Abe has the ability to telepathically control Sligs (a type of enemy non-player character), but can only use this in safe areas. In many areas, flying orbs prevent Abe's telepathy by zapping him. Once Abe successfully possesses a Slig, Abe can control their movements to attack other enemies and activate mechanisms too dangerous for Abe, and can then destroy the Slig. Abe's body is immobile and vulnerable whilst possessing another character, whereas if his host is killed, control will return to Abe's body.
Along the way, the player will encounter other Mudokons that he can rescue. By holding down the GameSpeak button and pressing various commands, Abe can command them to follow him, stay put, and activate mechanisms, as well as praise or scold them. Sometimes Abe will have to go through certain procedures to persuade a certain Mudokon, such as responding to whistles. Mudokons can be rescued by safely leading them past traps and enemies to bird portals, which can be activated by chanting. If the player rescues at least 50 Mudokons (of the possible 99) during the course of the game, the Mudokons rescue Abe in the good ending of the game.
Throughout the game, Abe is attacked by Sligs, Scrabs, and Paramites. Sligs will shoot on sight, but cannot see through dark areas; Scrabs will attack anyone in their territory; whilst Paramites will attack in packs and become shy alone. Elums are bipedal creatures that Abe can ride and communicate with by GameSpeak, although they will be distracted by dripping honey. Late in the game, Abe gains the ability to transform into a demigod 'Shrykull', which can eviscerate all on-screen enemies. Abe can gain a limited number of transformation uses after rescuing enough Mudokons at the same time.
Plot
Characters
Abe's Oddysee includes only four named characters, and many anonymous slaves and guards. The protagonist of the game is Abe, a Mudokon slave worker born into captivity and ignorant of his people's rich history and culture. Abe is often described as a "klutz"; and his mouth is sewn shut, possibly to prevent his outcry.
During his adventure, Abe is joined by the Elum ("Mule" spelled backwards): a stubborn, loyal assistant. Abe and Elum were originally envisioned as beginning Abe's Oddysee together, living off the land until thrust into an industrial factory; but the developers determined that the story was stronger should Abe come from a factory existence to self-sustenance.
A mentor enters the story in Big Face, the shaman of the Mudokon people, who wears a large wooden mask from which his name is derived. He saves Abe from death and sets him to rescue his compatriots and face the trials of the Monsaic Lines, before freeing the eventual dozens of freed slaves.
The primary antagonist of the game is Molluck the Glukkon, the ruthless chief executive officer of the meat-packing factory titled RuptureFarms. Because Molluck's business empire is failing in decline of the wildlife whose meat he sells, Molluck decides to use his Mudokon slave population in his food products.
Story
Abe's Oddysee begins with the eponymous protagonist as a prisoner in RuptureFarms, from which he narrates his story. He and many other Mudokons are slaves to Molluck the Glukkon, the owner of RuptureFarms: "the biggest meat-processing plant on Oddworld". Abe is a contented floor-waxer First Class and currently Employee of the Year.
At the time of the story, the ingredients of the corporation's three major "Tasty Treats" (Scrab Cakes, Paramite Pies, and Meech Munchies) are quickly running out, with the Meeches already extinct. While working late, Abe overhears Molluck's plan to use the Mudokon slaves as meat products called "Mudokon Pops!", which frightens Abe into escaping from the factory.
Outside RuptureFarms and the surrounding Free-Fire Zone, Abe sees a moon with its face in the shape of a Mudokon handprint. Thereupon he suddenly falls down a cliff, smashing his head; and as he lies on the ground, the shaman BigFace orders Abe to rescue his enslaved brethren and "restore the lost land", having first accomplished the Mudokons' spiritual trials in the forests of Paramonia and the deserts of Scrabania. In each land, Abe traverses a labyrinthine, abandoned temple; and after each of these, BigFace marks one of Abe's hands with a scar: one representing the Paramites and one representing the Scrabs. When Abe has both scars, he can become the Shrykull, an invincible demigod.
With this new ability, Abe returns to RuptureFarms, rescues his Mudokon brethren, and deactivates most of the factory's power. When Molluck discovers this and decides to flood the entire factory with poisonous gas, Abe races to the boardroom and once there uses the Shrykull's power to destroy the Glukkon executives (who were summoned under a pretense of an emergency board meeting to be safe from the gas) and security system before terminating the gas; but is himself captured. What happens next depends on how many Mudokons were rescued throughout the game. If the player has rescued at least 50 Mudokon slaves in the game, the Mudokons summon magical lightning that zaps Molluck, with BigFace rescuing Abe and returning him to a hero's welcome. But if the player fails to rescue 50 Mudokons throughout the game, Molluck makes Abe fall into a meat grinder. Subsequent games and media treat the Good Ending as canonical.
