Overhunting has been a theme of AO, MO, and SW in reference to Scrabs, Paramites and Meeches; Gabbits; and Steef respectively. In SW this is more just a way of getting Stranger to be the only one of his kind in a world populated by Clakkerz and Outlaws, both races being generally intollerant towards others not of their kind. This allows racism to be explored in the way Stranger copes with his situation. The other issue used in SW, damming the river, is his path to resolving his own feelings as an outsider. By turning against Sekto instead of hiding/aiding him, he is learning who he really is. His former weaknesses against racism become strengths.
The ideas of misinformation and propaganda we know are prevalant throughout Oddworld. Enslaved Mudokons are kept unaware of their true culture, history, and powers, while consumers are kept in the dark about the real costs of the products they buy. Mudokons don’t know what’s in SoulStorm Brew, and they don’t understand how bad it is for their health or culture. The miners don’t know what they’re mining anymore than Abe knew the creatures RuptureFarms was cutting up were sacred to his people. Sekto Springs Bottled Water doesn’t even come from a spring, it’s ordinary riverwater.
For the most part, I like these issues being kept more in the background as they have been. Our heroes express shock, sadness, and sympathy, but then they move on to the action. The themes are coated in sugar, and we can digest them more easily. Some people won’t taste anything underneath the sweetness, but others will realize they’ve just swallowed some really nutritional content. This is preferable to everyone coughing Oddworld back up because it’s too bitter.
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