Oddworld: Soulstorm’s wait ends as the recent launch trailer revealed by developer Oddworld Inhabitants has finally come to light in an explosive action-adventure game complete with crafting, scavenging, platforming, and sneaking. The game is priced on PlayStation 4 and PC for $49.99. If you are a PS5 PS+ member, for the month of April the game is free.
It’s the story of an impossible flight against an opposing force that will use every means at their well-funded disposal, from propaganda to brutal force to deadly violence, to stop Abe and the uprising. Oddworld: Soulstorm, now available on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4.
Game details as presented on the official website:
FREE PATH – PS4 to PS5
The digital version of the game releases on April 6th on PS5 and PS4. The PS5 digital version will be free for PS5 PS+ members during the month of April. If you purchase the PS4 version, we are offering a free path to the PS5 version. Because the game is free for PS5 PS+ owners in April, we will not be offering a free backward path from PS5 to PS4.
The physical retail versions of the game will be in stores on July 6th. If you purchase the physical retail PS4 version, you will get the PS5 digital version at no cost.
PC SPECS
- Minimum requirements are as follows: Windows 7 64 Bit, Intel Quad Core 1.7Ghz, 8GB RAM.
- Recommended requirements are Windows 10 64 Bit, Intel Quad Core 2.3Ghz, 16GB RAM.
SAVE THEM ALL
There are nearly 1,400 Mudokons that you can save in the game. How you decide to play is up to you, but keep in mind there are multiple endings in the game, and we recommend you try to save at least 80% of the Mudokons in each level (See ENDINGS for explanation). There is strength in numbers with Followers being a plus multiplier for Abe.
In New ‘n’ Tasty, Mudokons followed you or stayed put. They were beasts of burden you led through deadly obstacle courses in the hopes you would lead them to rescue, but they gave you no real support or power of scale; they just made your job harder.
In Soulstorm, it’s more than just saving all those Mudokons for a better quarmic score and narrative outcome. Players will be able to harness the power found in numbers to solve their way out of more difficult situations that could be impossible for Abe to take on alone. This also gives the player an ability to place these more capable (and potentially lethal) followers around a level to lie in wait as active agents that can be used to protect Abe’s (and each other’s) backs. We wanted an ability for the player to position individuals like guards and have a defensive and offensive capability after you got them to become a follower of Abe.
ENDINGS
Endings! Soulstorm has 15 levels, with two additional levels at the end of the game (making for 17 levels in all) if you are good at saving Mudokons. There are four types of endings in the game. At the end of each individual level, you receive a Quarma score, which is based on the number of Mudokons you save. You must save at least 80% of the Mudokons in a level to achieve a good score, but to make it clear, you don’t have to save any to progress through the game’s first 15 levels. But this 80% score is vital if you want to unlock levels 16 and 17.
Here is the breakdown of the levels. If you save at least 80% up to six levels, you will earn the worst ending. If you achieve that score in at least 7 and not higher than 11 levels, you unlock the bad ending which has an explosive ending cinematic. If you safely save the 80% number in at least 12 of the 15 levels, you earn the good ending which includes an additional cinematic and unlocks levels 16 and 17 to play. Lastly, if you secure 80% in every single level, all 17, you earn an additional ending (newspaper cinematic).
LEVEL SELECT GAME MODE
Once you finish each level, you unlock it in Level Select. This mode allows you to replay any level you want, as much as you want. It allows you to replay levels to improve your Quarma score and earn more badges (See Quarma & Leaderboards).
More importantly, if you didn’t unlock the ending you wanted(See Ending), you can replay the levels where you saved less than 80% and try to improve your score. Once you achieve at least 80% in a minimum of 12 out of the 15 levels, you will unlock the good ending.
But like all Oddworld games, you should expect a challenge. In Level Select if you die, don’t worry, you will respawn at the nearest check point. But there are NO SAVE POINTS. None. Nada. You must play the entire level all the way through to earn your new Quarma score and badges.
QUARMA & LEADERBOARDS
At the end of each level, you are given a Quarma score based on the number of Mudokons you save vs those you either didn’t find or were killed, as well as earned badges. The more Mudokons you save, the higher your Quarma score.
If you want to unlock the “good ending” that you save at least 80% of the Mudokons in a minimum of 12 of the first 15 levels in the game. You can upload your scores to the leaderboards to see where you rank against other Soulstorm players.
WHAT IS 2.9D?
Glad you asked. 2.9D was created to show how vulnerable our characters would feel when facing off against enormously scaled intimidating worlds full of epic threats and brutal dangers. Traditional platforming games tend to be your standard side-scrolling fare, but we want to create an epic world that shows how small Abe is and how large the forces against him are.
We created new core tool systems and behavioral rules that allowed us to capture a much larger journey with greater sense of scale and more depth while moving through the world as gameplay and story unfolds. At the beginning of a level, you will be given a grand view of where you must go to get to the next level and thanks to 2.9D, you will be able to travel into the game as opposed to running only left or right.
Come join Ashley at 11:00 AM PS1/2:00 PM EST/6:00 PM GMT for a fun dive into #OddworldSoulstorm! Stream is available to watch on our Youtube, Facebook, and at https://t.co/SLB4iyAhdx! pic.twitter.com/cUlGY6O5k1
— Oddworld (@OddworldInc) April 6, 2021
SCAVENGING & CRAFTING
Abe and his fellow Mudokons are up against an all-powerful, all controlling, well financed force. On Abe’s journey, you can scavenge for loot, supplies, and other materials that you can use to help you and your followers. Pickpocket, loot trash cans and lockers, find hidden materials in boxes, etc. As you progress, you will unlock recipes to build better items and weapons. You can even sell surplus to vending machines for Moolah and buy items as well. Keep in mind that your followers can be armed with the items and weapons you build, and they can join in the fight when necessary or help solve problems that Abe cannot do alone.
Save more Mudokons = unlock better endings
Oddworld: Soulstorm is available on PS5 tomorrow for PlayStation Plus members at no additional cost. Details on multiple endings: https://t.co/czGD5qZpKN pic.twitter.com/76S7qttR05
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) April 5, 2021
PC/PS5/PS4
We set out to ensure that PC, PS5, and PS4 players enjoyed a nearly identical gameplay experience. The same number of NPCs on the screen (which could be 100s) with explosions and high-octane action. But to achieve this, the PS4 runs at 1080p 30 frames per second whereas the PC and PS5 are run at 1440 60 frames per second.
PS5 holds a distinct difference due to its DualSense controller which brings new functions that increase a player’s emotional connection to the game’s characters. You will feel Abe’s heartbeat palpitations increase in times of stress and danger. You will experience resistance from the adaptive triggers when Abe hits resistance trying to activate or push something.
And one more thing, the physical retail versions of the PlayStation 4 and 5 game will be in stores on July 6th, and If you purchase the physical retail PS4 version, you will get the PS5 digital version at no cost! pic.twitter.com/SBMq3FT5BL
— Oddworld (@OddworldInc) April 2, 2021
THE STORY
Oddworld: Soulstorm is its own individual game to enjoy, but if you haven’t played Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, here is a brief synopsis of the game.
Abe was a happy cog in the corporate machine at a meat processing plant called RuptureFarms. He believed the lies he was fed. His sole purpose was to serve a conglomerate of greed, and he had no idea that after his usefulness dried up it would consume him, quite literally, in the end. There’s a moment where Abe clearly sees what’s happening around him, not just what “big brother” tells him to see. That moment changed his destiny. He tries to escape but something inside of him, a greater purpose compels him to save every Mudokon at the plant.
And this brings us back to Soulstorm.
