I Missed My Only Chance To Buy An ‘Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee' Action Figure

Forbes

2 days ago

Abe action figure.
I was browsing LinkedIn today, something I don't recommend anyone spend their precious time doing, and happened to come across a cool Kickstarter campaign for an Abe action figure. No, not presidential Honest Abe, and not Good Burger actor Abe Vigoda, but the brave Mudokon with a heart of gold, plucked directly from long-running puzzle-platforming franchise Oddworld—the Abe, in my retro gaming book.
The only trouble is…. the campaign ended on May 29, so now I can't buy what UK-based Gametee was selling: An officially licensed, 5-inch tall, 10-point articulated, hand-painted Abe action figure. What a complete bummer, although I'm honestly happy for the 1,686 backers who helped fully fund the project, which soared way over the original £14,000 goal with an impressive total £112,959 (roughly $152,000 USD).
I'm honestly surprised it's taken this long for an official Oddworld toy to make it to market, because the IP's world and characters are so stunningly rich and fleshed out and, let's admit it, utterly bizarre. It's all perfect for plastic, really. I'm thinking back to the '90s and I can't recall any mention of Oddworld action figures being in the works, although I wouldn't be surprised if there were talks at some point. Crash Bandicoot eventually got a set of toys, as did Primal Rage, Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. No Abe, though, until now.
As disappointed as I am that I missed this Kickstarter opportunity, it does give me hope that maybe Oddworld Inhabitants and Gametee will partner again to expand on what could potentially be a whole series of creatures. The Oddworld universe is simply begging for this kind of collectible tribute, and truly, there's no shortage of wacky critters to immortalize.
An Elum would be rad, which is a sort of alien steed that Abe rides around like a two-legged horse. A Slig toy would be a must as well, since they're patrolling everywhere inside the games. I'd especially love a Scrab or a Paramite, and I'm even imagining some detailed dioramas in which to display the figures. Or maybe Mighty Max-style playsets with miniature Mudokons, and neon lights! I'm getting carried away, obviously, but it's fun to think about.
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You can find a lot of custom Oddworld statues and similar works on sites like Etsy, and some of them are truly incredible, but in the end, official merch just hits different. Abe's Oddysee released way back in 1997, which seems like eons ago, but seeing this sort of Kickstarter come to fruition really brought back a lot of great gaming memories. The games were hard, no doubt, but I forgave the steep difficulty curve, simply because the sheer creativity on display was through the roof.
I'll eternally have a soft spot for Abe and his strange adventures, especially those incredible CG cutscenes that made owning a legacy PlayStation feel like magic.
Oh, and we can't forget the farts. So many digital farts.