Hug a tree

THQ Nordic has announced that furry open-world exploration game Biomutant will be coming to Switch on November 30, 2023.

Biomutant originally launched on other platforms on May 21, 2021. It drops you and your hideously ugly furson?a in a post-apocalyptic world where your goal is to maybe save the world tree if you think that’s a good idea. For the most part, it was very open-world and put an emphasis on crafting and explor??ation.

I liked it. Maybe one of the few, I think. I enjoyed the exploration, thought the world presented a nice amount of variety, and the crafting system is one of the best I’ve seen. Not only could you build weapons, you could take them apart and make them into better weapons. I don’t need to excuse myself for liking a game that other people bounced off of, but if I wanted to, 2021 was absolutely depressing. Any spark of joy just glowed brighter.

I’m not really sure how this is going to look on Switch. It uses Unreal Engine 4, which has built-in compatibility with the Switch. However, I feel like you’re going to need to substantially cut back on the vegetation and fur, and I’m not sure a naked version of Biomutant is going to look so hot. Still, gameplay-wise, it should be the same. We’re pretty far removed ??from the days when games needed to be scaled back to fit on handheld.

Biomutant is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Ser??ies X|S. It will be coming to Switch on November 30, 2023.

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Fly me to the moon

A ??new month is almost upon us, and the Pla??yStation Plus games for December have leaked just before the date ticked over.

Dealabs, which has leaked the list of PS Plus games before, has the alleged games for this coming month. The Mass Effect Legendary Edition is reportedly due up, as is Biomutant and Divine Knockout, or DKO.

These games will reportedly be headed to PlayStation Plus' Essential tier, the base level of PS Plus in Sony's tiered structure.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8i53TtQ6IQ

The Mass Effect Legendary Edition needs little introduction. It's a remastered collection of the Mass Effect trilogy, putting the whole thing in one tidy, neat package. And frankly, if it's ??going up on PS Plus, there's even fewer excuses to not dip into this and try it. There's not many other RPGs out there that do what this trilogy did.

Biomutant is the rodent post-apocalyptic action game from Experiment 101 and THQ Nordic. It dropped last May and seemed like it got an okay reception. If you like the idea of playing?? as woodland critters with gritty looks and weapons, this might be up your alley.

As for Divine Knockout, that's a new multiplayer game from Red Beard Games and Hi-Rez Studios. According to a Steam page listing, it's a third-per??son platform fighter that seems t??o take a more 3D approach to its smashing and bashing.

Last chance for last month's games

Keep in mind that the changing of the calendar month also means November's games are rotating out. As the December PlayStation Plus games hi??t, the November ones depart. So?? if you've yet to pick them up, sooner's better than later.

For November 2022, the list included Nioh 2, Heavenly Bodies, and the LEGO Harry Potter Collection. Thos??e will rotate out sometime in Dec?ember, so be sure to nab them if you want them.

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Middling adventure finds respectable success

Swedish holding company Embracer Group, fresh off of its latest shopping spree, has released its financial results for the most quarter. Among the facts and figures pertaining to the group's many studios, one of the most interesting revelations concerns THQ Nordic's open-world epic Biomutant, which launched on PC and consoles back in May.

Experiment 101's anthro-adventure has pulled in a respectable one million sales in the three months since its release, despite middling reviews from both critics and fans. More importantly, the ecological fantasy title successfully recouped not only all of its development and marketing costs in its first week of release, but also the $8.5 million USD that Embracer spent to acquire Experiment 101 back in November 2017. Ironically, this makes Biomutant both a worthwhile experiment (no pun intended) and a success for the publisher, despite the title's lukewarm recep??tion??.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9oPugTMPBw

A tale of pollution and evolution, Biomutant sees an adaptable mammalian being explore a wide-open world on a quest to rescue the dying "Tree of Life", the roots of which are being poisoned b?y a mysterious matter. As the protagonist explores the world, they encounter various friendly and not-so-friendly creatures, and must evolve and adapt their skills, abilities, and body form in order t??o best engage with each situation. While fascinating in concept and visually beautiful, Biomutant received criticism for being repetitive, even boring, and for failing to capitalize on its interesting concepts.

Still, the fact that Experiment 101's adventure hit the fabled one million mark, while also recouping so much of its owner's stake, bodes well for both the studio and perhaps the IP. Biomutant is a solid idea, and perhaps the team can capitalize on the game's positives and learn from its negatives in order to deliver a superior title down the line �whether set in the Biomutant universe?? or whatever world ??Experiment 101 turns its hand to next.

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Silence is Golden?

While we all like a helping hand now and again, adventurers currently questing their way through Biomutant are finding the fantasy world's narration a little annoying. Well, you and your furry pal can finally journey alone, thanks to a new update from Experiment 101, which allows p?layers to switch off th?e overlord voice completely.

Now live on all platforms, Biomutant 1.4 features a variety of tweaks designed to adjust the flow and pace of the game's dialogue, from the aforementioned narrator to the chatter of the beautiful locale's NPCs. In addition to fine tuning both the "gibberish" and "narration" settings, speed-reading players can also increase text speed, so ??you're no longer left waiting f??or the subtitles to catch up with your own eyes.

Alongside these text options, the new update includes a brand new "Extreme" difficulty setting. This will increase enemies' attack rate as well as the damage inflicted upon our fuzzy hero. For those who have already conquered Biomutant, New Game+ will now unlock all in-game class perks, allowing for custom-built protagonists from the very start. Speaking of which, the streamlined tutorial section hopes that players will get out of the starting blocks and into the meat of the ac?tion much faster than before.

These are just a few of the main takeaways from what is a huge update. There has been an abundance of prods and tweaks made to Biomutant's U.I., world, and combat mechanics, as well as a fistful of bug fixes across both PC and consoles. While a stunning world with lofty concepts, Biomutant has struggled to win ov??er the vast majority of video game fans, so hopefully this ongoing support will help this unique adventure title find its place in people's hearts. Adaptation is the key theme of the story, after all.

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Old world underground, where are you now?

The open-world genre gives me hesitation these days; it’s almost a bad w??ord. I blame Ubisoft. Not another waypoint! Not another tower to climb! Not another cathedral to parkour through! I’ll get to the main plot soon, I promise! Just a few more collectibles!

It’s not that I’m entirely down on the genre. I’ll readily admit to enjoying it. Games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Spider-Man have captured my attention and drawn me in, but to me, it’s like eating a bag of chips; my brain tells me I love it while it’s happening, but almost as soon as I’m done, I feel empty. The expanse of the vacuum varies, but I think even the best open-world games have giv?en me this feeling.

What gave me further pause about Biomutant was its protracted development time. It was announced back in 2017, I pre-ordered it in 2019, and here is finally in 2021. Its feature list has always struck me as over-ambitious, especially for a small team like Experiment 101. It was billed as this fully adaptable game that let you ma??ke all the decisions in what you do and how you approach the game’s main objectives. I had my doubts that it would d??eliver, and now that it’s finally here, I can firmly say that no, it doesn’t quite make it. It’s a bag of chips. Delicious, delicious chips.

Biomutant (PC [Reviewed], Xbox One, PS4)
Developer: Experiment 101
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Released: May 25, 2021
MSRP: $59.99

To be fair, Biomutant truly is a game with a lot of flexibility. You can be a complete jerk or a selfless hero, you can make ?the world worse off or try to save it?, and a lot of the game’s activities are optional in the truest of senses. Success can be achieved, even if you want to partake in one of the game’s main mechanics or not.

It’s not true freedom, of course, just freedom within reason. The narrative in Biomutant centers around a post-apocalyptic world struggling for breath. Humanity screwed the environment badly, and the planet’s new inha??bitants, the mutated predecessors of our wildlife, have been trying to keep things from getting worse. However, the Tree o??f Life is dying. A plague is spreading, and a quartet of munsters are eating at its roots. Which is where you come in.

You’re some sort of wandering ron??in returning to their homeland after considerable time away. Finding the tribes splintered and in turmoil, the Tree of Life withering, and munsters taking over, you set to work getting things back in order. If this means crushing everyone and helping the tree on its way, then have at it, you munster.

Mutant is a pretty apt description of Biomutant. At times, it feels like a twisting or mutation of particular formulas. It’s also narratively a bit of an amalgamation. It’s hard not to get a whiff of Breath of the Wild, Fallout, or Far Cry. There’s four munsters divided into the four corners of the map that you can take out at your own pace or just ??whenever. There are tribes you can unite or destroy or just ignore. You know that territory system where your map has little blotches on it telling you what belongs to what tribe? It’s here.

It has RPG mechanics and crafting, there are zones that are hazardous unless you’ve gathered ?gear and upgraded your character to resist their inflictions. There are munsters to be honted and cosmetic stuff to find for your various vehicles. It’s a big, sloshing bucket full of stew.

Which isn’t to say it’s bad or even derivative. It has its own flow, the world has its own feel, it’s just a lot. It’s hard to complain about having so much content, especially in a gam?e that is launching at a bargain price. Every time I’d start feeling like things were becoming routine, it would introduce something surprising that I hadn’t been expecting. I’d be going through a graveyard and suddenly be assaulted by skeletons or I’d find ruins that contain a gameplay mechanic I didn’t even know about. It tries to excite at every corner, and it larg?ely succeeds.

There was even one particular moment where I got that feeling like I was playing through someone else’s fetish, which was a little discomforting. I don’t know, maybe it’s suppos?ed to be innocuous and I’ve just spent too much time on the internet.

The mutation comes from the fact that not every facet got the same amount of love. The alignment system, for example, either needed to be cut or polished. On the surface, it’s pretty typical: release the prisoner or punch them in the face for no reason aside from the chance to be a dick. That’s disappointing in its? own right, but the larger issue is that you’re mostly just collecting good and bad karma, and that’s it. Sure, characters will call you a dick if you’re a dick, but let me explain.

Most of the time in Biomutant you’re just deciding whether or not ??you want the good points or the bad points. Spare a tribe’s Sifu or lock them?? up. Destroy a tribe or bring them into the fold. Release prisoners or give a speech about something. It’s nothing meaningful. It could have been something like siege a tribe outpost until they starve or challenge the Sifu to single combat, but it’s not. And sometimes I’d trip across dick actions by accident. I walked up to boxes of food and got the “interact�prompt, and when I pressed it, my guy just burned the boxes for no reason. It would take a long time to upset my karma ratio, it’s just out of character for a hero character.

The tribes are another half-baked mechanic. Three want to unite the tribes and save the world, the other three want to destroy the tribes and end the world. There aren’t two in-betweens, those are your options. You’re also forced into joining one of two tribes at the beginning of Biomutant (even though adve??rtising says the tribe war is optional), but you can then join another tribe at the cost of betray??ing your current one. I did this by accident. I just wanted to ask one of the other friendly tribes if they wanted to unite, and the next thing I knew, I had to retake territory I took for my previous tribe.

It’s a lot of open-world weirdness. I’d have difficulty naming one of these games that doesn’t have disappointingly raw mechanics floating around, I just kind of expect it at this point, but Biomutant is a game so crammed with content that you go from dizzying highs to nauseating lows pretty freq?uently.

It’s that pervasive smell of, “we eventually need to release this game.�At some point -- and maybe this wa?s dictated at a corporate level, but it had to happen -- they had to take all the pieces they had and put it together into a complete, playable experience. That means some of it is extremely good, and some of it is barely worth doing, and the fact that it’s all stirred together means that you can’t have the good without tripping into the bad.

I could honestly write an essay on all the little ways that Biomutant disappointed me, but I’d lose even the bravest soul around the 4,000 word mark and everyone else ??would just scroll straight to the score anyway. I wish the narrator would shut up every once and a while. There’s actually a slider for his frequency, but I’d swear it didn’t do anything. He’d still remind me it’s night three times a night. It’s also stupid easy. I don’t play open-world games for their challenge, but after I realized I never used healing items, I kicked the difficulty up to hard. Then I created a gun that eliminated the remaining challenge.

So, yeah, I can gripe about Biomutant’s shortcomings until the gnoats come home, but I feel that would give the impression that I didn’t like the game. On the contrary, I really enjoyed it. Exploring its world was a joy, finding a new “ultimate weapon�that I could take apart and turn into an even better weapon was always exciting, and it kept providing new experiences throughout its runtime. The combat is fun, allowing you to mix and match dif??ferent abilities to find the best way to inflict pain. It also does a good job of leaving it up to you how you tackle the game, providi??ng a bevy of options and just letting you choose what you want to do.

It's just got a lot of loose screws, which is horrifying to see on a roller coaster, but not quite the same omen of death in a video game. I think the team did the best they could putting all the little pieces together, and the amount of content that resulted is dizzying for a bargain priced title developed by a small team. I honestly think that Biomutant's potential isn’t going to be fully realized until a sequel, spiritual or other??wise, but wha??t’s here is perfectly entertaining.

I had a lot of trouble tearing myself away from Biomutant, and a lot of my grievances didn’t really surface until I’d finished it and had time to digest. Before that, I was absorbed in exploring its ??well-designed world, plumbing ruins, collecting dopey looking mounts, and dressing like I just survived a landfill explosion. There are some unwanted mutations in its genes, but they're covered in fur and easy to overlook.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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New videos show off next-gen performance

After a lengthy period of hyped and hushed development, THQ Nordic's epic open-world adventure Biomutant is almost upon us. The environmentally friendly journey of an ever-adaptive mammalian warrior will finally launch, May 25,?? on PS4, PC, and Xbox?? One.

While no next-gen edition exists, developer Experiment 101 has released two new gameplay videos, showcasing the PS4 and Xbox One editions performing on their PS5 and Xbox Series X counterparts. As expected, both editions look great, with PS5 running in native 1080p at 60 frames-per-second (upscaling to 4K with Dynamic Resolution), while Xbox Series X pulls of native 4K at 60 frames-per-second, bringing the luscious and dangerous world of Biomutant to life.

Of course, for those who do not yet own a next-gen platform, it bears repeating that Biomutant looks great on its native platforms, offering a rich and vibrant fantasy world packed with exploration and combat, allies and enemies, and Biomutant's evolutionary mechanics, that see our hero fine-tune their look, abilities, a??nd skills in order to best serve the given situation.

Biomutant is one of those titles that features a lot of scope and risk in its development, simultaneously sporting novel mechanics, a poignant tone, and untested branding. (Think Mirror's Edge, for example). It can be something of a dice roll has to how titles such as these are received by the gaming public, but hopefully Experiment 101's kung-fu epic will deliver gameplay equal to it?s ambition, going on to become one of the sleeper hits of 2021.

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Kung-Fu epic finally arrives May 25

Experiment 101's anthropomorphic adventure Biomutant is almost with us, after years of quiet contemplation and fervored development. As part of its final marketing furlong, publisher THQ Nordic dropped a brand new trailer yesterday, May 4, known in some corners as "Star Wars Day."

The smartly produced, heartfelt trailer is a pastiche of the previews for the recent Star Wars films, and sees Biomutant's lead mammalian getting their Jedi on. It's actually a really gorgeous short movie, and goes some way to spotlighting Biomutant's be?autiful worlds and creatures, cleverly combining the Star Wars pasti??che with a neat showcase for the game itself.

Just don't look too closely at their... erm.??.. "lightsaber"

Released on PS4, PC, and Xbox One May 25, Biomutant will see the player's ever-evolving hero journey far and wide on a quest to restore the Tree of Life, which is having its lifeforce drained at the roots by a mysterious plague. Biomutant's?? DNA-based gameply will allow players to alter the hero's skills, abilities, weapons, and fighting styles at will, fine-tuning the wanderer for each and every environment. It's certainly an intriguing title with an interesting premise, and hopefully this quiet promise will pay off come launch day, delivering one of the sleeper hits of 2021.

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Zen adventure arrives next month

It seems like a decade since we first heard about THQ Nordic's genetic-splicing adventure Biomutant, even though it has, in f?a?ct, been just four short years. But the development cycle is finally at an end and Experiment 101 is ready to release its curious fantasy title on the world.

THQ Nordic has released an atmospheric new trailer focusing entirely on Biomutant's huge, beautiful open-world. Said world is in dire straits, however, due to a suffocating pollution that is chewing away at the Tree of Life, the roots of which provide the land with the nutrient??s it needs in order to survive.

The player's custom character is tasked with exploring ??this world, searching out the Tree of Life roots and protecting them from destruction. Sounds simple enough, but each root also happens to be guarded by one of the land's six tribes, and a little democracy, compromise, or perhaps even violence will be in order if the tree is to be restored to its former glory. 

Biomutant's hook lies in the high customization of its character, skills, and weaponry via the title's genetic re-coding system. The player can adjust their physical and spiritual form in order to access new skills and abilities, as well as fighting styles and elemental buffs and debuffs. Crafting options will also allow the player to create new firearms, gear, and even transport (check?? out the weird clockwork hand in the trailer, for example).

It's been a long wait for Biomutant, and at present it's difficult to tell how the final game will turn out. But it certainly looks great and has a highly ambitious concept. If Experiment 101 has successfully managed to marry all of its gameplay threads together, then we could have one of the year's biggest sleeper hits on the horizon. We'll find out soon either way when Biomutant hits, Ma??y 25, on? PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

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It's been a long time coming for this PC, PS4, and Xbox One game

After what feels like several wellness checks, Biomutant has a release date for PC, PS4, and Xbox One: May 25, 2021. If you were expecting a Nin??tendo Switch version, THQ Nordic didn't ??bring it up today.

Biomutant is part melee action, part shooter – and it's set in an open world in which you can ride a jet-ski or a giant mechanical hand, mutate your fuzzy warrior to open up new abilities, and craft weapons. That's... a lot. As long as the world traversa?l isn't a slog and the fighting is fun, it should hopefully click.

I've had a soft spot for th??is action-RPG for some time, and while I'm not convinced it will be able to escape "flawed gem" status, there's no denying it has quite a visual hook. The latest video, ??from June, is a strange one. Will this game be spread too thin and outstay its welcome? I can't wait to find out.

There's?? something extra enticing about a game like this that can either go so right or so wrong.

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Bless the Beasts

It's an odd industry. An industry where a marketing tactic has become so despised and so commonplace that developers feel the need to actively reassure fans that it will not be implemented in their new games. The tactic in question? Microtransactions. And the game? THQ Nordic's Biomutant.

In an interview with Well Played, Experiment 101's studio head Stefan Ljungqvist was asked about his team's plans regarding DLC, or any other post-release content for the anthropomorphic adventure. While Ljungqvist hinted that DLC is a possibility, he plainly stated that Biomutant will?? "definitely not" feature any form of microtransactions.

As a quick refresher, Biomutant is a dystopian anthropomorphic adventure that heavily emphasises character customisation, weapon adaptation, and loot gathering. Players will have the opportunity to constantly re-tool their raccoon hero with a wide array of custom gear, upgrades and weapons, but clearly none of these items will be made available as in-game purchases. Honestly, microtransactions would make for an odd partner for the whole "Zen and Enlightenment" vibe that Biomutant is clearly very proud of.

Biomutant is currently scheduled to launch in 2020 for PS4, PC, and Xbox One. You can check out a full 10-minute gameplay montage right here.

Biomutant wants to ??make you the master of your furry fantasy [Well Played / DualShockers]

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'We are at the end phase of development'

Developer Experiment 101 continues to plug away at its dystopian adventure Biomutant, which has been quietly in development since its initial reveal back in the summer of 2017. Now entering th??e final phases of production, publisher THQ Nordic has released a 10-minute video giving us all a look? at the epic adventure in action.

As a quick refresher, Biomutant is the tale of a post-apocalyptic world populated by anthropomorphic animals. Players take control of a fully customisable raccoon character, who is tasked with rescuing The Tree of Life, which is slowly?? dying due to the failing ecosystem. Exploring a vast open world, players will encounter a wide cast of characters and localised tribes and must attempt, by favour or force, to gain access to the roots of the tree itself, embedded deep within each territory.

Dialogue choices, actions, and reactions will affect a "Karma" system which forms the spine of the adventure, having major impact on both the player character and the denizens that they encounter. On a physical front, Biomutant will feature constant customisation and adaptation options, as the hero alters their very being with new skills, abilities, and weapon??s as the sto?ry progresses.

Speaking on the Summer of Gaming live stream, creative director Stefan Ljun??gqvist spoke of the difficulties of creating such a freeing "go anywhere" environment.

"That’s one of the challenges in an open world game. You always have a choice of how free are you in this world," said Ljungqvist. "In the beginning of development, we were like, 'Yeah, let’s mak?e the player totally free'... Because literally you are free to go after the first hour of the game. You really can go anywhere you want in this world. But that’s also a challenge for those that might need more help or guidance, so we’re working on that."

Biomutant is currently in development for PS4, PC, and Xbox? One.

Biomutant "at the end phase of development" [Gematsu]

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Experiment 101 is finishing 'the final stages of its development'

Biomutant is one of the more out-there mainstream-facing games I've seen in the last few years, and ever since playing a brief preview build, I've wanted to know more. The open-world action-RPG blends a lot of differ?ent styles and influences in a way that's messy, and textured, but still undeniably fun.

I'm not the only one who's curious to know what's up with Biomutant. It's been unusually quiet, which tends to spur a sense of dread. The developer, Experiment? 101, re??cently broke its silence.

In a statement posted to Twitter, the stu??dio said it knows fans are getting antsy – and to hold tight. "We are doing everything we can to make this the best game all of us h??ave ever worked on," the post said.

"We can only hope for your continued support and patience as we complete the final stages of its development. As some of you might understand or know, the work involved in finishing a game is long, challenging, and unpredictable. The sheer magnitude, size, and length of Biomutant adds to said effort."

"We will reveal the release date as soon as everyone at our studio feels confident about hitting that date and that the game is ready for it," the developer continued. "Again, thank you for your understanding and for your continued support and ??enthusiasm for our game."

If everything comes together like I hope it will, I think Biomutant is going to catch people off-guard.

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$400 CE's for all!

Another day, another $400 collector's edition from THQ Nordic. After announcing that Destroy All Humans! would be receiving the double limited edition treatment, the upcoming open-world action platform Biomutant is set to get much the same. Buyers will have the choice between the $400 "Atomic Edition" or the $110 "Collector's Edition" bundle, each coming with an exclusive statue and some other plastic crap. You can't fault THQ Nordic for providing ?options, at least.

Well, let's go over the specifics. In the Atomic Editions, buyers will get a "high detail" diorama featuring the main protagonist and an ene??my squaring off in combat. It'll stand 12" tall, 10" wide, and 23" long. A special steelbook case to house the disc will be included alongside an oversized desk mousepad, a fabric print of the game's box art, a soundtrack, a T-Shirt in large or extra-large, and a premium box. Not the worst collection of items, though I'm not sure how a mousepad would help console gamers.

The more reasonab??ly priced Collector's Edition comes with the game, a small figurine of? the protagonist, the same cloth box art print, the soundtrack, and a different premium box. I don't know why you'd be buying a collector's edition for a completely new IP, but at least this one isn't so egregious.

You can pre-order either version for all three platforms (PC, PS4, Xbox One) other on the official Biomutant website. These don't seem to be in limited quantitie??s, so maybe wait before rushing off to grab one.

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Deathinitive! Still brilliant!

Video game retailer EB Games Canada has recently updated its online store, which appears to include new Nintendo Switch listings for THQ Nordic titles Biomutant and Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition.

Biomutant - which was fir??st revealed back in the summer of 2017 - is an open-world adventure which sees an anthropomorphic raccoon go on a zen-like quest to save its land via the fabled Tree of Life. Adaptation is key, with players able to alter the ??protagonist as they see fit, changing up its offensive and defensive options via attachments scavenged from battle.

Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition is a remastered version of the 2012 action-RPG. It is the tale of Death, on a mission to absolve his brother War, who is accused of the crime of wiping out humanity. Funnily enough, this story also involves the Tree of Life. The Deathinitive Edition - previously released for PS4, PC and Xbox One - features upgraded visuals and other tweaks, along wi??th all p?revious DLC content.

Biomutant for Switch is listed for March 2020, while Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition is listed for August 30 of this year. Of course, these ?store listings have not been ??officially confirmed by THQ themselves, so are still to be taken with just a pinch of salt.

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It's not out yet, I'm just giving you an early heads up

I can't really call Biomutant my biggest surprise of PAX because I once publicly said it "looks weird as hell and I'm really into it?," and the Internet never forgets. But if it weren't for that article, it sure would be.

It's strange, risky, creative, original, and so many other things. I want to shower it with love. I want more games to be as out-there and unafraid as Biomutant. While I can't make any? definitive claims about how the whole open-world action-RPG adventure will end up, I can say that it makes a great impression.

Experiment 101 brought a sort of "overview" demo to PAX that wasted no time showing me the highlights: a fluid third-person combat system not unlike Arkham Asylum but faster-paced; some cool abilities like a rocket fist and a mucus bubble for bouncing over gaps or rolling up enemies; a pilotable mech to traverse a toxic dying land; and a boss that ended with me getting swallowed and punching its innards, Yoshi's Island style. There wasn't a ?hin??t of open-world meandering. It was all riveting.

That said, I have to agree with Brett: there's a lot going on and it stands to reason that not all of it will come together in perfect harmony. But even if Biomutant is an uneven game, I'm all about it.

After my 20-minute demo, I spoke with gameplay programmer Oliver Bolt to better understand Biomutant. The gist is that it's a post-apocalyptic world, things are (relatively) okay, but they're starting to change for the worse. Oil is seeping up from the ground, contaminating everything in its path, and there's a Tree of Life with five roots that need saving and a world eater?? boss for each one.

"When you fac?e them in the real game you're going to have a choice: either to ally with them or fight t?hem," said Bolt. "You can either actively try to save the world from destruction or you can try to ensure that it gets destroyed." While he had to stay vague, he says the latter will "open  up new possibilities."

The demo tried to squeeze everything in a short amount of time, but the full game is "taking a lot of cues from Breath of the Wild." It's "fully open world." Bolt also described Biomutant as having an RPG "backbone," noting that you gain level-ups, get ??attribute points, and abilities grow powerful through use. "The more you use them the stronger they get and the more things you can do with them."

I asked how long Biomutant has been in production and how it's changed since the original idea. There are so many elements crammed in. Bolt explained that they've "changed almost everything" since the initial idea, which was more Diablo-esque. Crafting is the oldest featur?e still in the game. Experiment 101 decided to redo the combat and this version has been in the works for around two years.

Lastly, I wondered about length and more specifically scope. I feel like Biomutant could successfully get away with a f?airly long run time given everything I saw first-hand and everything I heard about RPG hooks. There will be six factions in the world with headquarters and outposts, and you can get them all aligned under one banner or help one conquer the others or even just kill everyone. The main quest is based on key characters you'll encounter but a lot more will go into the "final state" of the world, according to Bolt. With that in mind, he estimated a 10-hour minimum but said it should be a lot more.

There are plenty of unknowns when it comes to Biomutant, but I know one thing for sure: it's taking a ton of chances as a new IP and I hope everyone who says they miss the era of interesting mid-tier publishers will show support. At the very least, k??eep this on your radar. It's out next summer.

The post Don’t sleep on the wild and weird action-RPG Biomutant appeared first on Destructoid.

Not much kung fu, though

THQ Nordic's open-world, anthropomorphic, kung fu inspired Biomutant just got a new trailer from Gamescom 2018 and it doesn't show off much. We get? a quick glimpse of the game's open-world setting, an even shorter look at the combat and a sample of the Chinese inspired theme song. If you were hoping ?for more details on the game, this isn't it.

At least the polish on the title has come a long way since last year. All the animations look a lot more fluid and the weather effects are very convincing. As for anything else one can glean from this preview, you'll have to look over each scene with a fine-toothed comb. We don't even get a firm release date, which is still scheduled for sometime in 2018. (As noted below by Lawman, Biomutant is now scheduled for a Summer 2019 date.)

Nearly one year ago, I posted about Biomutant's Gamescom trailer and was a bit unenthused. Open-world has become a bit of a dirty word to me and nothing on display looked all that interesting. I still have some hope for the game as infusing kung fu with a massive scale map could make for some Zatoichi style shenanigans, but if this latest trailer from Gamescom is anything to go by, Biomutant is? not for me. It just bears too much resemble to other games ?that I've grown tired of.

The post Biomutant’s latest trailer gives us a glimpse of its open-world appeared first on Destructoid.

Your kung fu is weak

The initial leak of Biomutant from? last week had me a bit excited. While I'm n??ot exactly big on anthropomorphic lead characters, I do love martial arts and kung fu films, so a nice open-world with those properties could have made for an intriguing setting. Sadly, this extended trailer from Gamescom doesn't show off the game in the best light.

I suppose this could be down to the game still being in development (and thus an early build), but this really doesn't evoke any kind of kung fu style that I was envisioning. It mostly just looks like Assassin's Creed or the Arkham games mix??ed with guns. At least it has a lot of color, whi??ch is certainly nice.

I'm not sure how I feel when this contains basically everything that modern open-world games already does. Whenever I see weapon crafting, I start to think that the developers couldn't come up with anyth??ing interesting or that they're chasing trends. Why, though, are guns even a focus when this is a kung fu themed game?

The comic book styled onomatopoeia for attacks is pretty?? fun, at least.

11 Minutes of BioMutant Gameplay - Gamescom 2017 [IGN]

The post Biomutant’s Gamescom trailer looks…okay? appeared first on Destructoid.

If I were lazy I'd say 'Auron meets Rocket Raccoon'

Details are starting to emerge from Stockholm, Sweden about THQ Nordic's new open-world, anthropomorphic RPG Biomutant, talked about in hushed whispers last week.

The adventure, set in a post-apocalyptic universe, has been described as a "Kung-fu fable" and promises a gamut of fascinating and bizarre creatures, populating we?ird and colourful worlds that can be traversed on land, sea and air. Seriously, you can rid?e jet-skis.

The player character themselves is totally adaptable, to be changed and cust??omised to fit the given situation. As the adventure progresses you can appropriate new abilities and appearances with the addition of limbs, weaponry?, gear and prosthetics.

Biomutant,?? which will be playable at Gamescom and PAX West, is aiming for release in 2018 on the PS4, Xbox One and PC.

The post THQ Nordic reveal details and trailer ??for Biomutan??t appeared first on Destructoid.