Biomutant Review

Biomutant was something I wanted to love. It was a colourful, cute world with adorable furball characters that attracted me immediately when it was announced. As cute as furball characters may be, they pack more heat than an American Army battalion during a post-apocalypse. The end result is ambitious, with many bright spots but it strains under its own weight.

You play as a wanderer who lives in an environment that has been destroyed by humankind's disregard for the environment. Your story is best described as Wall-E with furries. The Tree of Life is in danger because four monsters called Worldeaters have begun to gnaw at its roots. Your parents' killer is terrorising the landscape, and six clans who own different parts of the land are too busy bickering among themselves to do anything about it.

From the outset, Biomutant is your typical open world RPG. You can explore, do quests, find loot and customize your character. Biomutant is both a class and character-oriented game that's incredibly fun. Combat is a lot more fun than an RPG. It feels more like a mini-character game. Each fight is filled with thrilling moments, such as parrying and dodge enemy attacks. There are enough weapons and abilities for players to customize their fighting style.

It's a great tool that allows players to design a character to specialize in their chosen field. You can choose from a variety of breeds at the beginning of the game. However, after that you have the freedom to tweak your stats to make the right build for you. Yes, I did build a two-handed strength building early on. After leveling up, players can spend their points as they wish. This means you don't have to follow one archetype. You can also try magic if muscle isn’t working.

It's also quite fun to use the weapon crafting system. The open-ended nature of this system allows you make powerful weapons with whatever scrap material you have. You can swap out specific parts of a weapon, such as the handle or the stabby/smacky/slicey portion of a melee weapon. This allows you to create new builds and variations on the one you already have. To make your weapons and armor more powerful, you can use add-ons.

Despite being limited to the Xbox One and PS4, Biomutant looks amazing on the Xbox Series X. There is no native next-gen version. Although some textures may not be as clear up close, the Biomutant environment is stunning to view. I found myself often stopping to take screenshots and using the photo mode to capture beautiful scenes in Biomutant.

Biomutant can be quite enjoyable if you are focusing on the character of the player and not the combat. Biomutant could have been better if it was an open-world RPG, rather than a series level where you killed goons and level up. The game is a failure because of the size of Biomutant's universe and Experiment 101's budget and smaller team.

It seems like the game offers a wide range of options for how to tackle two main objectives. The fate of the Worldeaters or the clans is up to you. There are two main endings depending on what you choose about the Worldeaters. With the six clans there are consequences depending on who your ally is. Certain clans, if they are billed as light and dark, will want you to either unite with your opponents or subjugate them.

The process of taking over clans doesn't feel as open and easy as it could be. Although the six clans have two views (save/kill Tree of Life, unite/conquer clans and kill/spare Worldeaters), it is not possible to just approach clans who are similar-minded and offer alliances. You must take control of the outposts, then decide to save them. Although charisma, diplomacy, and dialogue trees are part of the game they feel like an afterthought that isn't fully realized.

Although each clan may have three outposts, the process of taking over each one is the same. The first outpost requires a full-blown siege. The second will require you to flush out the enemy through subterfugee. The third will let you negotiate with the leader of the outpost so that you can take control peacefully. Next, you can attack the headquarters under the command of your clan's Sifu. He'll ask you to take a hike to obtain the equipment you need. You can then attempt to talk with the Sifu of your rival clan. He will be more open to your points of view if you are in agreement. Repeat until you are satisfied.

The main quest requires repetition, since dealing with the four Worldeaters is often a repeat of the same pattern. There will be someone working on a tool that can help you fight the Worldeater. They need your help to fix or find it. You will need to finish at least one more quest in order to locate ammo. Then, you can go out to fight the Worldeater. You'll find it more tedious each time.

It would seem that a game with charisma and dialogue would make diplomacy the best strategy for clan war. But it isn't nearly used enough. This is particularly true when you're playing a light game. It makes sense to focus on combat in dark playthroughs, but is this the case with a light aura character?

It's even more bizarre that, after dealing with two clans of people, the game offered me the ability to automatically resolve the clan war, unifying them all, to defend the Tree of Life. There is no explanation. It's okay, everyone is now friends. The whole game felt strange and unsatisfying.

It's possible that repetition would not feel so bad if everyone had their own personalities. There are visual differences but all of them are spoken for by the same narrator, who can be a pain in his ass. The narrator acts as a translator for characters who speak an alien language and can be found repeating voice parts for different characters. One character may be small and mole-like, while the other might have a strange pompadour hairstyle or Elvis sideburns. However, their individual quirks will not be lost when the narrator voices them both.

Experiment 101 was able to save money and time by having one consistent narrator, despite being a small team. Biomutant's world is meant to be vibrant and diverse. While many characters and clans can be distinguished visually, having the same narrator for their story takes away their individuality. Multiple characters asking you questions can make it difficult to be invested in the world and characters. This leads to the narrator repeating himself. One character that speaks only in train metaphors is the real standout.

Side quests are less interesting due to their repetitive nature. Random NPCs that you meet will often draw from the same narrator voice line pool, leaving them identityless. The majority of side quests feel more like collecting hunts for old world artifacts. Biomutant's world is full of interesting things, so it's not surprising that completionists will stay for quite some time. However, the majority feels like filler.

Multiple playthroughs are encouraged by the light and dark morality system. There is also a New Game+ which skips the tutorial and initial prologue to reset your morality. This allows you to jump right into the next playthrough. The game's repetitive content and filler content may discourage you from completing a second playthrough. It was frustrating when my mount wouldn't let me ride him and it left me stuck in the middle nowhere with no objective within 2km. I decided to play Apex Legends instead and turned the engine off.

Biomutant will be loved by a wide audience. People loved Alpha Protocol. Although I don't understand why, those same people will probably love Biomutant and its special type of ambitious jank. Experiment 101 and Biomutant, in particular, are admirable for taking on such a large project and committing to staying small without having to hire developers. Although you are right to be proud, Biomutant still feels thin.