Review: Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty – PS Vita (8.5/10)

Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty has been released for the PS Vita in North America and Europe this week. In our review we take a look at how well the remake of Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssee performs on our beloved handheld.

Presentation

Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty looks beautiful on the PS Vita screen. Understandably, you can not expect the same graphics like its PS3 and PS4 versions, but Oddworld Inhabitants’ developer Nephilim Game Studios has done a fantastic job in porting the game to the PS Vita (originally, it was developed by JAW). The compromise between the graphics level and a solid frame rate works out very well.

Most of the time, Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty runs smoothly on the PS Vita, only in some chapters, when you are running or riding Elum, the frame rate goes down a bit and even can stutter when you’re passing a checkpoint. But this does not interfere the gameplay. Beautiful rendered cinematic sequences appear between the 15 available chapters to tell the story of Abe’s odyssee.

Sound

Like in the original Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssey, you can make Abe talk to the other Mudokons to say “Hello” and give them commands like “Follow Me” and “Wait”. He even can laugh, make farts and can whistle. All the sound and effects have been ported well over to the PS Vita and they appear to have the same quality like on PS3 and PS4.

Controls

You control Abe with the left analog stick and jump with the cross button. Interactions like going through a door are done by pressing the square button. You sneak via the L button, run via the R button and crouch with the circle button. To throw objects you aim with the right analog stick and then press the R button.

To make Abe speak you use the directional buttons and to whistle you additionally have to press the triangle button.  And Abe can also chant, he will do so when you are pressing both the L and R buttons. A quick save feature is available by pressing “Select” (quick) and to load a quick save point by pressing “Select” (long).

The responsiveness of the controls is very good and let you control Abe and Elum very precisely.

Gameplay

Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty is a 2D platformer and tells the story of Abe who lives on the planet Oddworld where he has to escape from RuptureFarms, a gigantic meat factory, and to rescue all the other 299 Mudokons.

Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty features 15 different chapters including some secret areas. The game begins in RuptureFarms where Abe realizes that his race is going to be sold as meat. While on his escape, Abe has to solve many puzzles, he will meet the lovable Elum, fight Sligs, avoid Scrabs and Paramites and also rescue other Mudokons he encounters on his way.

As you progress through the game, you will explore places like Stockyards, Monsiac Lines, Paramonia, and Scrabanina until you return to Rupture Farms again to finally bring down the meat processing farm.

Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty offers three difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, and Hard. Depending on the difficulty level, the puzzles are more challenging to master.

Conclusion

Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty plays and feels great on the PS Vita and offers an awesome atmophere featuring our favorite character Abe. If you are into platformers and puzzle games, you should definitely take a look at the game as it’s one of the best ones available for the PS Vita in its genre. And if you have played Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssee before, you have no other choice than buying the definite version of the game with Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty.

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