Some four years since open-world action RPG Biomutant was first revealed to the world with a cool trailer, it’s finally out. Although for those who’ve waited so patiently to play it, they may well be disappointed to discover a gorgeous but janky mess, overly ambitious but under-achieving, and really rather broken.
Biomutant is the first game from Swedish developer Experiment 101. The team, which is made up of around 20 people, decided to start out big. Biomutant is a large, action RPG set in a new and unique post-apocalyptic open world, filled with mutated, intelligent animals and no humans. It also boasts a full morality system, multiple endings, a long list of side content, a variety of vehicles and mounts to use, full narration, a crafting system, randomized loot, ranged and melee combat, power-ups, and probably other things I’ve forgotten about. Every few hours during my 18-hour playthrough I found myself stumbling into a new mechanic or feature of the game and saying out loud, “Wow, now this is part of the game too?” Sadly, Biomutant struggles to pull all of these pieces together and make them work.
The game is set in the far future, long after humanity has escaped Earth after a giant corporation destroyed the planet with chemicals, deforestation, and mining. That company’s meddling and awful practices ended up mutating all life left on the planet, leading to a world filled with sentient animal-people who can also shoot magic and energy from their hands. But this strange, quirky world is in danger. A large tree—known as The Tree of Life—is dying, and when it goes, so too does the world. Four powerful creatures, Worldeaters, are eating its large roots, killing it in the process. Your furry character, whom you create at the start of the game, has returned home to the tree to save it and reconnect with the people they left behind after a deadly attack on your village killed your family.
Comment