Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee

Genre: 3D Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the physical-only Oddworld Collection, along with Oddworld: New ‘N’ Tasty and Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD.)

Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee is the third game in the Oddworld series, first released on the original Xbox in 2001 as an exclusive launch title for the console. In 2012, the game received an HD remaster on PlayStation 3, and this version of the game has since been ported to numerous other platforms, with it reaching the Nintendo Switch in 2020.

The third game in the Oddworld series, Munch’s Oddysee continues the story of alien Abe and his quest to free his mudokon race from cynical corporate antagonists, with him finding a common cause with the froglike Munch, another creature whose race has been ravaged by the same enemies. Together, they set out to free Abe’s people and Munch’s newfound “fuzzy” friends.

The presentation here is surprisingly good for a 20-year-old game, no doubt thanks largely to the HD remaster of the game. Textures are sharp, the resolution and framerate are both smooth, and the game retains the same great comically dark personality of the original, even if the characters and environments are still noticeably low-poly by today’s standards. And as with prior entries, the visuals are backed by mostly atmospheric (and at times comical) music, and some silly voices for the characters.

While the presentation has aged well, the gameplay is a different story. Right from the start, you will find yourself in a constant struggle with this game’s camera controls, with the camera needing constant babysitting and refusing to stay where you put it. The gameplay mechanically does a good job of recreating the style of gameplay of the 2D games that preceded it, but the more open level design changes the core gameplay here – what was previously a Puzzle-Platformer with strong stealth elements is now more simple and far more tedious. Instead of clever puzzles of the 2D games, it now feels like you’re doing a lot more gathering of forces and bringing them to assigned places. In other words, it feels like you’re doing tedious chores.

Despite the disappointing gameplay and infuriating camera controls, Munch’s Oddysse still has a lot of charm and personality, and the core gameplay is interesting when it’s not making you run through boring tasks. If you’re a fan of this series and its world, you may find it worthwhile to play through this game despite these flaws, but if you’re just looking for a good 3D Platformer, you may find this game to be too frustrating to be worth your time.

tl;dr – Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee is the third game in the Oddworld series and the first to feature full 3D gameplay. While this port of the HD re-release has aged pretty well in terms of visuals, the gameplay fares far worse, with some pretty frustrating camera issues and tedious busywork taking up much of the gameplay. Fans of the series may still find this game worthwhile, but most will want to skip it.

Grade: C+

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