izigame.me

Biomutant is an interesting game. Over the past few weeks, as I was playing through the game, I had several of my friends asking me what I thought of it, and as I told them then, I'll write in this review.
It's an entertaining game, with plenty of interesting mechanics and systems that give the idea it could've been a great, sprawling RPG. However, it feels as if this game needed a bit more time in the oven, so to speak, to fully flesh out its gameplay systems. Let's begin by tackling the RPG aspect: for an RPG that's supposed to have a deep morality system, it feels somewhat lacking in that regard, as the choices you make don't seem to severely impact the ending once you get locked into a certain path. In a plotline reminiscent of Skyrim, there's a Civil War (or Tribewar, as it's called here) that you can get involved in, but there doesn't seem to be that much of a difference in regards to the quests of said plotline; it's always taking three forts before going against the opposing fortress.
Another system where the game feels somewhat lacking is the loot system. Practically every single point of interest you can visit is filled with loot to collect. The problem is that, after a certain point, you'll just craft a specific set and stick with it; in regards to weapons, although you can get different elemental damages, there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between the different types. Which brings me to the point of elemental resistances: the game has a few regions with environmental hazards, and you get quests to get special suits to explore them. Problem is, you can end up crafting a set of armour that makes all your resistances 100%, making those specialized suits useless (since their armour rating isn't that good to begin with).
Now, it seems all I'm doing is critizicing the game, while giving it a positive review. And while it's true that I could probably write a whole book on the issues this game has, at the end of the day, I must say I enjoyed it. For all its flaws, it can be a rather fun game. Let's take the story, for example: the setting is a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has gone extinct, and some animals have evolved human-like intelligence, creating their own society in the aftermath. The world is still dying, and it's up to your character to reunite the fragmented tribes and stop the Worldeaters from destroying the Tree of Life. All this is helpfully narrated by, well, the narrator, a disembodied voice that translates the different characters' speech so you can understand them (as they don't speak any human language). On top of this, there's also a personal story for your character, as it's not all about saving the world alone, but also confronting the past.
Now, let's talk combat. It's fun. While you might end up relying on the same two weapons for most of the game, it's still very fun combat, as you can unlock some special combos and such. Speaking of unlocks, I really liked the skill system in this game. You basically get several different ways to improve your character: flat stat upgrades with each level up; "Wung Fu" unlocks that improve your combat abilites; combat perks that are unlocked using the same skill points you use for Wung Fu; and then there's Psi Powers and Mutations, which act as special powers. Several different systems, all working together for a fun way to improve your character. There's also a crafting system for weapons and armour; I didn't mess a lot with it, but I did upgrade a few of my items (there's also upgrade benches to improve weapon and armour quality).
Now, for the part that I enjoyed the most of the game: exploration. One of my favourite pastimes in open world RPGs is simply exploring the world, finding points of interest either on the map or just by seeing some landmark on the horizon, and heading there. And this game has that in spades. While some areas might feel copy-pasted, there's several unique areas that even involve some sidequests unlike anything else seen in the game: from slapping a bunch of sleeping dudes in a sewer, to feeding what could be described as a furry Sarlacc, and even creating Frankenstein's dog! This game has everything. And some of the areas you can explore, while having their own sidequests and such, aren't even visited during the main quest, so they're just there for you to find and explore.
So, I think by now this review has gotten rather long. I gotta say, I personally recommend this game. Despite is unpolished feel, it's still a rather fun game.