Not sure why i suddenly decided to add Stranger's Wrath to the month's rotation, but it was different to the usual, at least. Probably due to the off-beat Oddworld style, as well as the design sensibilities of 2 (3?) video-game generations ago. Technically this (originally) came out in the 360/PS3 era, but it reminded me much more of the free-wheelin' PS2 days to be honest, in both the good (fun) and bad (jank) ways

The general loop is based around hunting down criminal bounties, and the unique selling point is the live ammo you use to nab them, either dead or alive. These live ammo - as in, living creatures, found in the wild - are a little interesting, but basically boil down to either stun damage or health damage (or a mix of the two). I feel like they could've gotten way wilder with these, although they'd probably need more varying enemies, and more interactable environments to support them

Another unique aspect is the camera, which switches between first-person (for shooting) and third-person (for platforming) at the tap of a button - another idea that's interesting at first, but starts to feel like it's pulling the game in two different directions. The platforming side in particular felt like it was a holdover from a previous design phase/idea, as i spent more and more of my time in first-person mode. Special pain is attributed to the "bounty capture" feature, which is a main source of extra income, and pulls you out of first-person mode every time, forcing you to switch back

Story and world are nicely presented, feeling like a place with a heaping of weirdness, while still having coherent themes and social fabric, done in a style that's probably a bit out of fashion for now. Some of this is undoubtedly due to the Oddworld setting and its world-building, which seems like a rich well to draw from, so i hope someone finds a way to explore that more

Nice nostalgia trip before finishing up the month, but not sure i'd easily recommend it to others, with the annoying flaws it has… and definitely pick easy mode when starting, as some areas were unnecessarily difficult - but maybe that's a "me" problem