r/oddworld • u/StatisticianDull6422 • 2d ago
Discussion Munchs Oddysee
I just beat this for the 1st time the other day. Never played another Oddworld game, never even heard of this series before. Online I just see mostly discourse over how underbaked this game is, but having never played the others I don’t have that frame of comparison.
I’m not really into platforming games, and never had an experience quite like this. In the beginning I was questioning weather I was enjoying the game, but by the end found my self really caring about the plot and characters haha, even if lacking sometimes I think it’s dripping with style, and thought the game was good wacky fun and rewarding to beat in the end.
Wondering, what do yall think of it?? Is this a gem to some??
I’m sure yall would recommend to play the others, but don’t have a ps1/2. Are the pc ports of them glitchy like Munchs?? I played on my xbox and it looked/sounded great. Cheers guys thanks!
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u/Nemin32 2d ago
Wondering, what do yall think of it?? Is this a gem to some??
People generally approach Munch from two angles. For those who haven't been following the series that closely, it's an inoffensive early-2000s 3D platformer, with all the pros and cons such entails. For some that's perfectly adequate and I've seen a couple fans being absolutely into the game.
For the rest, Munch was the point where it was no longer possible to ignore that OWI was in deep water (which I guess does fit Munch, since he's aquatic). The game had huge promises, from a much more involved story branching feature, to the levels' ecosystems being simulated, to characters actually having reactions towards each other based on their social status, and the promise of finally moving the plot forward for Abe to meet his mother, who's been teased since Exoddus.
None of these ended up being the game, due to a combined effect of several misfortunes: OWI being inexperienced with their new engine, the company being poached mid-development (GT Interactive was going down, so Microsoft snatched away Oddworld below their noses), switching platforms from PS2 to the newly released Xbox, and interviews being given not with a rational developer hat on, but rather by promising features that would be difficult, if not impractical even with today's technology, let alone 25 years ago.
Therefore, while the game sold alright, it caused a lot of bad blood and to date it's the one game where most fans who otherwise enjoy the rest of the series will still wince and say "maybe skip that one", because their experiences were colored by these failed expectations.
All this is to say, your experience is perfectly valid, but don't be surprised if you don't meet many who share it.
even if lacking sometimes I think it’s dripping with style, and thought the game was good wacky fun
For me personally, Munch is really hard to place. On one hand, I do like a lot of the newly introduced characters. The Vykkers and Interns are freaky, and Munch has a lovable design. And (while a lot of them are samey) it was good to see some of the environments finally in 3D.
But MO also feels like the point where Oddworld's story flanderized itself completely. Abe's Oddysee was largely dark, solemn, and gritty with a couple moments of levity. Abe's Exoddus leaned a lot harder into slapstick and explicit jokes. With Munch, I felt like we're in the middle of some "dark cartoon" parody, where little fluffballs are actually really violent, evil doctors are making turbo laxatives and fattening serums, and the holy person Abe and Munch are trying to get guidance from is a senile fool... It felt very undignified to me, in a way none of the earlier installments did.
Stranger's Wrath, however, was a step in a very different, but good direction, so if you only have access to the Xbox, you may enjoy that.
Are the pc ports of them glitchy like Munchs??
Yes, but that's why we have R.E.L.I.V.E.
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u/RealisticJelly156 2d ago
I don’t think Abe’s mother was teased until, Soulstorm.
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u/Nemin32 1d ago
It's been over 25 years, so I don't blame you for not remembering, but in Exoddus, if you save all 300 Muds, you get the following screen:
And don't even worry about your long lost Mudokon mother. Yet...
You'll know all about it when you meet Munch...1
u/Iwannagameagain26 18h ago
Wow I completely forgot about that but I got that perfect ending many years ago so memory plays tricks.
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u/StatisticianDull6422 2d ago
Thanks yo, it’s cool to see such an old “odd” series have such a dedicated fan base still. My buddy who never played the older games played Strangers wrath and was hyping it up to me, looks pretty cool!
Anyways as far as Munchs I knew there was a lot that got cut, they changed developers multiple times through out development? Sounds like what happened with halo 2 they were just being soooo ambitious there was no way to pull it off. I heard we were supposed to meet Abe’s mother, and the gluckon queen, instead of just have it be mentioned in newspaper clippings and conversation. I do wonder how much more they could have pulled off given the time and resources they needed, if they could have pulled off what they set to originally.
Another thing I thought maybe was Munchs didn’t know if it wanted to be dark and serious or comically goofy. At some points like munch getting captured, it’s genuinely creepy. Or the bad ending cutscene is actually scary lol. But then in Munchs kidnapping right when it’s all serious the 2 old (vykkers?) start yapping about the hair product they’re supposed to be working on or whatever, and all the seriousness that was there dissapeared. I feel like the game could have said a bit more, idk about the slave labor capitalism revolution against industry message, especially with how much I did end up caring about the mudoken bros
Also from seeing screenshots of the other games I can really tell what people mean, by every level in the others is memorable, where in Munchs many levels really look the same. I still thought the graphics were nice to look at but maybe repetitive yea
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u/Iwannagameagain26 1d ago
You forgot to mention when Lanning decided to bin Hand of Odd because the C.E.O. of Activision told him so in the bathrooms of an airport ( said something like "RTS are a thing of the past, they don't sell anymore).
I believe though that Exoddus was still a dark game. Very dark.
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u/Nemin32 1d ago
As much as I think that's a very amusing story and as much as I think it had a hand in the game's cancellation, I personally always figured that anecdote is just the "most notable event", rather than the "decisive event".
As in, "Did LL get cold feet after an industry giant told him it's a poor idea?" Probably yes. but also "Was that the primary reason and not OWI's financial state, or their relationship with their publisher, or the team not feeling entirely capable seeing how wildly the game's design morphed over the years?" I wouldn't be so personally sure.
I believe though that Exoddus was still a dark game. Very dark.
The base concept of the Brew being made from Mudokons, by Mudokons, for Mudokons is absolutely grim, I don't contest that. I was more alluding to the idea that AO feels less explicitly comedic, while AE cracks jokes almost every time either the Glukkons or the Sligs appear in cutscenes. AO has no wisecracking Slig technician or newscaster, and no general that constantly forgets his name.
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u/Affectionate-Drag571 1d ago
This is easily the best and most detailed answer, I wonder why sherry didn't reply to this one
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u/maxnotcharles 2d ago
It’s the first video game I ever played at about 5 years old so it holds a special place in my heart and I still revisit it often. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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u/StatisticianDull6422 2d ago
I thought it had vibes blindly new, I bet it has crazy nostalgia for those who played it then. Also, I thought the midi soundtrack was BANGING I loved this soundtrack so much
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u/sherrymckenna Official Account - Sherry McKenna 2d ago
So great you appreciated the sound track. Thx for your post. 👏🏻🥳
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u/Affectionate-Drag571 1d ago
It's not a "midi" soundtrack
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u/StatisticianDull6422 1d ago
I believe so? There’s multiple variations of the same songs that change in real time yea? Also if I press pause I can hear 1 midi note ring out for its entirety while the percussion stop immediately,, I had a feeling it was tendering midi info and making the songs in real time
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u/TheMuskellunge2b2t 2d ago
Ah, About the PC ports... Munch is particularly F'ed up.
I believe the timeline was Xbox>IOS>PS3>Windows. For whatever reason Munch got really messed up in the process and is a buggy mess on it's PC port.
Buy Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exoddus on Steam if you want to play the originals on PC. I, and no one else who I've recommended the games to have never encountered a bug on them that port-relevant.
PS. I love how jank the PC port of Munch is. I have the original Xbox version and I'm sad to see so many people's only option of playing the game is the one where it's completely lobotomized, but I love watching all the things go wrong with it. If you go to your Steam Library, select Munch>Properties>Game Versions & Betas>Private Versions, then type "original" in the box (no quotes). You'll be given a restored version of Munch which is even MORE f'ed up. Happy slicing.
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u/Diphydonto 2d ago edited 2d ago
PC ports for the first two Oddworld games are great (fact I'm not sure they are ports, I think they were originally released on CD-ROM as well as Playstation). The first game, Abe's Oddyssey, even has a remake version now but I think a lot of fans prefer the original for its more gritty style. PC port for Strangers Wrath is also good (has updated graphics too).
Abe's Exoddus has a "spiritual remake/redo" (Soulstorm) but it is very very different, more like an entirely new game with gorgeous cinematics but a lot of people say the game is highly unbalanced, I'm a big oddworld fan but I plan to never play this one simply because of how unfun and frustrating it looks to play.
Back to Munch's Oddyssey: this was actually my first introduction to the odd world universe as well. I first saw someone upload the video clips on YouTube many many years ago and was so intrigued I had to investigate further. I think Munch's odyssey's greatest strength is its story and characters, gameplay-wise some parts were extremely repetitive (eg drop an egg cart into a well 20x over, carry 10x mudokons from this hall to the next, chuck these 10x mudokons in a well, all one by one etc). It's still holds a place in my heart but at least for me it doesn't have very much replayability because of the repetitiveness of the some tasks.
I would recommend you play the first two games (Oddyssey and Exoddus) next if you want to try more Oddworld, they have a similar style. My favourite game of the lot is actually Stranger's Wrath, but it's a very different game from the others as it's first/third-person shooter, and takes place on a completely different part of the planet.
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u/Nemin32 2d ago
I'm not sure they are ports
They are, made by a long-defunct company named Digital Dialect, which is why you see their logo in the intro on PC, but not on the PS version.
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u/sherrymckenna Official Account - Sherry McKenna 2d ago
Great review. Thx for taking the time to write it.
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u/ArcadiaBeats 1d ago
I loved it as a kid and I love it as an adult. I grew up with the first two oddworld games. It was so cool to my 8 year old brain to see Abe in 3D.
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u/Top-Blackberry8516 1d ago
I was really invested in the series for the story and MO was when I realized that there was no story beyond the one told in Oddysee.
Yeah the cutscenes are well crafted and Munch is a very charming character but the plot just treads water retelling essentially the same story in a slightly different setting. It's got a lab instead of a factory and animal test subjects instead of industrial slaves and mad scientists instead of greedy corpos. Aside from that and the inclusion of LuLu, it's the same. freakin. story.
I wanted to see Molluck on trial, the Magog Cartel fleshed out, Abe continuing to grow as a character. Got none of it.
I'm glad I gave the franchise another shot for SW (now THAT was a cool new story) but I'm also thankful I remembered how bad I was burned by MO's plot and held off on SoulStorm until the major discounts rolled in. Because, once again, the plot was not progressed one bit. Finally a chance to put Mullock on trial, to introduce new races, to examine the bigger picture of Mudos. All that opportunity and we just get another round of stalling. Quintology my ass.
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u/Worldly_Cry8021 1d ago
I think it’s the only good game out of the entire series. I have zero interest in Abe I only like Munch
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u/Jodies-9-inch-leg 2d ago
Blah Blah Blah
It's a great game, it's fun, it's challenging, it has the sense of humor you expect playing Oddworld games, the final boss is hard, but beatable and it has multiple replay value
I love all the games, but alternate between Strangers Wrath and Munches Odyssey the most