Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee (1997)
Oddworld fucked me up. I wasn’t even 10 years old when I first saw Abe get gunned down outside a totalitarian industrial complex for getting on the wrong side of management and messing up a puzzle. The 2D adventure game had immaculately grim vibes with just enough cheeky, gallows humor to keep it from feeling entirely overbearing. The sequel spin-off had more depth and polish, but it still didn’t come close to the visceral gut punch of the first game. The opening FMV remains seared into my memory, and the late-game mechanical twist is an all-time great one. — Ethan Gach
