Oddwords

"Of Canon and Community"

Published at 2024.09.01.

9300 words

Story Rundown

It’s been over three years since Soulstorm dropped and while I have quite a few posts related to the game, if you were following the site, you may have noticed that I never made anything even remotely similar to a game and/or story review.

Truth be told, this isn’t because I didn’t try. The platform I host this site records all edits and I can count at least three if not four drafts I’ve written over the years (as early as the week after release) where I tried reviewing Soulstorm. Some of these were only a couple hundred words, some thousands, resembling more mad rants than coherent, well-argued posts. Unsurprisingly, each and every one of these failed to live up to the standards I try to keep, so they never saw the light of day

The reason for this? Scope.

It’s extremely hard to find a good angle of attack when it comes to the game. Not because there’s nothing to criticize, but because it’s hard to do it in a way that doesn’t sound like I’m merely spewing hate indiscriminately. Consider Shugendo’s excellent video about Soulstorm’s bugs for instance—it’s not necessarily even an exhaustive collection, yet it’s over an hour long. I shudder to think how long an article that handles not only gameplay, but lore too would be.

So, with this in mind, I decided to put a constructive limit on myself and focus only on the story in this post and even there not all of it, just stuff I find noteworthy in the following ways from least to most severe:

Even with this restriction the post ended up being quite long, but I hope you’ll enjoy it and maybe even agree on some stuff with me. As always, you can follow the cutscenes’ transcripts here.

Contents:

Newspaper intro

Type: Missed opportunity

Immediately at the start, one of the biggest negative surprises the game pulled was the fact that—despite appearing on concept art and having been planned as a location during the development of AE—RuptureFarms never once appears in-game as either a playable, cutscene location, or even just a still image (no, the miniatures in the newspapers don’t count).

It’s not that the game doesn’t tell us what happened (Abe, Molluck, and the other characters mention the farm burning down plenty), but I think it’s a huge missed opportunity that they kept the ruins off-screen. Imagine, if instead of opening with the newspaper slide-show, the following scene played out:

Credit: Fuzzle Guy

This way we would have both seen the “source” of what led to Molluck becoming a fugitive and could have introduced a future-game opportunity for Cartel higher-ups to actually already know and plot against Abe if he proves too successful.

Instead what we got was an awkward slide-show, which you can’t even read at your own leisure, as the video pans and switches between scenes wildly to a pumping yet somehow also droning beat, which never quite seems to reach its crescendo.

Obviously there’s enough time to get the gist, but it still feels weird, that if they wanted to go with this newspaper angle either for budgetary or stylistic reasons, why not give control to the player? Those who don’t care could just skip it this way and those who very much do (which I assume are most players of the game) could soak in the info and enter the game immersed in the background.

“Starring Abraham Lure as ‘Abe’”

Type: Nitpick

The rolling film effect doesn’t help the situation either.

Okay, I admit this one is pretty much just the grumpiness talking out of me, but its still a choice I find a little weird. While it is well-known, that OWI wanted to make movies including non-Oddworld ones, I think this inclusion kind of conflicts with the tone of the games until now. None of the games in the series so-far were framed as movies. They all happened from the characters’ perspective.

Of course, a much simpler and less conflicting explanation is that this is simply a nod to the character’s old names and OWI’s roots in film-making, but it still gave me pause long enough to include here.

Train flash-forward

Type: Praise

Yeah, as much as I don’t think there will be many of these, I want to give praise where its due.

While I’m not a huge fan of the way Toby and Alf act in the scene—in terms of movement and speech, I think they’re overly-exaggerated, which turns an otherwise serious situation unintentionally comedic—starting the story before the final climax is a nice callback to Abe’s Oddysee. It sets up the whole “depending on how well you do, the story will split”-angle and it gives a point in time to the player to look forward to.

I do wish they emphasized the possibility of actually crashing into the Brewery, because until now this was never an issue in the story. The major danger in the scene is the flying Sligs, whose effectiveness is kind of up in the air. They’re completely unable to harm Alf or Toby, despite shooting straight at them, yet their bullets can also somehow penetrate across the train’s hull.

What I imagine was the original intent is that since the security forces at the Brewery were meant to be Wolvarks, who are a lot more competent than Sligs, they would’ve put two and two together and ignored the Brewmaster’s fit and just closed the gate when they realized Abe is most likely real and the runaway train heading towards them is most likely his doing.

“12 Hours Earlier”

Type: Missed opportunity

You’d never guess how many hours passed between the two events.

What I think the idea was with was to bridge over questions like “Why did nobody send investigators when the Mines / FeeCo stopped?”, but with the Brew becoming deadly after 48 hours, I think it would’ve made a nice raising of stakes, if Abe’s journey took (almost) two days.

That way there could’ve been a good emotional opportunity where the trio had to argue about whether to keep the Brew to treat those most affected by it or use it to speed up the train and get faster to their destination. This kind of already happens, but by the time it becomes relevant we’re already at the tail end of the story and it’s hardly shown or implied that any Mudokons with Abe are suffering.

In Exoddus, Abe’s path took at least a few days: One day to get across the desert, about one day to get across Necrum and the Vaults, he gets into FeeCo during the late afternoon, the Barracks seem to be around noon as well, BoneWerkz is underground, so who knows, and by the end the day seems to be setting again when Abe reaches the Brewery.

This I think is a far more natural pacing. Even if he does occasionally use trains, the distances he crosses are gargantuan. Every single facility in the series is implied to be sprawling mega-factories, far bigger than what you’d find in real life. Traversing these the normal way would take quite a while, but Abe is actively fighting and sneaking his way through.

Obviously, I’m not asking for OWI to account for every single action Abe takes down to the second. That’d be impossible and pointless. I just think saying that all this took 12 hours for him is a stretch, which could’ve easily been changed in a way that actively improves the story.

The Necrum Courier

Type: Fundamental flaw

I think the mere existence of this character makes the entire plot lose some of its seriousness. I mean, we have a character, who:

I could buy that Mudokons are naturally sturdy creatures, even if all the games in the series until now implied otherwise. I could even buy that the guy somehow managed to get to Abe with the map. But doing this while he’s actively bleeding out as well?

I know gunshots don’t always cause the injured to keel over and stay down, but once the adrenalin dissipates, you’re not gonna sprint, especially not when you’re suffering fantasy-fent withdrawal.

I understand that the point was to show that the guy has such undying belief and loyalty in Abe (and his eventual revolution), that he freely offered his life to help him, but I think it was overdone and the scenes he’s featured in lose much of their impact, due to the viewer not being trusted enough to understand what’s going on.

He is seriously built different.

I think a much better way to handle this would’ve been to not have him be shot. He’d still die in Abe’s arms, but because of the Brew. This way its deadliness could slap the player in the face early and keep the consequences in their minds through the entire game.

This way Abe would also have the, ehm, Brew of Damocles over his head the entire game: “You might have physically saved all these Mudokons, but they’re still on death’s door until you fix this,” which could’ve been a great motivator for the character.

The Courier could’ve also explained, that the reason why he stayed alive for so long was due to the Queen Bee. The game already heavily implies that the Bee(s) have some sort of healing or preserving power. Both the Royal Jelly (which increase Abe’s max health) and the Keeper’s home being basically a hive (and her being so ancient, yet still strong) point towards this.

This could’ve been potentially another character-forming moment for Abe, since he cannot continue his journey without the Bee, yet the Courier cannot go with him due to his exhaustion, and they cannot wait, since Monsaic is actively burning down.

This way Abe would have to still resign himself to the fact that he cannot save them all and also be burdened by the knowledge that there will be others who—just because he is seen as the messiah—will lay their lives down for him.

The Monsaic Shaman

Type: Missed opportunity

Seriously, what was the point of this bloke? The designers and animators made an awesome character model… and then his entire purpose was to yap to Abe for two minutes, before he is crushed by debris, he could’ve easily sidestepped.

Such a cool design, so quickly discarded…

This character fails the mentor role in all the ways BigFace—who’s suspiciously absent from Soulstorm—didn’t. While BigFace too sent Abe on dangerous and even deadly quests, he was also the first to jump to his aid when he truly needs it and the only Mudokon who still vouches for him, even when the others want him killed. He also fairly clearly tells Abe why he needs to do what he does and his guidance results in Abe becoming a stronger and more capable person, imbued with divine power. Also, BigFace would’ve sidestepped the logs, I’m convinced.

I assume the point of the character is to face Abe with the reality of his situation, that he must grow into his role and also to provide us with the first hints of Abe still remembering Sam, but I think it ends up being a largely pointless scene. Neither Abe, nor the player receives any meaningful knowledge and it feels like not even the writers knew what to do with the character after this, as he is so unceremoniously and quickly killed off.

Maybe it’s also meant to symbolize Abe growing past the need for the “old mentor” trope, but this really isn’t the case as I’ll discuss later.

A much more natural way for this scene could’ve been if it is indeed BigFace, who Abe talks to. He would’ve acted in a far more understanding way, yet would’ve also reminded Abe, that his actions will not go unpunished. During the attack on Monsaic, he would’ve helped Abe evacuate some of the Mudokons, however, at the end he is forced to sacrifice himself to stall Molluck and save Abe and the others. This way Abe is still forced to surpass his “old mentor”, who can no longer save him if he dies, but he also goes out in a blaze of glory, setting a shining example for Abe.

Where are the natives?

Type: Unfixable without retcon

Did they vanish in the smoke that’s all over this scene?

Okay, so Abe escaped with 300 Mudokons and then escapes from Monsaic with 300 Mudokons. So where are the others? The monks and slingshot wearing guards, those three tribal leaders who are so quick to sentence him to death? I just talked about him, but still, where’s BigFace?

In general, the little we see of Monsaic in Soulstorm feels like a completely different area, than the one we’re used to. I understand (and to an extent even appreciate) that the story doesn’t want to dwell on court intrigue so early, but them not even being mentioned is a glaring omission.

“We’re discovered”

Type: Praise

While I’m not a fan that Molluck is entirely convinced that Abe is hiding there (instead of merely having strong suspicions), I do like the consistency. Abe destroys a Slig encampment on his way back to RuptureFarms, which means Molluck has likely been long aware of its existence. Therefore him checking it first makes a lot of sense and the game restrains itself from explicitly mentioning this.

Molluck’s Return

Type: Fundamental flaw

Oh boy, this is one of the main reasons I started writing this post. In general I have a lot of beef when it comes to Molluck’s scenes, but since this is his first appearance in Soulstorm, I think it’s particularly harmful to his character.

Molluck: What are they doing? Did those fugitive morons burn down their own hideout?,

Slig Pilot: It sounds idiotic but that’s exactly what it looks like.

Molluck: Haha, Bad Quarma for burnin’ down my farm, ha. Okay! First we whack that blue bastard, then we can finally clear my name and make things right with our creepy Magog Cartel investors.

Slig Pilot: Those guys terrify me, boss.

Molluck: That’s why we’re here. So we can get to Abe before they can get to us. Alright, now I want your Slig pals positioned all around this place, cause we are not letting that Abe guy get away from us again!

Slig Pilot: You got it, Boss!

For one, if Molluck needs to clear his image, why is he not more worried about Monsaic burning? If Abe dies there and then, he is cooked.

Secondly, and perhaps even more importantly, the scene fails to establish time. Yes, we know we’re 12 hours before the game’s end, but when did this happen in relation to NNT’s good ending? Hours, days, weeks? Molluck sounds urgent, but his scar is already fully healed. Has he immediately flew from RuptureFarms to Monsaic or did he camp out somewhere for a while? Where did he get his Sligs from if he’s hunted? How did he even escape, when the last game ends with him being stunned and RF burning down?

For such a short scene, so many questions are raised, which are never answered. This is a problem because Molluck is meant to be the main antagonist. We should be aware of situation somewhat, both to understand what drives him and so that the player has a reason to “fear him” (in big quotes, obviously, but work with me.)

And while we do kind of get a reason for the former, Molluck ultimately ends up as a complete pushover, who always plays catch-up with Abe, never quite reaching him. If his blimp went down, nothing would have changed in the plot until the good ending.

I personally really dislike this, because it trivializes his character. Molluck in Oddysee or even New ‘n’ Tasty was a threat that hung in Abe’s neck. Short term he’d have Abe shot or gassed, long term he’d butcher his friends and (in a sense) family for a few bucks.

Meanwhile in Soulstorm he is pretty much an unintentional comic relief character always getting dunked on by literally everyone. I understand that he’s crestfallen and this is him on his lowest, but he really lost all what made him scary. Even in the ending he’s pretty much sidelined while the Pilot Slig does everything.

Stoopy

Type: Nitpick

What the flip was his problem?

I genuinely don’t understand this character’s point. He appears once and never again. Beyond being a meme-source, his entire existence is pointless and could’ve easily been replaced with Toby, to give the poor guy a little more screen time.

His only line is also spoken by Alf instead of him.

In general, the story already pays little attention to its named characters, so throwing in another one, only to immediately forget about him is, well, kind of lame.

Okay, I take it back, this guy can straight up teleport!

The Ruins / Sorrow Valley / The Gorge

Type: Missed opportunity

What I really don’t like about these areas is that they exist in a vacuum. All of AO’s and AE’s areas made sense in universe and had a place in the world. I don’t even mean like deep backstories, but stuff like “Paramonia is the native lands of the Paramites.” It made the world feel a lot more lived in and gave Abe’s journey a real weight and continuity instead of merely passing through levels.

Meanwhile the aforementioned three areas have pretty much nothing. The issue isn’t even that they’re ugly or something (though I think they definitely look less inspired than the usual Oddworld level), rather that Abe—and thus the player—never learns anything about them. Alf just says “uhh yeah, go through here and here and then you’ll get to Phat Station and also get a train, ta,” which is just so boring.

What could this place be?

The Ruins feature doors with Mudokon handprints. Are they and old Mudokon fortress that fell centuries ago? What about the rusted out mining huts in Sorrow Valley? Were those built by Glukkon prospectors until it proved to be a bust? Why is the area immediately outside Monsaic Lines so bland?

Curing the Brew

Type: Fundamental flaw

It’s safe to say, that this scene is perhaps the single most appalling one for me in this game. For years before the game’s release, the main slogan was that Soulstorm is the “darker and more serious” re-imagination of Exoddus… So why did the Brew become such a massive pushover instead of the deadly drug it was meant to be?

I mean, goodness’ sake, Abe heals Mudokons with literal bat shit mixed with some roadside herbs. The nicest interpretation of this I can give is that it’s meant to be a metaphor for healing the Industrial world’s maladies using natural remedies, but it just doesn’t work.

All it does is trivialize the game’s biggest ticking clock. It turns the dread of “Oh crap, Abe and co. all drank the brew, what will happen to them now?” to “Phew, we can just make magic juice and fix all our immediate problems.”

And indeed, it never once feels like the main characters are in a hurry until the Brewery scene. Sure, there’s the occasional half-hearted mention of Brew rations running out, but the whole survival aspect of the story poofs out of existence.

Compare this with how Exoddus handles the Brew. Despite being far more goofy with its fart jokes and whatnot, AE had a certain reverence towards the Brew, which it showed off during cutscenes. The early stinger, where Abe learns that its made from the Mudokon bones is already a good example, but I think its what follows immediately afterwards that really sells it: The Mudokons are sick… and you have absolutely no way of saving them. In a series where you’ve been conditioned to not leave a single soul behind, this is devastating. With a little exaggeration, the player is as helpless as Abe himself.

So when you do brave the Vaults and eventually return with the Healing Ring, it feels like a real accomplishment—Abe received a cool new scar and overcame the most insidious trap the Glukkons threw at him until then. The fact that this only happens after around the halfway point of the game further drives this feeling home. You have a clear goal in mind and a very obvious obstacle, that you can work towards defeating.

How this slipped through when not only were Fleeches replaced with Sleeches, but also the cave contains Slogs is beyond me.

Meanwhile, in Soulstorm the cure is received in the same level its effects are showcased and, after this single level, you hardly ever need to reuse it to heal sick Mudokons again.

Sure, I hear you saying, “but Abe still has to figure out how to cure all Mudokons, not just the ones with him.” Fair point… but even there the method lacks all the pathos of the original: Instead of braving depths and receiving a sign that he’s worthy of supernatural intervention, he’s simply lucky enough to have Toby around who just so happens to know that the ingredients are usually ferried through FeeCo.

Again, I kind of see the point—they’re turning the Industrialists’ tools against them by reusing the ingredients in a way that taints the Brew, but it all boils down to basically fortune.

Imagine, if instead of providing Abe with a single Shrykull use and then doing nothing, the Queen Bee would have been the one to ruin the batch by mixing her honey / magic / both into the Brew. That way you still have the whole “natural remedy” angle, but also the “supernatural help” and you don’t have to contrive Abe somehow managing to “hack” the mixing machine by standing on various pressure plates.

The Mudokons you rescue from here are all fine and dandy immediately afterwards.

Brew in general is handled in a very irreverent way and I just can’t understand why. There’s pretty much zero emphasis put on the fact that it’s made from Mudokons, by Mudokons, to keep Mudokons docile. It’s such a messed up and great concept, that one could see plenty of real life parallels into: Miner towns and their scrip, the way Native Americans were “bought” with alcohol, or even the medieval craze with importing and eating parts of mummies in search for a panacea.

Instead it is quickly relegated to become little more than a gameplay mechanic, that Abe only really comments on using the dedicated quip button. And even there, its use is far less grim than AE’s was. There, while it was obviously funny and wacky that Abe could control his own farts and whatnot, it was still fundamentally a pretty messed up thing to drink the Brew. He was consciously chugging down his distant relatives. Meanwhile in Soulstorm, they’re pretty much just molotov-cocktails.

The annoying part is that it could have worked even better in this game with the whole 2-days lethality concept. Sure, Abe has the cure now, but what if using it too many times makes it lose its efficacy? I’m not advocating for an actual in-game limit of how many times Abe could’ve drank the Brew, just something the story calls attention to to make us worry for the character.

And if you’re asking “if he doesn’t fart, why would Abe even drink the Brew?” Remember, the Brew is said to be a strong stimulant. Imagine if upon drinking it, Abe would’ve seriously sped up (like with MO’s Expresso) or it would’ve restore his health (maybe temporarily) or maybe he could’ve held it in his mouth and spew it out as a makeshift flamethrower (which would’ve fixed the whole “Abe will have no guns -> gets a gun” thing.)

I will have some words about the Brew and its place in the world, but that will come at a later cutscene.

Dead Mudokon’s Letter

Type: Fundamental flaw

I’m kinda surprised Mudokons can even write, but that’s too petty for even a nitpick.

Abe (in another cutscene): I think he means, since we fled the farm, rumors have been spreading, throughout the factories. Mudokons have started escaping, and now they’re trying to find us.

My biggest issue with this scene is the fact, that it—like many others before and after it—implies that Abe is already a legendary figure. While this is obviously the logical conclusion to the character, in his current state it just doesn’t stand.

Abe brought down RuptureFarms, which is a deeply impressive feat on its own, but he had no time to become a celebrity yet. Unless we’re led to believe that a lot of time passed the factory burning down and his escape and, more importantly, that Mudokons are somehow both capable of communicating with the free world and are clever enough to realize they’ve been misled.

Thing is, until now nothing in the series implied these preconceptions. The things Molluck says imply that not a whole lot of time passed, though admittedly there’s his healed scars, so this alone doesn’t hold much water.

However, for the other point there’s really no excuse I could think of. Mudokons, including Abe, were shown to be extremely docile. Abe himself says he “thought he had a good job” and would have lived and died as cattle, had he not eavesdropped on Molluck. And native Mudokons are shown to be antagonistic, if not hostile towards “city Muds,” like Abe, so I can’t think they’d risk their lives to spread the revolution. Except perhaps for BigFace, but he’s sitting in limbo.

The only option this leaves in my mind is that some of whom Abe rescued volunteered to infiltrate other facilities and spread the word, but nothing in the game implies this.

There’s, of course, also the elephant in the room—that is to say the Soulstorm ARG, where the Mudokon resistance has a snazzy name and logo, and seemingly cells in most bigger Magog operations. It’d be fairly simple to say “well duh, all the Mudokons Abe meets on the way have been recruited by Spirit of 1029”, but that’s just kicking the can down the road, since who started SO1029? Who broke those Muds out of the brainwashing and radicalized them enough to stir up an actual rebellion with espionage and whatnot? I don’t think it’s ever quite answered.

The Goat

Type: The Goat (Praise)

The Goat

I haven’t mentioned him in his previous appearance, because he didn’t really have any of his good lines yet, but I must absolutely bring up how much the Pilot Slig’s character was nailed.

He very quickly became my favourite character in the entire story and, funnily enough, I consider him to have the best arc in the entire story. His lines are witty, his delivery is good and the simple cap sets him apart without being anything too fancy.

It is implied (and I believe later confirmed in a podcast), that he is the same Slig as the one who accompanied Molluck to the captive Abe. Because of this he can occasionally slip through a bit of sass or disagreement, that creates a great dynamic between him and the boss.

The fact that they are clearly in conflict, yet must rely on each other allows for moments that no other pairing in the game could. Abe either receives blind praise or inflexible orders, there’s never a point where he must compromise with someone or argue, all of which are things that near constantly happen between the Pilot Slig and Molluck.

The only thing that I consider a bit of a missed opportunity is that he doesn’t have any scars or disfigurement from the lightning strike. I think (besides the cap) it would’ve been a great method of visual storytelling and confirmation that it is indeed the same Slig, without needing to verbally mention this.

“Nobody wants to go to Necrum.”

Type: Missed opportunity / Nitpick

Alf: Oh, look at that. Look where it’s shining. Even though the train is bouncing around, the light stays right on Necrum.

Abe: The Keeper?

Alf: I hope it ain’t telling us-,

Abe: The Keeper is in Necrum.

Alf: Nobody wants to go to Necrum.

One thing that’s consistently bothering me in the story is how characters know stuff they likely shouldn’t. Like, why would a bunch of RuptureFarms slaves know about Necrum Mines?

Unless, of course, because of the radio casts and whatnot that blares all over the game, but then why do they expect it to be so dreary? I don’t figure propaganda would emphasize that it’s a tomb raiding-site.

Abe: I also found another guy. He left a note for me. He said we got to know what’s on this tape.

Alf: Is that an old Blahtta tape?

Toby: Not too old. They still use them, at Communication Outposts.

This is another instance of this in the same cutscene. Fine, Toby knows how to operate a train, but he’s also aware of where outdated tech is still used? Was that also in the manual?

A Blast From the Past

Type: Praise

News you can’t abuse!

Before I tear into the tape scene, I must praise the little nods to the old games here. Whether it’s the nasty Baby Chow Fuzzle, the original Magog on the March newscaster Slig, or the Chill Pill poster on the other side of the wall, seeing these old things again will me with a certain warmth.

Now, how much sense it makes for these random ads to be plastered over a communication tower I don’t know, but this is Oddworld, they’d probably stitch ads in your eyelids if they could.

The Tape

Type: Fundamental flaw

The tape, the big reveal, that the Brew is actually bad… I’m just not sure who this is meant to shock. Old fans know, new fans will figure out from the title and perhaps the trailer, and the fact that the character don’t even suspect it is just baffling to me. “Hmm, we know that the Glukkons are evil and are working to oppress us, but surely they wouldn’t mess with the one thing each and every one of us are all readily consuming.”

But even if we put this to the side, there’s a far larger can of worms that this cutscene tears up and spills all over the plot’s metaphorical spaghetti:

Brewmaster: They will not be running to the cities because they will die before they ever get there.

Brewmaster: They will not be meeting with Union Representatives because they will never reach one.

Brewmaster: They will not be causing you PR nightmares because they will be dead.

Union Representatives? PR nightmares? What? This is the series where Molluck can casually say he’ll chop up his workforce and his entire board of directors laughs with him and says it’s a great idea!

Let me make things clear, the issue here isn’t that the Brewmaster wants to keep Mudokons enslaved. That fits well with the series so far. My issue is that this implies that Oddworld has worker’s unions and that the public at large would decry this so much that it’d cause a loss of profit / face / opportunities for the Cartel.

The former I can buy with a huge grain of salt. This isn’t the first time such things existing has been hinted. In fact, concept art for the Oddworld movie does directly show one:

Source: TOGG

But even here I just can’t imagine the workforce has an actual strong say in things. Even in real life unions have often been busted or have been strong-armed by organized crime so it’s more than likely that Oddworld’s unions would be little more than fronts by the Cartel for a false sense of say and justice.

Still, the latter point is irreconcilable with the previous game’s plot, unless we’re led to believe everyone at RuptureFarms was completely bonkers or that they somehow planned to sell Mudokon Pops as not actually made out of Mudokons. Neither of which makes much sense, seeing how the newspapers and the tape imply that at least publicly the Mudokons are meant to be second-class citizens, but still citizens, instead of cattle.

News you can abuse!

Yet there’s also TV shows that directly call them slaves and show the concentration camp-like situation inside Vykkers Labs? There’s just too many things going against each other for me to suspend my disbelief at this point and we’re hardly at the halfway mark of the story.

Morguer

Type: Missed opportunity

One thing I really don’t like about how Soulstorm handles its trio is the fact that none of them ever come face to face with Abe. For being the secondary antagonists, they’re forced to be extremely passive due to how the plot operates. This severely limits the amount of screen-time and interactions they can have, which ultimately leads to these characters feeling extremely shallow and incomplete before their eventual death.

The reason why I tagged this part a “missed opportunity” is because Morguer comes so damn close to being the exception. Out of the three main Glukkons (aside from Molluck), he’s the only one who doesn’t immediately go “nuh-uh” when his Slig implies there might be more to the RuptureFarms story.

THe one thing I don’t understand in this scene is why he’s calling the Brewmaster before his guard tells him of Abe and thus plants the whole “the Brew might not work” idea in his head. But I can accept this if we assume he was already considering the opportunity seeing the recent disruptions.

The Keeper

Type: Praise / Fundamental flaw

Phew, isn’t that a combination? But indeed, it’s how I feel about these two scenes.

She is such a menace, I really like her.

One one hand, I adore the Keeper’s design and mannerisms. I think she’s both cool and quirky enough to stand out. I also quite like the idea that the Mudokons don’t have written history (though what’s all the story stones for then?) and rather they have unnaturally long-lived Keepers who act as remembers.

Finally, I like that she’s clearly female and yet isn’t a massive blob, which is soft worldbuilding that implies that infertile queens remain similar to “normal” worker-type Mudokons, yet have unnatural longevity.

However, sadly this is where my praise ends and my issues begin. What the hell is a “Stone of the Fragon’s Eye?” I mean, “Fragon” is probably a portmanteau of “frog” and “dragon”, but what is this creature? If it is even a creature and not just some mythological being, seeing how the stone is clearly a tablet hidden in amber. If it’s meant to be a challenge to “the one”, who put it there? The Keeper mentions the previous ones “always having known that he’d come,” but… why? Do Mudokons have some sort of messiah-myth? And I don’t mean the modern stuff that current slave Mudokons believe in, but something since ancient times?

The underlying issue is the same as with the unexplained levels, Molluck’s miraculous escape, and the tape: All imply things that simply… aren’t there. There’s no stone carving or story stone or even throwaway comment to connect the dots. Which is a shame, because all of these small things which are supposed to expand the world and make it feel real and alive instead point out its artificiality. And I hate that. I’d be okay with being able to read more about the world in small newspaper fragments or Mudokon clay tablets or anything, just not this “You will know nothing and you will be happy” kind of stuff.

This peaks at the moment Abe finally returns and the “truth” is revealed to him. Goodness, I wouldn’t like to be in the place of people who never read any of the old interviews, because they’ll be completely left in the dark, aside from a few limp implications, that should already be obvious with a little mental work.

Abe (in another cutscene): All we’ve been taught,, our whole lives in the factories, everything we thought we knew, it’s all lies, but the truth… We’re not just the schmucks we always thought we were. We’re something much, much more.

My issue with this revelation is that it’s nothing really new to anyone and it shouldn’t necessarily be news to even the Mudokons. Surely we’re not supposed to believe Abe and co. thinks only Molluck was the one rotten egg, especially after seeing the Brewmaster’s tape. And surely they aren’t thinking Mudokons were slaves forever.

Hyping up the reveal so much and then not showing any of it is just such a complete slap in the face. I’m not asking for a ten minute history lesson of the Mudokons. Just a (ground-up) bone after all these years to give us a pointer where the story might continue. The reason why I feel so hard about this scene in particular is because the story expects me to resonate with Abe on a personal level, I mean he’s on the floor, sobbing, vulnerable, his world entirely shaken and upheaved… and I can’t. At least not to the extent the situation would deserve, because I’ve absolutely no clue what he saw.

I mean, I can speculate, he saw Sam, he saw the Schism, he saw that Mudokons were once a warrior race living in peace with the Glukkons, all that jazz we’ve heard around 2000. But all of this is both speculation and relying on outside info.

(And yes, I know the final cutscene mentions a tidbit of what Abe saw, but we’ll get there.)

“Was she hot?”

Type: Unfixable without a retcon

I’m sure some would be shocked to see this here instead of merely a nitpick, but I genuinely don’t understand why this line was added. I won’t argue its humor (I personally find the whole “dudebro” persona of Alf tiring, but each to their own), but it opens up the question of just how exactly Mudokon sexuality works.

Until now the answer was pretty simple: It doesn’t. At least not in any way that concerns us or Abe, but the opportunity is left open for future games to explore it (if they really want.)

But with this comment it’s implied that Mudokons are attracted just like humans, which is bizarre, seeing how they never once had the opportunity to see a female member of their species. So it really feels to me like this whole situation was brought on the plot for the sake of a “lol, it’s a woman!” kind of joke and it’s a real shame if that’s truly the reason.

Just Alf in General

‘Who invited my man blud?’

Type: Missed opportunity

Same scene, but I really dislike how neither Alf, nor Toby ever really argue with Abe. Just look at this scene for instance, Alf first five lines are all expository questions:

Alf: What’s that?,

Alf: You found the Keeper?,

Alf: Who- Wait? She? Was she hot?,

Alf: Oh…Oh…Oh …Oh… Well, what’d she say?,

Alf: Did she say anything else?

I understand Abe is the protagonist, but does this guy ever do anything? I mean, seriously, what is the point of Alf in Soulstorm beyond serving as a detached memento for a man who had regrettably passed away?

Even poor Toby, whom the fandom dunked on so many times before the game’s release has more reasons to be in the plot, since he drives the train. But Alf is just… there I guess? In conversations most he really does is ask questions or repeat info slightly rephrased. His maybe one original idea is to tell Abe to shut down the comms in Slig Barracks, but even there he’d rather die than to help in any way.

This leads to the unfortunate feeling that Abe is pretty much alone, despite being surrounded by friends and allies. Which in a way is fitting, I suppose, but so much of the game otherwise implies that his actions inspired others to act and there’s so little of this actually visible in the game.

Imagine if during levels you could see Alf sneak around or knock out a few Sligs in the background, maybe operate some machinery so you can pass. I understand that making him an interactable character that Abe could approach and talk to or whatnot is beyond the scope of the game, but the game demonstrates that these background actions are supported by the engine, only they’re practically never used after the first few levels.

Old Friends at FeeCo

Type: Nitpick

Alf: Toby, if we can get Abe into FeeCo Depot,,Toby, then maybe we can get some favors, from some old buddies still slaving away there,, and they could ID the right containers and Abe can help them load onto this train. Then, run this train right up that Brewery’s-,

What bugs me here is the idea that Mudokons are reshuffled from factory to factory. I just don’t see why or how that would happen. Until now we knew that Mudokons are hatched from labour eggs and sold to factories, where they slave for their entire life.

However, now it seems like this was changed for some reason. The train that Abe hijacks already has a few cattle cars and there’s the whole “Slave Aid” show on the TV seen above, which I assume is also about selling Mudokons.

This also happens to be the one and only mention of the ARG in the actual game.

But even with this in mind, I just don’t see the why. Why would a Glukkon willingly send his own workforce to work at another Glukkon’s facility? I could imagine selling and buying, but then why not just buy them “fresh”? Unless it’s about buying them cheaper, but the game makes no mentions of such, so I feel it’s a bit of a stretch.

Either way, my issue is that the series never established that Mudokons work at several places in their lives and I wish there was at least a mention of it.

Meeting of the Trio

Type: Missed opportunity

Basically more of what I wrote in Morguer’s section. The characters hardly have any time to act on their own, their screen-time dominated by bickering over whether Abe exists or not, and whether the Brew is busted or not.

Which isn’t necessarily a problem on its own. In AE too, the three stooges largely only really spoke of Abe, but each of them had a segment where they spoke to their Mudokons, to each other, and finally one where Abe masqueraded as them. Obviously this still didn’t allow a super deep look into them, but it at least let them fully express their personalities and how the faults in them ultimately came to bite them in their behinds.

Meanwhile in Soulstorm, I can’t really ascribe any particular character traits to the main trio, except for very superficial ones. Aslik, I guess is lazy and egotistical? Morguer is no-nonsense? And the Brewmaster is prideful? I really wish we saw how they behave towards their Mudokons or if at last they realized Abe really is real, but by then it’d be too over and they’re still gunned down.

While it is certainly a very unique choice to have the antagonists never even meet the protagonist, I think I’d like it more if the game didn’t stick to it so strongly. We don’t even have anything even remotely similar to the Boiler scene for instance. It’s not that I’d like them to repeat the exact same joke, but it was iconic and it’s still memed thirty years later and Soulstorm lacks anything with a similar punch. (Except perhaps “Was she hot?”, but half of that seems to be done out of people cringing over it, instead of because it being such a good line.)

The one I’m especially sad to see die like this is Morguer, who had the opportunity to be the Glukkon straight man and knock some sense into the others, since he didn’t seem at all convinced by the cover up, but by the end he too was entirely on board and so all my interest dissipated as well.

The Brewmaster’s Mean Green Brew Machine

Type: Missed opportunity

There’s no way the alchemical symbols weren’t shown for a reason here. You gotta wonder how he drew them though. Naked?

Such a cool machine… that gets zero noteworthy explanation. Evidently there’s more going on. A mixer doesn’t need to be a scary big head with lasers coming out of it and “just” making a deadly addictive concoction certainly shouldn’t need magic like what the Brewmaster seems to ponder.

‘Royal Society Alchemic Science’

With the sigils shown off at EGX 2017, I’m certain its actually meant to utilize some sort of black magic / occultism as a final ingredient, but none of this is ever elaborated on.

It’s a really cool design otherwise.

One of the reasons this is a pity is because the “heart” of the machine is really sinister. You see these engines quaking, almost jumping out of their frames, cables hanging down like innards, the whole scene is painted in blood-red, and you even have the Brewmaster or more likely a recording of him overseeing… what. And that’s where the whole thing kind of breaks down.

What even are we looking at? And no, I don’t mean “a cool boss arena,” that much is obviously given. Instead I’d like to know what we’re looking at. The computer voice that comments on Abe’s actions as he’s feeding in the new ingredients calls it the “Third Eye,” which is obviously a nod towards the whole occultism angle mentioned above and that by turning the wheel you load in the “secret ingredients.” But what are these meant to be? Tears and bones? Tear processing doesn’t seem to be very hidden with X-tractors all over the place and when it comes to bones… I think maybe Abe has a single line about bones being in the Brew? Either way, it’s super out of focus.

Abe just… leaves?

Type: Unfixable without retcon

I didn’t really know where to put this, so I’ll put it here.

In Exoddus Abe pretty much makes it certain the places he leaves are done for good:

With this in mind, I find it so odd that in Soulstorm Abe kind of just leaves all the places he goes through completely intact. While I understand he can’t blow every single one of them up like in the olden days, it does leave a kind of nagging question behind: Why can’t these facilities just be booted up again? I imagine even the Brewery could be reset to use the non-tainted formula again, which would severely thwart Abe’s efforts. Not to mention, from his perspective the head Glukkons are still alive and kicking, and could just get new slaves once Abe is gone for good.

Catharsis in a single picture.

I think it would’ve worked much better if Abe somehow fundamentally sabotaged the factories he visits:

All of these could have had both a symbolic and an actual physical boost to his nascent revolution, yet all he really does is free the workforce (potentially without even hurting the Sligs in the process) and bail.

I imagine the reason is because Abe in Soulstorm is a lot more compassionate and pacifistic than his original incarnation, but at this point his aversion to confrontation is actively putting his people in harm’s way.

The Slig Showdown

Type: Praise

His spine must be made out of metal to be able to carry the story this hard.

I dig this scene, simple as. It’s the strongest moment in the entire game for me, which is kind of funny seeing how the Pilot Slig is meant to be a secondary (maybe even tertiary?) antagonist, but it’s true.

Unlike any of the other characters, he goes from someone who fairly passively follows orders (except for the occasional quip) to standing up for himself and pretty much solving the entire situation alone (with the help of some muscle.)

Seeing Molluck cowed and forced to negotiate was cathartic and the Slig banter is just a classic, whichever game it happens in.

I really, really hope if the series continues, that the Pilot Slig’s character won’t be fumbled. I’m not sure what exactly makes Lanning write him so well (perhaps his military background?) but either way of everyone in this story, I really can’t find much of a fault in him.

The Bad Ending

Type: Nitpick

How the hell does Molluck kill the Pilot Slig? Is there some foot pedal that conveniently drops him out of the ship like in a Saturday morning cartoon?

It’s obviously a minor and inconsequential thing, but it’s still such a bizarre moment, that I’ve heard mentioned quite a few times by others.

The Good Ending

Type: Missed opportunity

Is it just me or is the Moon feeling very ‘2D’ for some reason?

I mean, it’s alright, I don’t hate it, but I think it’s a little limp compared to what we had before. Maybe it’s the fact that nothing explodes in the end. I know I might sound a little shallow, but it was so much of a staple of the series, that Munch’s good ending even made fun of it. Or that it’s not Abe raising his hand to the Moon, which I felt was a very empowering moment for his character at the end of Exoddus.

But, to speak more seriously, there’s nothing conceptually wrong with a quiet and contemplating ending, but I feel the reveal of Sam and the namedrop of Nolybab is just a little too little too late. I guess it is the first time we actually hear the city’s name in-game, which is a tiny step forward, but we’re still squarely in lore teased for 20 years.

I guess all in all that’s what mostly makes me dissatisfied. Soulstorm is too “safe” of a game. It never quite steps out of the bounds of what we’ve already known or saw in concept art already. Which is, again, not the end of the world, but who knows when Oddworld #3 will materialize and until then all we’re left with is stuff we more or less already knew.

I do at least appreciate the slight bookending, with Abe talking about his stitches both in the very first and very last scenes he appears in.

And if you’ve reached this point, congrats, that was over nine thousand words! Thank you very much for sticking with me and I hope even if you disagree with the points I’ve made here, you’ve at least had some interesting food for thought.

See you next time!