Oddity is the closest thing to Mother 4 we're likely to see for a long while, and it's got a new trailer. The long-awaited spiritual return of the Earthbound (Mother in Japan) franchise has seen numerous development setbacks since it was announced way back in 2010, but it seems Oddity is now back on track and looking better than ever.
Of course, it should be restated that Oddity is not actually Mother 4 or Earthbound 3, but it isn't exactly shy about its inspiration either. Here's the official description from the developers:
"ODDITY is a surreal urban fantasy role-playing game set in the Seventies. Play as Travis Fields, an ordinary boy who leaves home in a bid to save the world. Travis takes to the field armed with a baseball bat and pellet gun... Along with powers he's only now discovering. It might have something to do with that "Gate" thing that blew up on an impromptu camping trip...
...Whatever the case, the world's in danger! People are crabby, demons run amok, the moon's covered in creepy ooze, a bear did something... And to top it all off, there's even a secret society called the "Modern Men" popping up lately. They might be behind all the recent kidnappings... But don't worry! You'll make plenty of friends as you fight your way through this weird and groovy world!"
Fans of the Mother series have been starved for a new release since Mother 3 released in the prehistoric days of the internet, 2006. Worse yet, that game never even made it out of Japan. For those reasons, it's easy to see why fans are chomping at the bit for Oddity. The last we heard, the project was slated for a Winter 2014 release window.
Now in a new decade, Oddity has resurfaced with a fresh coat of paint, and the 16-bit environments and sprites really do look wonderful. Perhaps for the better, the team behind the project is ditching release windows, opting to release Oddity "when it's ready." Hopefully it's ready before the next decade this time around.
We might not get Oddity this year, so turn your attention to the best upcoming games of 2020 (and beyond).
