20 people. When I played Biomutant, after long years of waiting and moments of losing faith that it was really going to happen, I realized that it was a unique game, something very special that few see in the field . There are a number of good ideas in his world and in his mechanics, although execution burdens him in all aspects.
Singular and special are the words that best define the new and at the same time the first of Experiment 101, a Swedish studio with a sensational idea, but with an ambition that has become great. Because an open-world game with RPG overtones, decision-making, real-time combat, a deep and entertaining “crafting” system and a kung-fu fable can be realized with a great team, but for a group of 20 quite a workforce odyssey.
I am going ahead with this data because it is something that explains everything in relation to this game. Go ahead, biomutant is not bad, far from it, but it has had a career too long for that. This open world fable or story in a post-post apocalyptic earth has great flashes of magic often tarnished by dubious ideas and production values beneath the environment that has surrounded it since its announcement.
Let’s get down to business. The story here has to do with a tree of life, the four world-eaters who try to eat the roots of this plant that keeps the world alive, and a little legend that shows the one-eyed descendants. Indeed, your role is that of these offspring.
And your goal? Prevent these gigantic creatures from destroying the only thing that keeps nature going. The planet collapsed from pollution and pollution. He later recovered but had all kinds of animals mutate and evolve along the way like never before. Life always makes its way.
Well, it is these creatures that rule, and you are one of them. One that, in his Odyssey to save the planet he lives on, encounters a whole war between different animal clans, a world of truly lush landscapes and a story full of choices.
Make no mistake, Biomutant is an RPG of volume and spine but full of all the elements typical of the umpteenth open world game you will come across. Nevertheless, he manages to introduce all the small details that make it clear that a work has something special, something different. Few games have seen a server where you can practice a duplex on an enemy after hitting a couple of shotguns, covering yourself with a last minute parry, and creating a trail of fire on your way.
There are a lot of good ideas, a lot of charisma in the work of Experiment 101. It could start with the first one you come across, a character editor where every factor affects our protagonist’s appearance. There you are already faced with a multitude of options and decisive factors. More or less resistance, intelligence, vitality or strength, more or less immunity to fire, ice or toxicity.
They are crucial factors even if you don’t know when you start the game. When you have more intellect, you have more options in solving puzzles. Even charisma makes it easier for you to negotiate with certain characters. And it’s funny because even if I don’t tell you about it, Biomutant already presents you with important decisions as soon as you start.
There is one of its greatest virtues and one of its greatest shortcomings. From the first moment you encounter hundreds of variables that will take you through a tutorial journey that, in the case of the server, lasted up to the first five hours of the game. The ugly side of a coin that, on the other hand, has a rich, varied and quite complex gameplay.
At least in its pillars, because the rest of them stumble with a few extra sizes due to this ambition. A good progression system, many different skills for using different types of weapons (staves, great swords, double swords, iron fists or bare hands), developing your Wung Fu techniques, superpowers and improving statistics.
Everything is in bio mutant, but it becomes too scattered. First, because different of these branches evolve with different resources, be it leveling, green crystals or skill points. It is not entirely clear how to get each one during the game, nor is it clear why one or the other should be used.
On the other hand, you don’t really have to upgrade your character to stand up to enemies. The combat system starts from a good premise, but it comes across a camera system and enemy fixation that are not entirely okay (sometimes a nightmare with multiple rivals on screen) and fighters who don’t ask much of you. With all of these superpowers, acid balls, trails of fire and spectacular combos, it really comes down to carrying better or worse weapons.
Too bad, because it is also the case that the combo system is practically the same for every weapon, regardless of the type. The result is different, but the execution is the same and that, although accessible, reduces the uniqueness of the weapons you carry.
On the other hand, it should be noted that Biomutant still struggles to offer unique situations in key moments. Each main boss unfolds in a different way, almost always using a mount like a robot or some type of motorboat, and in situations as insane as stepping into the guts of a dangerous creature that gets into their ass (yes, as it is) you read it).
As I said before, there are numerous flashes of lightning in such crazy situations or the very idea that each character has their own language and it’s a narrator to tell you what they are saying. But then the game stumbles again. While you can adjust the frequency of the comments, it doesn’t take long for the narrator to load up and post their own sentences for the high school agenda.
On the other hand, his story has good moments and is heavily influenced by the decisions you make in your conversations, the sides you team up with, and ultimately how you turn your karma white or black. Enough freedom to completely change various attitudes and relationships with characters, especially given the interracial warfare.
Across the length and breadth of a beautiful, but somewhat empty map (and in which there is no lack of secondary parts of all kinds) there are various factions with which one can ally or antagonize oneself. It all depends on how you align with their ideals and how you approach them because some of you may, if you wish, completely destroy them or negotiate with them to reach an agreement, or even form alliances after having a head-on conflict with have begun siege. included in its fixings.
Biomutant offers a lot of tools in this regard, even in the equipment system, with a “crafting” system that is tremendously good not so much for the character impact but for the wacky options. Who wouldn’t enjoy blowing up enemies with a fan blade attached to a vacuum cleaner?
The problem is that while it has a lot of great ideas and an overall promising concept, even if it is a game full of charisma for there are few who can end up introducing you to the title Experiment in an Otter Elvis 101 in staging not run. There is a lack of polish, a lack of budget and a lack of staff.
The team built something really special and fun, but so much cover prevents you from squeezing as hard as possible. It fulfills all the requirements of an open-world role-playing game and dares to do it with a story that almost looks kung-fu cinema in the eye and fulfills such trite themes as vengeance and forgiveness. It has a unique and different design and there is no shortage of ideas. The problem? That doesn’t close, doesn’t pack well.
I came to him expecting something out of the ordinary, and it wasn’t. I found out the size of his team and everything fit together perfectly. Biomutant is a good game, but it could strive higher than it should. It goes on tiptoe too much and sometimes has sequences and transitions typical of PS2-era adventures. And that’s not bad because it shows that there is talent, but there is a lack of films and money.
