There are all sorts of ways in which Stranger’s Wrath differs from the previous Oddworld titles, so it’d help to know what you have in mind. The fact that Abe and Munch are excluded in favour of a non-Quintology hero? That it’s an FPS when previous titles were more adventure puzzlers? That it ignores the Glukkons and Mudokons in favour of new industrial and native races? Or that there’s a lot less industy vs native ways and for the first time ideologies more grey in their morality, like Clakkerz and Outlaws? There are different answers to each.
Munch’s Oddysee broke Lorne’s heart. He had such huge intentions for it, but the combination of time and technical limitations made his dream impossible to deliver. Such huge compromises were made. They were made for Abe’s Oddysee too, but Lorne knew from the start there would be huge compromises for the sake of establishing Oddworld as a promising series. He was lucky to have the chance at an Exoddus to include more of his original ideas. The difference with Munch was that for a long time Lorne really believed there wouldn’t be the same limitations. Disappointing sales and critical and fan reception was just kicking him while he was down. Abe had and has plenty of life left in him, but you can’t blame Lorne for wanting to try something different.
Maybe it was too different for some. When contrasted to past statements Lorne has made about the nature of Oddworld, it certainly seemed hyprocritical to have a physically strong, badass character in an FPS—exactly what he’d promised Oddworld would never be. You can tell how much they were trying to mask that. Iain Simons once noted how Lorne tried very hard to have guns without actually having guns. But the basic heart and soul of Stranger’s Wrath isn’t as different as it might at first seem. It’s a downtrodden individual at the bottom of the industrial food chain who discovers his true nature and learns to fight against oppressive industrial practices for the freedom of his kind, and that’s not shoehorned into the plot. Issues surrounding fishing and genocide were just waiting to be included in Oddworld, especially if you know about Lorne’s love of fly-fishing. Munch may never have gotten his own Exoddus to make up for lost content, but Stranger’s Wrath included more from Oddworld than just Vykkers and Fuzzles. The Mongo River, Oktigi, settlers and outlaw races were all imagined for Oddworld long before Lorne found himself wanting a break from the Quintology.
Much of everything else has already been said. The video game market at the time was clear to everyone. There’s no reason to assume Oddworld without Abe can’t work: I would argue that Stranger’s Wrath illustrates that it absolutely can work. There are criticisms you can level at SW, but—while I’m not accusing you of overreacting—it is too easy to over-criticize. It’s an inevitability of the series suddenly changing somewhat. The important thing to do is not dwell on the cheap shots but celebrate the greatness of the game.
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