Oddworld series

Oddworld is a series of cinematic platforming videogames set on a fictional planet of the same name. The franchise is produced by Oddworld Inhabitants under the direction of Lorne Lanning. Many real world themes important to Lorne Lanning form the foundation for the series' storyline. Such themes include slavery, substance abuse, animal testing, spirituality, and the overarching theme of corporate cartels running and destroying the world around them purely for profit.

The Oddworld series has six main games: the two games of the original quintology (Abe's Oddysee (1997) and Munch's Oddysee (2001)), the side games that occur within the original quintology's timeline (Abe's Exoddus (1998) and Stranger's Wrath (2005)) and the rebooted quintology (New 'n' Taty (2014) and Soulstorm (2021)). There are also three portable games: Oddworld Adventures (1998), Oddworld Adventures 2 (2000) and Munch's Oddysee GBA (2003). There is also two art books, The Art of Oddworld Inhabitants: The First Ten Years 1994 - 2004, which contains many pieces of artwork from the earlier days of Oddworld Inhabitants, and the newer book Abe's Origins which covers in more detail the design process behind Abe, the world he inhabits, the colourful cast of supporting characters and previously unseen concept art.

Original storyline
The overall narrative in the Oddworld series mostly covers the conflict between the industrialists and the natives. The industrial species on Oddworld are only interested in making profits and in the process destroy much of the planet's nature. The natives are trying to protect the planet and their own species from dying to the industrialists' greedy ways.

The main storyline follows Abe, a Mudokon worker born into slave labor at the RuptureFarms meat processing plant. When the Glukkons have driven most of the natural wildlife to near extinction they decide that Mudokon meat is the next best way to drive up their profits. Abe overhears their plans and escapes the factory, but then finds out he is destined to save his species from slavery. After completing a set of ancient trials, giving him the power of the mythical Shrykull, Abe breaks back into RuptureFarms to save his fellow Mudokons and shut the factory down once and for all.

Classic series (1997 - 2005)
The original four games were developed in quick succession in the period between 1997 and 2005. After the problematic release of Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath Lorne Lanning decided to stop developing games until the development studio reopened in 2016.

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Abe’s Oddysee is a 2.5D platformer that tasks you with navigating the dangerous alien underworld, manipulating or persuading NPCs, and, in some places, stealthing your way past sleeping foes. Abe can achieve this via a variety of methods, usually exclusive to solving a puzzle on each screen. He has the ability to mind control Sligs, the most common grunt enemy, as well as the charisma needed to convince his fellow Mudokons to help him out after rescuing them. As he frees his brothers, he is faced with new challenging species and traps laid out by the Glukkons for their new product, the Mudokon-Pop. This was the first in the Oddworld Quintology and was the stepping stone to Abe´s Exodus and the games that followed.

Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus
Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, developed by Oddworld Inhabitants and published by GT Interactive Software for Playstation. Abe has returned to save his fellow Mudokons from slavery and make SoulStorm Brew, a drink that is made from Mudokon bones and tears. Hours of platform puzzles will keep you hooked as you use your physical prowess and GameSpeak to try to free Mudokons from the mines they are forced to labor in, overseen by their Glukkon captors. This is the second game Oddworld Inhabitants has made; it was labeled as more of a bonus game, rather than the second part of the Oddworld Quintology.

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee
 First planned for the PlayStation 2, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee is the third game in the Oddworld series, but officially the second game in the Oddworld quintology. Due to the rich variety of consumer products derived from Gabbit species, their legacy has nearly come to its end. For the amphibious Gabbit, there is only one lonely individual that survives; that one is named Munch. However, it won’t be spotted where one might typically find such a Gabbit. This one is currently an entrapped test subject within the horrible testing facility known as Vykkers Labs. Fight against the Industrialists to save the Gabbit species alongside Munch and Abe as they take on their third title in 3D.

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
Oddworld: Stranger´s Wrath is about Stranger, a bounty hunter who tracks Oddworld criminals, also known as Outlaws, in an attempt to raise money for an unexplained surgery that he "needs to survive." This story is set out far from Eastern Mudos and into the Western Mudos. Western Mudos is comprised of two types of social classes: The Industrialists and The Natives. Combining a first-person shooter and a third person action game, this game takes on incredible boss fights and opens up uncharted territory in a whole new setting but on the same planet.

Second series (2010 - present)
After a five year hiatus and two failed movie projects Lorne Lanning announced in 2010 that a third party developer, Just Add Water Ltd., would be developing a full HD remake of Abe's Oddysee, officially rebooting Abe's original story. Oddworld Inhabitants reopened the doors of its own game development studio in 2016 in order to develop Oddworld: Soulstorm, a modern reimagining of Abe's Exoddus.

Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty is the 2014 HD remake of the original Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee developed by Just Add Water Ltd. and published by Oddworld Inhabitants. The game is described as an ground-up remake of the original 1997 classic. In Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty, the player controls Abe and similar to the original, the gameplay is a sidescrolling platformer with an emphasis on puzzle solving, New 'n' Tasty reimagined the classic game in a 2.5D graphical style. Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty also served as a reboot point for the original Oddworld Quintology.

Oddworld: Soulstorm
Oddworld: Soulstorm takes the place of Munch's Oddysee as the second in the Oddworld Quintology, although it follows a heavily revised version of Abe's Exoddus' events. After Abe escapes from Rupture Farms in New 'n' Tasty, he and his followers go on the run, being hunted by the vengeful Molluck and discovering the sinister effects of Soulstorm Brew. The game is controlled in 2D, but everything else is 3D, creating a 2.9D experience that allows Abe to travel smoothly between foreground and background. The game features a 'scavenger's economy', where Abe must find his tools for survival in bins, lockers and the pockets of Sligs. To survive and free his species from the chemical chains that bind them down, Abe must traverse a variety of locations, discover dark truths and ignite a revolution across Mudos.

Canceled games

 * Oddworld: Munch's Exoddus was supposed to be a sequel to Munch's Oddysee, but presumably never even made it into proper development.
 * Oddworld: Squeek's Oddysee was supposed to be a new chapter in the series, introducing Squeek as a new character after Munch's story arc was resolved.
 * SligStorm, a game about an albino Slig needing to escape its birthing facility for fear of being killed. Oddworld's publishers at the time did not like the idea of a Slig as a main character.
 * Hand of Odd, an RTS type game involving both factions of the Oddworld series.
 * Oddworld: The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot was supposed to be a game revolving around a new character who was Shepard named Fangus Klot who was used in fighting in an arena in a darker part of Mudos.