Keri Allan is back, this time with Abe.

Oh Abe, how I miss you. To me, Oddworld’s Abe is one of the most memorable PlayStation characters, with his laughing – and farting – always making me chuckle (yes I never grew out of infantile humour).

First appearing back in 1997 with the original Oddworld game, Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, we’ve seen him evolve from lowly slave to social leader of the Free Mud Party. As a Mudokon he has been cited as being slow-witted and lazy, lacking imagination, logic, intelligence and confidence, but still I love him. Together we’ve freed slaves, brought down the bad guys and even helped restless spirits. We’ve even begun to explore his planet and made new friends as the ‘series’ progressed.

The PlayStation offered a new gaming experience when it was released, and Abe’s first title was a great way to show it off. A 3D platformer with a personality, Oddysee was realised so vividly that many gamers really felt immersed in the Oddworld experience. Perhaps not that groundbreaking, nevertheless its features and gameplay were a great success. Memories of the fun of mind controlling semi-intelligent creatures, ‘gamespeaking’ and even the frustrating moments of accidentally taking one step too many at ledges (we all had them) bring a wistful smile to my lips.

Sadly though, it felt as if Oddworld disappeared overnight. The original concept of a quintology of Oddworld games was scrapped after the second game in the series, as the development company Oddworld Inhabitants decided to change their focus on film production. Sure, we saw a few ‘bonus’ games released – including the only other PlayStation release, Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus, but the move to different consoles, and the end to a potentially ‘classic’ quintology of games was, well, pretty damn gutting.

Although I think it’s unlikely we’ll ever see Abe again, I still have a little hope that I can’t let go of. But even if he never reappears on new consoles, I’ll never forget him – for me, his lovability is so strong that Oddysee is one of the very few original PlayStation games that I could put on and replay time and time again. Long live Abe.