Right, maybe I should have said "I think secret areas break immersion anyway" rather than the "4th wall". So I can see why OANST reacted like that. I mean I can argue that breaking the flow of the story to give players hard puzzles is directly speaking to the player or blah blah but I suppose that would get too ridiculously conceptual. So apologies for confusing the issue further there with that flub.
So with that in mind, Hominix, immersion is being deeply involved in the game. So taking a break from the flow of the game to do a secret puzzle can break immersion. Because now the player can be very aware that they're doing a secret puzzle rather than being involved in the story. Immersion is not exclusive to a break of the 4th wall. I do entirely believe that an interruption in pacing can break immersion. But obviously what breaks immersion for one player is going to be different for another. Being able to explain the canonical logic of secret areas doesn't mean they can't break immersion with their existence.
Also, yes, you can break the 4th wall and not break immersion. I mean in both AO & AE Abe directly addresses the player but they never took me out of the game.
But when I'm in a secret area I'm immersed in the game in a different way. In Oddworld's case it's the task to save all the Mudokons. But since it's a secret area I'm totally fine with fourth wall breaking extras since most secret areas in games have these. And when I'm in them I'm not really immersed in the canon or internal logic of the game. But more in the artificial task of seeing/accomplishing whatever the secret areas are designed for.
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