Possession

Possession is the ability that Abe uses to control other beings, whether natural or industrialist. While under his control, Abe can make use of any of that creature's abilities, including movement, attacks, and GameSpeak commands. It's invoked through the use of his chant.

Gameplay
Possession allows the player to access certain areas that would otherwise be inaccessible to Abe. When another creature is possessed, new features and voice commands are available depending on the creature being controlled, but as a trade-off, some things are physically unavailable as well. For example, possessing a Slig grants the ability to fire a gun and use unique Slig voice commands to order Slogs around as well as open voice locks. However, Sligs cannot sprint quickly or jump like a Mudokon can.

If the possessed creature dies, the player's control immediately returns back to Abe. If possessing a specific creature was Abe's only shot at making progress in the game, this mistake could cost Abe's life as well as the possessed creature's.

Abe's Oddysee, Abe's Exoddus, and New 'n' Tasty
When Abe possesses a creature, the chant automatically hones in on the target. De-possessing a Slig or Glukkon causes it to explode. Paramites and Scrabs, being sacred animals, don't explode when de-possessed.

GameSpeak is primarily used for ordering other creatures around and opening voice locks.

Munch's Oddysee
Abe must consume spooce to create a possession orb, which he then directs towards the enemy he wishes to control. These possession orbs follow physics, collision, and have a very small jump. This ability is not available until he unites with Munch in the Mudokon Pens.

Abe can now even possess Slogs, of which both do and don't explode when de-possessed, depending on the level.

Gamespeak commands for possessed enemies are mostly insults, which can be used to provoke other enemies into attacking. Voice locks can be activated by having a Slig speaking any command into a lock.

Unlike in Abe’s Exoddus, Glukkons do not explode when de-possessed, likely since they are required to completing levels where they most donate all their Moolah into the Lulu Fund, and since it might raise suspicion to the Industrial Side after their reported bankruptcies. Checking a Glukkon’s health can also check to see how much Moolah they hold to have donated.

Munch has the ability to control Machine Operators through the use of his brain implant.

Soulstorm
Oddworld: Soulstorm uses what is known as a Chi orb, which works similarly to Munch's Oddysee's possession orb. Instead of having to conjure a possession orb and charge it from Abe's spooce supply, the orb's lifetime is based on Abe's Chi level. Abe's Chi starts off at a quarter of the maximum, and increases with how many follower's are currently in the level (a dead, freed or still working Mudokon will not affect the Chi level). When the Chi orb appears, it starts eating away at the Chi level until it has ran out. Once the orb disappears, the Chi level automatically recharges.

Only Sligs are possessable, and the possession occurs when the orb hits the Slig. Sligs no longer run and scream when they hear chanting, but the alert level will be immediately set to maximum. They will also not fire upon the possessed Slig. However, they will fire if the possessed Slig starts attacking other Sligs. Tapping the chant button while a Slig is possessed will de-possess the Slig and knock them out, while allowing for the possession of others by the same orb. If the chant button is held, the Slig will explode like normal.

Sligs can still use all the gamespeak options that they had in New 'n' Tasty, but this is of limited use as Voice Locks are not present in Soulstorm, and Slog control is never required. They can use their weapons using the throw button, while being aimed by the right stick.

Trivia

 * The possession orb in Munch's Oddysee was used as a solution to handle the possess ability in a 3D environment, after the developers failed to have it work like in Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exoddus.
 * It is implied that Abe's possession ability maturing to the point of what he can possess being increased is due to the growing of his spiritual and psychic abilities.