Kotaku game diaryThe latest opinions from a Kotaku member about a game we are playing.I started playing Oddworld: New ‘N Tasty and oh god, i’ll have to save the 299 of these mudokons, right?
In 2014 Oddworld: We ‘n’ Tasty, you play as the Mudokon Abe, an overworked and paid job for a company that destroys the ecosystem and makes the indigenous creatures disappear, making you your typical Amazon employee. New ‘n’ Tasty follows Abe as he escapes from RuptureFarms, an evil meat processing plant whose board has decided to turn his Mudokon workforce into his latest product. There are 299 Mudokon slaves you can choose to save from the clutches of Evil Alien Jeff Bezos, but you only have to rescue about half to get the good end of the game. I do not complete the games 100%, although sometimes I want to, because I think it’s a waste of time, but I can make 150.
For most of the game, you navigate terrible platform puzzles, such as dodging falling pieces of meat or sneaking up on happy armed guards. Save your co-workers by calling them with multiple commands. To get her attention, you can make Abe say “Hello.” To get them to follow you wherever the portal closest to freedom is, just say “Follow Me.”
The reason I only planned to save the minimum amount of mudokons needed to get the right ending is because mudokons are as silly as bricks. Without a meticulous guide, they will walk carefree into the various pitfalls and dangers that make RuptureFarms a OSHA nightmare. Did you forget to disarm a meat grinder before signaling to your friends with the “follow me” command? Well, now there are bits of Mudokon exploding across the screen while an audio signal sounds that exhausts your guts to mark your failure. I don’t need that kind of stress, everyone.
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As I explored, I came across a large sign that said “If you leave, everyone will die.” It’s a big heart-wrenching sign that contains a bunch of sad, dead Mudokons asking in silence, “You’re not going to leave us here to die, are you, Abe?”
Yes, I would. After all, what flight attendants tell you before you leave is, “You have to fix your mask before you help others.” Abe has to be saved first, right?
Oddworld it’s nice because it keeps track of how many Mudokons there are and how many you’ve saved through large billboards placed sporadically throughout the game. Before escaping from RuptureFarms, I checked my progress on the billboard. I was 20 Mudokons saved, I lost no casualties and I was left with 279 Mudokons. The game is cunning, as it tells you how many total muds there are (299), but never how many only at your level. So when I got to the next level, I wasn’t prepared for the horror I felt when I was told he had abandoned 50 mudokons to his sentence. I knew of the secrets: the well-hidden doors and portals that reveal hidden areas where there are more workers to free. But I wasn’t trying to make this game 100%, I had a certain idea that people would die, I just didn’t expect more than 2/3 of the mudokons of this level to be in hidden areas.
I heard really bad, in a way I didn’t expect. Those 50 points on the “casualties” billboard were a condemnation not for my thoroughness as a player, but as a person. What kind of monster knowingly, he leaves behind 50 mudokons to die for Yours crimes? If it was one or two, maybe I could have continued my “minimal” career. But 50? That was too much. Those lives were in my head and I had to do it right. I am Jack Shepard and I i have to go back.
I thought it would be a simple matter of reloading my last quick save, except that quick saves don’t work between levels. To go back, I would have to start the game again. So I did. There is a point on the first level where you can escape by a sleeping guard or kill him. I sneaked ahead, but I should have chosen violence: when I returned to this area after realizing I had lost a secret, the way the guard was positioned prevented me from killing or sneaking back in. . Another reboot. All in all, I spent over three hours touring a place that normally only takes 40 minutes, before finally completing it with the 70 mudokons saved.
Since I had no plans to complete the game 100%, I thought I was ready to accept some casualties. I don’t need 299 mudokons to get the good end, but yes lives in play. When Mario escapes the glow of a hidden cat, no one shoots a cat. If I don’t find my co-worker secretly in a hidden area, he fucks mor. The guilt is overwhelming.
So this is my life now, I’m on my way to saving 299 co-workers because I can’t live with the knowledge of leaving them behind. I have to play with the laptop nearby, a ride in the queue, because I’m paranoid, you’ll miss a secret area.
It is difficult to be settled with this new responsibility. All the stress I was trying to avoid has become my constant companion. I’m gutted every time I get fucked and a co-worker dies, forcing me to reload a difficult puzzle. It’s worse because Abe knows his fault is for his deaths, but he shrugs and offers an unfortunate “oh no”. Why am I cursed for worrying so much?