Biomutant Is The Next Big Action RPG Evolution
Fists of fur and fury.
It's been a long old while since Biomutant was officially announced in 2017, and while many speculated on what a team of ex-Just Cause devs were cooking up, THQ Nordic and Experiment 101's open-world action RPG is finally out now.
Taking influence from many genres and gameplay mechanics, Biomutant is so bursting with content and features, it's a veritable feast of things to see and do.
Let's begin with the sumptuous combat, which is sure to be the thing players will be looking to sink their teeth into. Offering a staggering amount of combinations and options, you can approach the matter of turning your enemies into base elements in whatever way you so choose.
Want to stay at the back and launch fireballs, lightning strikes and back them up with a hailstorm of bullets from your machine gun? Sure thing! Want to teleport into the fray and batter opponents with oversized swords? Go for it! Or how about ditching all this tech and taking enemies apart piece by piece with your hands? Tear a chunk out for me, friend!
Accompanying all of this is the wonderful "Wung-Fu" system that allows players to add combos into the mix, which will see you turning into a whirling dervish or tooth and claw, or adding elemental attacks for that extra bit of spice.
Your choice of weapon, skills, and abilities will create a totally different fighting experience each and every time.
With that in mind, choice itself is front and centre of everything Biomutant represents.
From its outstandingly rich character customisation suite to which mount you want to ride across these beautiful landscapes, all the way down to how you want to solve disputes between warring tribes, the game gives you total autonomy over how events are played out.
You could destroy your rivals with force, persuade them to your way of thinking, or simply ignore them entirely and explore the vast and wonderful world in front of you.
With a morality system that ties your choices to how characters react, each playthrough promises to be different, and because the game encourages you to experiment with the ever-shifting shades of morality, you don't ever feel locked into going down just one path of either "light" or "dark" fully.
And you will indeed tread many paths, for this world is big, offering multiple different biomes each with their own theme, and each teeming to the brim with loot to discover and challenges to overcome.
With each new threat of radiation, asphyxiation, heat and cold, you'll need to dress appropriately to minimize the risk of perishing while plundering, and this means searching every nook and cranny for items to buff against the nasty stuff.
Thankfully, loot is everywhere. It pours from the multitude of enemies you fight and every location you explore, making for a joyous dig through the debris to sift out superior items.
And if you find a mask, hat, or pair of trousers you take a liking to, Biomutant doesn't force you to cast them aside when you find a "Pants Of Lesser Stink +1", as with robust customisation and upgrade systems, you can break down other items into components to buff your current gear, letting it sits alongside the newer loot just as well.
As someone who dreads having to switch clothes all the time for the sake of stats, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this move.
I also appreciate how much effort has gone into this game, as with an almost overwhelming amount of side quests and activities to take part in, enemies to fight, and secrets to unlock, there's so much to do in Biomutant that it becomes clear this is what all modern action RPGs should strive to be.
Biomutant might have been on our collective lips for many years, but the final product is very much worth the wait.