made from mulched Modokon bones in Exoddus, so expect some carry-over between the two games if it doesn’t ultimately end up being a direct remake.
There’s no news on which platforms Oddworld: Soulstorm will be available on, but Oddworld Inhabitants say to keep your eyes on the studio’s social network pages for any future updates.
