EGX presentation impressions

[Fuzzle Guy]

as i'm seeing the words Exoddus and Retcon together in the same sentence: Soulstorm's a new game in a new series, it's not Exoddus but the start of a whole new story arc

go Abe!

Ah - retconning the whole series then, not just one game. Well that's made me feel loads better, cheers!

[JayDee]

I couldn't make it to EGX due to work commitments, but all of this looks fantastic. I'm really excited to see where this is going. I think it goes without saying that some of the stuff such as UI will be getting some polish in the future, but the rest of the art looks absolutely stunning.

I had to skip past the Q&A.

[Manco]

The Q&A is fantastic purely because it confirmed they’re trying to get a new art book made.

[SkullFire58]

Hello everybody, been watching the forums since the ARG started and figured I should probably just make an account by now. Anyway, Abe's Exoddus is being retconned, huh? Does this mean that even Munch and Stranger might be gone too? It's probably too early to tell. Now that I think about it, what about Abe's Oddysee? Is New 'n' Tasty the official new start to this series? I guess the original games could be considered a split timeline of some sort.

Very excited/nervous for Soulstorm. A bit scared at the thought of having the Mudokons try to help you out, most of the time AI companions in games are more annoying than helpful, and hopefully it won't feel like babysitting trying to keep them alive. I loved the concept art though, I got chills when the landscape art came up that I haven't had for a new game in a while.

[OWI_Alex]

As far as the overall Oddworld universe lore goes, of course certain things get retconned. If we really want to get technical we could draw a line between the old games and the new games, but fact is that the rebooted series takes priority in terms of lore. The new Glukkons in charge are a good example. Those directly retcon Aslik, Brewmaster and Phleg. There's no way around that. And there's bound to be more situations where old and new lore will conflict heavily.

Point being, as writers and devs you shouldn't be afraid of retcons. Because when the writers of the lore start claiming that both sides of the lore are equally canon, things get really messy really fast.

It's simplier to think of NnT -> Soulstorm -> ??? as a new story arc. Both plotlines are canon.

[Havoc]

It's simplier to think of NnT -> Soulstorm -> ??? as a new story arc. Both plotlines are canon.

Unless Soulstorm introduces time travel or multiverse theory, that's impossible.

NnT -> Soulstorm -> ??? etc. don't happen after the events of Oddysee, Exoddus and Munch. They happen instead of Oddysee, Exoddus and Munch. So because of that it replaces the established lore.

Unless, of course, OWI wants a situation where there is 'old canon' and 'new canon', which is also messy. But both plot lines can't be part of the same canon, that's just ridiculous.

[JtCorscadden]

Unless Soulstorm introduces time travel or multiverse theory, that's impossible.

NnT -> Soulstorm -> ??? etc. don't happen after the events of Oddysee, Exoddus and Munch. They happen instead of Oddysee, Exoddus and Munch. So because of that it replaces the established lore.

Unless, of course, OWI wants a situation where there is 'old canon' and 'new canon', which is also messy. But both plot lines can't be part of the same canon, that's just ridiculous.

I think what Alex means is, the fact that these new games are separate from the old ones doesn't have to invalidate the old ones. Both timelines are canon in their own universes, but the two timelines are not from the same universe. Imo it'll come down to which one is preferred out of the two to you personally, that you will internalise as the canon one. This way fans of the older series don't have to complain that the new games retcon the old since they are just a completely new story with the same basic setting and characters.

I also think NnT and Oddysee can be freely interchanged, I'm a massive fan of the original and will most likely revisit that one out of the two in anticipation for Soulstorm, obviously Soulstorm/Exodus will be v different and thus it will come down to more than just 'i prefer the atmosphere of Oddysee'

[Xavier]

Unless Soulstorm introduces time travel or multiverse theory, that's impossible.

NnT -> Soulstorm -> ??? etc. don't happen after the events of Oddysee, Exoddus and Munch. They happen instead of Oddysee, Exoddus and Munch. So because of that it replaces the established lore.

Unless, of course, OWI wants a situation where there is 'old canon' and 'new canon', which is also messy. But both plot lines can't be part of the same canon, that's just ridiculous.

I feel for you man, managing the info on the wiki is going to be quite hard now with those two "story arcs".

I guess all the info should now be classified as "original", "reboot" and "common". "Reboot" is probably not the best name but I can't seem to find a better one.

[kjjcarpenter]

Unless Soulstorm introduces time travel or multiverse theory, that's impossible.

NnT -> Soulstorm -> ??? etc. don't happen after the events of Oddysee, Exoddus and Munch. They happen instead of Oddysee, Exoddus and Munch. So because of that it replaces the established lore.

Unless, of course, OWI wants a situation where there is 'old canon' and 'new canon', which is also messy. But both plot lines can't be part of the same canon, that's just ridiculous.

You're seriously over-complicating things for yourself. It's no different to the new Planet of the Apes movies; they don't replace the Roddy McDowall ones, they run parallel to them in a different timeline, while following a similar premise.

Either timeline is canon unto itself. Neither supersedes the other.

[TheManFromMudos]

I believe I can shorten everyone's feelings about the EGX presentation into just four words:

Tremendous Artwork, Horrendous Mechanics.

And by the way, I'm back!

[EVP_Glukkon]

It's simplier to think of NnT -> Soulstorm -> ??? as a new story arc. Both plotlines are canon.

It looks like LL is sharing whatever the hell he keeps smoking.

[EVP_Glukkon]

I believe I can shorten everyone's feelings about the EGX presentation into just four words:

Tremendous Artwork, Horrendous Mechanics.

And by the way, I'm back!

How about: TROLLLOLOLO I'm just rebootin' the whole series now folks!

Odd Bless LL and his vision, but seriously the fanbase from 97' is getting so F---ed right now it's not even funny anymore.

MUNCH was the future, despite its faults we went full roaming 3D oddworld explorer, and then Oddworld died more or less, now we're going back to square 1 and rebooting and retooling it.

Could you imagine (INSERT FRANCHISE HERE) is being rebooted/re-visioned (YAY or NAY fanbase reaction) oh and BTW the sequels to (INSERT FRANCHISE HERE) are GONE, written OFF, because they were supposed to be like X and Y despite no indication of such prior to the announcement of this new title in the works...

Riigghhhttt......

I am excited for Soulstorm, but it's not the kind of excitement I would of had for the next new instalment after munch, we're still playing around with LL's visions here and not actually advancing as such with the plot, and after how many years now.. I might be more jumpy about Munch 2.0 though.

Remember WE the original fans were already sold on his vision years ago.. so what have we been waiting for?? It's great LL has the fires still burning but come on.. no hand of odd, no other entries, and we got stranger to play with??

[TheManFromMudos]

I am excited for Soulstorm, but it's not the kind of excitement I would of had for the next new instalment after munch, we're still playing around with LL's visions here and not actually advancing as such with the plot, and after how many years now.. I might be more jumpy about Munch 2.0 though.

I'll admit, I'm too young to consider myself part of the 'original fanbase' of the franchise, but I see where you're coming from. Then again, as LL said himself, he does want to continue the series from where Munch's Oddysee left off, but they can't do it on their current budget. Ultimately, Soulstorm and New 'n' Tasty before it serve simply to build up some money so that the group can then continue the series with some fresh material. And because of that, I'll welcome Soulstorm with open arms, knowing that what comes after it must be something completely new.

[SkullFire58]

Then again, as LL said himself, he does want to continue the series from where Munch's Oddysee left off, but they can't do it on their current budget.

Okay, so it probably will be the way we thought it would be when we still saw Soulstorm as just Exoddus HD, both the original two games and the two new ones both lead into Munch. I don't remember Munch having very many references to Exoddus, aside from the backstory cutscene, so the current Munch probably still fits, unless something drastic happens now at the end of Soulstorm.

[EVP_Glukkon]

Munch is the only game justifiable for having a complete reboot on account of the known content that didn't get included in its release though.

So I don't think Munch will stand as it is. But hey a reboot of munch I would be very excited about, that's for sure.

[TheManFromMudos]

Mind you, if they remake Munch's Oddysee, they'd then have two complete storylines to continue with. Basically, in another fifteen year's time, we'll have two different quintologies!

[SkullFire58]

Mind you, if they remake Munch's Oddysee, they'd then have two complete storylines to continue with. Basically, in another fifteen year's time, we'll have two different quintologies!

I'd be all for them remaking the whole series, although I don't know how many other people would be willing to wait until maybe 2025 for an entirely new entry, haha. Oddworld definitely has a very unique opportunity here, there are so many games that turn out to be something else/completely different from the original vision, either due to time/money, or higher-ups meddling with it, and they usually can't do much about it.

[Crashpunk]

How about: TROLLLOLOLO I'm just rebootin' the whole series now folks!

As from someone who loved AE. And I mean truly adores that game. I feel like SoulStorm could be going in the right direction.

Here's the thing. I would love just a straight up remaster of AE. I really would. If it improved on NnT. But they are in an opportunity to reimagine it in a way which Lorne originally wanted AE to be. And it also makes sense in a business point of view. To continue the series in a healthy way.

Oddworld can't be just making remasters from now on. It's time for a fresh approach. The only reason why NnT was AO again, was because Lorne liked the original script enough not the change it. If he didn't. I'm pretty sure he would have liked to approach NnT differently. But that's all just speculation. I also think NnT was also the company playing it safe. Similar to Disney with The Force Awakens. Reimagines can also make something which was once great even greater. Which that on its own has me super hyped for SoulStorm.

On the other hand. If it strays really far from AE, I'm going to be upset. The removal of Aslik, General Dripik, Director Phleg and The Brewmaster already had me annoyed. And whilst I do love the look new characters, I hope they keep a bit of the original Gluk's personality. I understand it's whatever it takes to make Lorne vision's come true and all. But there's a lot of amazing locations, characters, music, themes already in AE and I really hope he considers more of them.

We already know FeeCo, Necrum Mines and The Brewery are remaining, so hopefully, we'll see more. (Obviously in a different way)

And as for timelines and for the canon. Again, going back to Star Wars; You could refer to AE as legends and SoulStorm as the new canon. Both exist but the new canon is what actually happened in the universe. And if that's the case. Well, i'd suck to see my favourite game become nothing more than non-canon stories. But it's just going to be something I'll have to accept...

But it's early days people. We still haven't seen any game footage or story. Let's wait a bit longer before we dismiss it.

[TheManFromMudos]

But it's early days people. We still haven't seen any game footage or story. Let's wait a bit longer before we dismiss it.

Couldn't agree more. Soulstorm might just turn out to be the best game in the series so far. We shouldn't judge it so hastily after seeing so little.

[CravenKnight]

Munch is the only game justifiable for having a complete reboot on account of the known content that didn't get included in its release though.

So I don't think Munch will stand as it is. But hey a reboot of munch I would be very excited about, that's for sure.

Yeah they should reboot MO. Boot it as far as possible. Into a lake.

[V_O_T]

Just a quick thought, when NnT was being developed and we got small previews, we did nit pick a lot. What I'm trying to recall are instances where we saw something really wrong, vocalized it, and saw a change in the final game. What were some things we disagreed on that the devs changed for the better in the end?

Either way, its very early days. I know the devs are watching this place frequently and I hope they take note the ideas thrown around here because a lot of people here have some really solid concepts. This game already looks so damn fantastic, it'd hurt to see its art direction thrive majestically and its gameplay fall flat. I got a bunch of faith but

As for the retcon stuff, at first it hit me but now I'm more excited for this new bunch of gluks. These dudes look like they don't fuck around and when some characters look as deathly serious as these guys do, any form of comedic dialogue will be at least 7x more hilarious coming from their salty lips lol. I just hope they put the slight eye glow back in because that slight touch gave them that menace look

[Silver angel]

I'll admit, I'm too young to consider myself part of the 'original fanbase' of the franchise, but I see where you're coming from. Then again, as LL said himself, he does want to continue the series from where Munch's Oddysee left off, but they can't do it on their current budget. Ultimately, Soulstorm and New 'n' Tasty before it serve simply to build up some money so that the group can then continue the series with some fresh material. And because of that, I'll welcome Soulstorm with open arms, knowing that what comes after it must be something completely new.

If what I still see calls "we don't have enough budget" and it's literally the best game of latest years at any console because graphic can rival with Cameron's Avatar and may be even win...
I feel pleasure just thinking about what will happen when OW have got a lot of money to continue series.

[Michael]

Munch is the only game justifiable for having a complete reboot on account of the known content that didn't get included in its release though.

To be fair, Soulstorm exists due to a great deal of content that didn't get included in AE original release. It's the same situation as Munch, the only difference being that we don't yet know what exactly was cut out.

So far, we know that a different cast of Glukkons were intended, along with a deeper look at the actual societal structure of Oddworld. That's the kind of world building fans have been begging for for years.

Once the game is out, you might well be saying it was a well justified reboot

[brechtos]

Loving the amount of personality that just spews out of those character renders!!

Probably as many here, AE is my fav of the 2 original sidescrollers. Not only because it had refined the gameplay but the environments felt so believable, detailed and fleshed out in terms of their design and atmosphere
If they can keep that wonderful vibe from the original games in there but with the quality level of the new characters... . I might need a new pair of pants. One thing is for sure though. Oddworld and it's story/lore is going to get a whole lot bigger and I couldn't be more excited for that.

After looking at the EGX talk a number of times now, it would seem that Soulstorm will start introducing us to the next levels of the food chain and as such a larger scale of gameplay perhaps? Or more layered type of gameplay?
Personally I'm getting fed up with every game seeming to have some form of crafting system these days. Going into menu's always takes me out of the experience, unless they are somehow tied to the actual game world. But hey, what we have seen now was prototype UI showing that they are exploring new types of gameplay for the franchise. It also shows that they are not afraid of mixing things up and that they are experimenting with all kinds of new ideas.

As it stands consider me intrigued, yet somewhat skeptical on where the game is going gameplay wise. But all we have to go on is a piece of prototype UI sooooooo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Looking forward to seeing more. But I'm guessing it will be quite a while before we will be seeing actual game footage. The game is probably still in the very early stages of development with most of the work so far been put into pre-production.

Btw, did anyone notice that the new FeeCo Depot was actually called Comet Depot in that matte painting?

[Nepsotic]

MUNCH was the future, despite its faults we went full roaming 3D oddworld explorer, and then Oddworld died more or less, now we're going back to square 1 and rebooting and retooling it.

You must be a complete tool if you think that Munch was a good direction for the series. Did you even listen to anything he said or are you baiting me right now

[CravenKnight]

I'll tell you what direction MUNCH was taking us in. Down a long, dark back alley full of rapists and disabled frogs in squeaky wheelchairs. And it's a dead end. There's no reward. You just have to make your way back. If that gets rebooted I'm sending Lorne another death threat.

[SkullFire58]

Dang, didn't know Munch was so despised by people. I personally loved the game, and it was the game that got me into Oddworld in the first place, but I can see it's faults and why fans of the original games were angry. But I didn't know people blamed Munch for the fall of the series, haha.

[JayDee]

We already know that Alf came with Abe from RuptureFarms, but it's interesting to see that Toby also came along from RuptureFarms judging from his clothes. It might also just be me not being fully used to the new differing designs for the Muds but Toby also seems like he might be a bit younger than the Muds we're used to seeing.

Either way I'm excited for a bit of exposition on his character.

[Ledeux]

For the love of god just tell me if its a side-scroller or not! I feel like you cant have New n Tasty be a side scroller and then go and completely turn it into something else. Right?? ALSO, I hope slig barracks is still in it. I want to see Slig Barracks in glorious HD.

[CravenKnight]

Dang, didn't know Munch was so despised by people. I personally loved the game, and it was the game that got me into Oddworld in the first place, but I can see it's faults and why fans of the original games were angry. But I didn't know people blamed Munch for the fall of the series, haha.

I'm just joking around. It's the worst game in the series but I understand OWI were fucked by EA or something and a TON of shit that was going to be originally included suddenly wasn't because they had to rush shit and so on. If they had made what they intended it would have been fucking great.

For the love of god just tell me if its a side-scroller or not! I feel like you cant have New n Tasty be a side scroller and then go and completely turn it into something else. Right?? ALSO, I hope slig barracks is still in it. I want to see Slig Barracks in glorious HD.

Man there's more to life than HD remakes of exactly the same shit you've played before. They're offering a completely new game with similar storyline and some people are just fixated on whether its going to be identical to the original or not. I've been chatting with someone on Discord about this and I don't mean to single you out but you're a prime example of why this fanbase can't have nice things.

I feel like you cant have New n Tasty be a side scroller and then go and completely turn it into something else.

Why can't you? ITS A NEW FUCKING GAME