Biomutant was released about a year ago after many delays. Because of these delays, the game came out right in the mids of a new generation of consoles. Developer Element 101 was not able to provide the next-gen update at that time. Fast forward a year later and finally, we can look at Biomutant in all its next-gen glory. We already reviewed the game but this time a fresh pair of eyes (that’ll be me) can have another go at finding beauty in the wasteland of Biomutant.
Tree of life
Biomutant is set in yet another post-apocalyptic world. Luckily, the team went for a more original take. Anthropomorphic animals with some added mutations populate Biomutant. Most have joined different tribes in order to have a better chance of survival. The End is coming to the world as the tree of life is bleeding from its roots. It’s up to your created “Biomutant” to halt these apocalyptic events and save the world. This open-world RPG throws all the hard choices at you. Each fork in the road alters the way the story evolves. Each choice even affects the way you’ll evolve.
Looks appetizing
The next-gen update gives Biomutant faster loading times, and HDR support with up to 60 FPS. The gaming experience I had was a very smooth one. The world of Biomutant looked great and I experienced no hiccups whatsoever on the visual side. The vibrant nature (despite the omnipresent pollution) looked great and full of details. The update took a while to get there but waiting paid off. Everybody who bought the original version can get the update for free on Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The rest can just buy the next-gen edition with the update already included.
Unique fighting system
The main selling point for Biomutant beyond the original setting and its characters must be the fighting system. In Biomutant you use Wung-Fu, which is obviously a take on Kung-fu, in combination with ranged weapons and psi-powers. The Wung-Fu moves are very dynamic and can pack a real punch making it very valuable to deliver that last blow. Some enemies have devastating attacks when you are in close range, making the ranged attack option a better one. To top things off, the psi-powers act as Biomutant’s magic attacks and are effective but limited in use. Throughout the game, you’ll have the ability to update each type of attack and even add new ways to your arsenal.
Appealing as it might sound, there was not much need for strategy when you were in an actual fight. Just keep dodging and bash some buttons and things will turn out just fine in the end. I started out excited but after a few fights, the repetitiveness sank in making each fight a drag. It feels like Biomutant struggles to pick a lane. They want to tell a story of nature vs. pollution with a massive customizable fighting system that is a bit too complicated to fully grasp. In the end, it turns out that you could just not bother and just play this game as a Ratchet and Clank game instead.
Exploring
Biomutant invites you to explore the world at your own pace. The different biomes look great, especially with the new update. Sadly, after a while of exploring and hoping to find some interesting things, you start to see the world is all immaculate beauty with not enough interesting things to do. Adding new ways to transport your Biomutant adds a bit of extra excitement but at that point, I more or less lost interest. The game tries its best by throwing more game elements at you – and yet another tutorial – but in the end, nothing really clicked with me.
Conclusion
Biomutant looks great and plays smoothly but is sadly mediocre at best. Too many ideas are crammed into this game with no extra value to the gaming experience.
