You expected it, Biomutant has recently been available for PS4, Xbox One and PC and now it’s the turn of our TEST. So was it worth the wait? Some think so, and maybe I too … Or maybe not. Although … Anyway!
101 Experiment is a small studio founded in 2015 by Avalanche Alumni (Just Cause) and their first game, Biomutant, was announced in the summer of 2017 for a release planned for 2018. Following a buyout from THQ Nordiq in the crowd, the game will have seen several postponements, eventually arriving almost 3 years later. For the best or for the worst? He had seduced us very much in a small test on the sidelines of the PGW 2019, will the good impressions be confirmed?
Cat men
The action of Biomutant takes place in a distant future when humanity, the consequences of its own nonsense of which it has the secret, has disappeared. Instead, several creatures genetically modified by the omnipresent radiation have taken possession of the blue plant, even though they are overall smaller than a specific Godzilla. In the middle of this universe: the tree of life, a kind of guarantee for the health of the remains of this world. And you in all of this, you play … a cute ball of fur. Read the hairball. The one who had to live outside the city, raised by the wolves, and who is returning to the city to fulfill her destiny like prophecy. On its return no less than 4 “world eaters” destroy each of the 4 roots of the tree of life, and in addition to the union of all other “hairball” clans you must defeat each of these four living beings, and then you have a choice: destroy the tree or rescue?
Biomutant contains many scenarios and existential questions that will change your karma level and the fate of this world. You will even be able, with enough persuasiveness, to end a conflict without a fight. Everything is supported by a permanent second degree, because if all inhabitants of this universe have their own language, almost all your actions and dialogues are commented on by a narrator, with a lot of humor. A real breeze of freshness that will remind you of some iconic PS2 titles such as Jack & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank or Legend of Kay. The narration is not left out with a lot of dialogues with the NPCs, this time translated by the narrator, with a few multiple-choice questions, playable flashback phases in which you can give your mman. The rest of the universe is extremely colorful, from the creatures that inhabit it to its fairly varied post-apocalyptic locations, with some ruins from our time taken straight from a Fallout or Horizon episode. Zero Dawn and a super stylish sound track. In terms of design and universe, Biomutant is a real little success, a very charming little game.
And all the more so as it’s pretty well-tied up technically: the settings are crude at times, but the colors and theme paint it all, and the 3D models of the characters are very cartoonish and pretty well done, especially at their coat level . There is a little to pop here and there, but on the Xbox Series X the 60 FPS were constant, loads less than 10 seconds and the artistic design underlines th is generally honest technique.
Bi-OGM
In terms of gameplay, if your avatar is jumping like Yoda Attack of the clones will always be a pleasure to have joystick in hand, it’s a little less obvious. In combat you have mainly 4 options: defense, with evasion and counter-attack, ranged combat with rather insane pests, often devastating psychic powers and body attacks, with a variety of quite original weapons. And if jumping or dodging while shooting makes for a pretty easy and fun little family time, body to body, that’s another story. The hits seem rather “soft”. They hardly knock back opponents who rarely stumble and are also real HP bags. Even with the super fulguro fist, it is impossible not to feel a certain punch. Fortunately, powers and shots offer a little more thrill. The handling of the guns and the aiming are rather simple, the different angles and the powers bring a lot of variety with different effects, which range from simple zone poisoning to properly locked and well-suited things, with ranged attacks you will fight the most.
A few more original passages are in the game, with phases of action always out of sync, based on QTE, staggered combat scripts and in the spirit of the game, or other unique actions, but sometimes poorly introduced and / or explained. Moments Edge of Sound mecha Combat also offer their share of diversity, even if we can blame the body for the same, too powerful this time. You can’t even really see if you’re hitting something. In front of you is a rather varied bestiary, with often delusional monsters, very cute and ugly at the same time and offering 3 challenges. In normal mode we didn’t have that many problems, we even found the game to be pretty easy, despite some deaths from falling into water or an oil puddle … Clearly, on the action side, despite some lack of dynamism, Biomutant
Open organic world
in the Biomutant, you will see a more or less open and fairly wide world. In truth, the game is more of an interventionist, forcing your hand more or less in a certain direction. On the map you will encounter many NPCs with their side quests, places to explore in order to plunder their wonders, strong enemies to conquer, the map that is divided into 6 clans and something that will guide you during The main quest deals with what often happens when you have to fight one of the 4 World Eaters. Either a little preparation with the repair of an accessory and conquering the territory of the rival clans to gain support against the beast. When designing the levels, we immediately think of a small one Horizon Zero Dawnbut sure it’s worse. You have to look carefully at the map so as not to get lost in a cul-de-sac on the mountainside. To walk around, a couple of mounts, with almost trollsqueem demeanor and the mako of Mass Effect worthy.
Wait 15-20 hours to see the end and during the whole time you can tweak your hero in the menus. With a strong RPG component, at the start of the game you have to choose between 5 races and 5 classes that will affect your stats, and each level gives you access to statistical improvements, new moves or passive skills, powers or even more elemental resistance. The gear can’t be beat with a good depth, a pretty fun crafting system, and something to take your time with. But given the apparent simplicity of the game, we can also be successful without worrying too much …
