[metroixer]

Ever since I came here so long ago I've always seen people post that they prefer Oddysee to the other abe game's because it's "darker" and the latter 2 are "childish". I have no problem with someone having a favorite game, but I find the childish argument to be a bit flawed.

First off, I think we need to realize what made Oddysee dark in the first place. The way I see it, the narrative of the game is pretty limited. The only one we hear clearly talking is abe. We get little blurbs from Big face, mullock, some magog cartel dude, and his slig assistant but ultimately we don't really know much about them. All that the player knows is that there is this sad blue dude thrown into an oppressive environment and he has to survive. This gives off a feeling of what I guess is fear for the player and he associates this with the game being dark. In comparison, a lot of people find a game like minecraft, which is a pretty silly looking and emotionally bland game, terrifying because of how powerless they are in the middle of the night or in a dark cave.

So let's look at Exoddus, Abe is again thrown into an oppressive environment, but this time the narrative allows us to be more familiar with our enemies. We have tv broadcasts of what Dripik, Phleg, and Asilik have to say about the situation as well as a small conference scene. They are inarguably not as cool about the whole thing as molluck was (hell even molluck wasn't calm about it by the end) and the player ends up being introduced to big bosses that are at their core power hungry man children. I've seen people interpret this as kiddy because it's "silly" but really, is the silliness a bad thing?

Is every bad guy in the world expected to be some calm and collected crime boss that tends to be one step ahead of the protagonist? Of course not, Abe's Exoddus introduces the player - assuming he's coming straight from Oddysee - to how expansive oddworld is and how varied the characters are. To be quite frank, I would have found the Barracks/Boneworkz/Depot sections to be a lot more boring if the bosses weren't so colorful. Some may argue that the dread is gone because some things become more easily accessible (you never even possess a glukkon in Oddysee and in Exoddus they end up coming out as often as sligs) but isn't that expected? Shouldn't Abe be able to gain more abilities and accessibility as he gets more experience through his journey?

On the subject of Munch, it would be silly of me to say that the presentation's of the cutscenes was less than cartoony. I could try to defend it by saying Oddysee had it's own cartoony sound effect moments (Abe falling off the cliff, Abe getting knocked in the head with a pipe while in the barrel) but the way I see it it would end up being a moot point. A lot of people dislike Munch as a character because he himself contributes to a lot of the game's Cartooniness (i'm making up words now bear with me here). The thing is, according to the artbook Munch was supposed to have that same kind of sympathetic quality as Abe did. They couldn't have made a character just like Abe though, they needed someone a bit more impulsive and expressively daring. It's all a matter of diversity, if munch ended up being another Abe then people would no doubt complain about a sort of re-use of traits.

This has all just been one big observation on my part really, and while I worry that it will look like the ramblings of a mad man I'll take my chances and hope. I can see why people would find Munch's Oddysee "childish" but not so for Exoddus. I would like to see what other people have to say on the matter because it all seems like a big misinterpretation of personality.