Oddworld : Abe's Oddysee

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee for PlayStation is a 1997 cinematic puzzle-platform game developed by Oddworld Inhabitants and published by GT Interactive. It introduced Abe, a timid Mudokon floor waxer at the immense RuptureFarms meat-processing plant. When he overhears the Glukkon owner Molluck's plan to turn the factory's enslaved Mudokon workforce into a new food product, Abe flees the plant and begins a journey that becomes a rescue mission for his people. The PlayStation release is the original entry in the Oddworld series, combining dark comic imagery, pre-rendered backdrops, animated cinematics, and a strongly environmentalist fable about exploitation.

Play unfolds across connected 2D screens rather than a free-roaming world. Abe must time deliberate jumps, clamber across ledges, roll beneath dangers, avoid falls, and work out how switches, lifts, doors, mines, and other hazards fit together. The design asks players to observe a scene before acting: a careless step can draw a guard's attention, trigger a trap, or leave Abe stranded. Checkpoints return Abe to earlier marked locations after a mishap, so progress comes from learning routes and solving the next obstacle rather than from combat prowess.

Escaping RuptureFarms is only part of the goal. Throughout the adventure, Abe encounters fellow Mudokons who can be led to bird portals and freed. His GameSpeak commands let him ask workers to follow, wait, operate machinery, or respond to simple call-and-response puzzles. Rescuing people requires planning around enemies and hazards, and the number saved affects the conclusion: freeing at least half of the 99 Mudokons opens the successful ending. This gives the platforming a management dimension, since a route that is safe for Abe alone may not be safe for the group following him.

Abe is not defenseless, but his tools are situational. He can throw rocks, meat, and later explosives to distract foes or affect the environment, while careful movement can keep him out of sight. In designated safe areas, chanting allows him to possess a Slig guard; controlling that enemy can provide access to switches, weapons, or paths too dangerous for Abe's own body. Chant suppressors restrict this ability in many places, keeping possession a puzzle tool rather than an all-purpose solution. Abe can also call and ride the helpful Elum in certain outdoor sections, adding another layer to navigation.

The route beyond the factory takes Abe through industrial stockyards and into older Mudokon territories, where he undertakes trials associated with the Scrabs and Paramites. These creatures are not merely visual decoration: their territory, behavior, and reactions shape individual puzzles. Completing the trials grants Abe the power of Shrykull for limited uses, enabling him to clear immediate threats when he returns to confront RuptureFarms. The contrast between the factory's machinery and the temples' ritual spaces gives the game a clear progression from escapee to reluctant liberator.

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee arrived on PlayStation alongside DOS and Windows versions in September 1997, with its original PlayStation structure retained in this catalogue entry. It was followed directly by Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus in 1998, while the Game Boy adaptation Oddworld Adventures condensed and altered the story rather than reproducing the PlayStation game. Japan received a localized version titled Abe a GoGo, with changes to Mudokon artwork and other content. A later remake, Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty!, re-created the premise in a different production, so it should not be confused with the original PS1 release. Abe's Oddysee remains the foundation of the series' mix of screen-by-screen platform puzzles, character communication, and the struggle to free the Mudokons.