Review: Biomutant

Developer – Experiment 101 Publisher – THQ Nordic Platforms – PS4, Xbox One, PC THQ was the king of the “B” Game. Now before anybody grabs a pitchfork and hunts me down, I mean that in the best way possible. From Red Faction, Saints Row, Darksiders and more, they always had a unique vision that pushed games beyond their budgets and expectations. Obviously, the THQ of old is gone, and THQ Nordic has risen and has been slowly reviving a brand and style of game that was seemingly gone. Most games were either big budget Triple A, or Indie titles with the Blockbuster classic “B” game vanishing into obscurity. Biomutant brings back that legacy, and feels like it will be a cult favorite down the road. Biomutant tells the tale of a Mutant of your creation that has survived some sort of world ending event. You encounter an old friend, get a lay of the land and must begin making choice about where to go and whom to help. Different tribes with unique looks, story and gear will be where you spend most of your time, and gathering allies is crucial to going after several world bosses that are key to restoring a ruined world. I won’t get into anything more than that, as the mystery behind the state of the world is truly the driving force of the game’s overall plot. What drives you as a player in Biomutant, really isn’t the story. Your mutant doesn’t really speak, and a narrator is the one filling the game’s world with life. At first, this choice of presentation hurts the game, as not having a good central character can make a lot of story moments feel a bit distant. Instead the driving force is the gameplay itself. Biomutant throws a lot of gameplay systems at you. Intense melee combat with a heavy kung-fu focus. Varied gunplay with full blown gun-kata AND bullet time dives and dual pistols. Not enough? How about a huge assortment of spells and abilities ranging from fire trails when you run or chain lightning from above. Real time mutations that change your physical appearance based on enemies defeated. Not enough still? Biomutant contains several unique mounts and vehicles, a complete and robust gear system. Full body inventory and a modular weapon crafting system. Also various skill points and skill tree’s to access and use. Legendary items and hidden dungeons with massive boss fights. Hell at one point you can pilot a mecha and dig for oil, the possibilities are almost endless. Now if this seems a bit ambitious, truthfully, it is. The scale and sheer variety of gameplay systems stacking on each other comes at a price. The classic jack of all trades and master of none cliche applies to Biomutant to a tee. Biomutant fares better visually, the open world design wise feels less open and more like a set of distinct biomes with forked paths taking you to each one. Despite the limited design of the geography, the game runs very well. Regardless of platform,the framerate is smooth and the various in game effects for the bigger attacks and spells are always fun to watch and pull off. Biomutant is a strange beast, no onje area of the game truly excels. On their own, the separate elements don’t live up to any of the games they are inspired from, and the lack of a real character to follow in an interesting take on the end of the world hurts the game in the long term. Instead, Biomutant thrives on it’s variety. Like the old kung fu flicks it draws inspiration from, Biomutant throws a lot at game at you and it’s fun the entire time regardless of budget or polish. Don’t let the rough edges push you away, Biomutant is a cult classic “B” game in the making.

Report: Netflix Is Pursuing A Potential Executive For Its Video Game Division

In the past couple of years, the video game industry slowly witnessed the numerous amounts of video game-adapted television shows make its way to Netflix or still in the creative pipeline. Alone, we witnessed announcements such as The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077, Castlevania, Cuphead, Sonic the Hedgehog, Beyond Good & Evil, and Assassin’s Creed just to name a handful. However, the firm also planned to tackle the video game industry with its own assortment of games. In the past, we saw the dwindling partnership with Telltale Games to make a Stranger Things project. However, it was later revealed that the firm would still pursue a release without the developer’s involvement. In July 2019, Strangers Things 3: The Video Game arrived to major platforms. But in a report from The Information, Netflix over the course of a few weeks is searching for an executive to lead its video game division. The report cites that Netflix is in search for “people familiar with the situation.” But in long-term, this appears to be Netflix injecting its brand into other entertainment markets rather than becoming another service to play games – best stated by Niko Partners’ David Ahmad on Twitter recently. However, that is where the story truly ends. Despite large anticipation for Netflix to pursue the larger and more profitable video game market, there is no specific avenues as to how the firm will directly pounce to in terms of its ambitions. Even more, there are no details as to what could be produced from the company if finding a suitable candidate for the project as well. The most recent news relevant to Netflix and also concerning video games is the upcoming airing for Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness. In that, the CGI series is said to arrive on July 8 later this summer. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you interested to see what Netflix might provide if entering the video game industry? Source: The Information

Sony Spokesperson Denies Rumors For God Of War Show/Film Adaptation In The Works

Although video games bleeding into other forms of entertainment has been red flaggish since its inception, the medium has slowly gained trust to offer enjoyable releases via television series and film adaptations in the past few years. For Sony, the firm has established a new division solely for this pursuit: PlayStation Pictures. Already, projects such as Tom Holland’s Uncharted film and HBO’s The Last of Us is already underway. But, there is more to be found. Recently, a report from Variety, Deadpool & Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are indicated to pen the script for the upcoming Twisted Metal television series. Currently, it is unsure when the project is to arrive. But, with a new image surfacing for 2022’s Uncharted movie, Sony goes on to denounce claims for God of War to tap into other realms of the entertainment market. As per The New York Times, God of War is not part of the vision, “at least not anytime soon,” the publication writes. You can view the new image in the photo below: As for other plans PlayStation Pictures is preparing for its video game adaptations, Sucker Punch Productions’ Ghost of Tsushima is also on the map as well. In that, the production is the newest project underway only being announced back in March. Additionally, it was later insisted by Jin Sakai actor Daisuke Tsuji stated on Twitter to be eager in reprising his role for the theatrical cut – even including the nudity scenes as well. Regarding God of War, the next game might be further away than anticipated. Although initially presumed to arrive in late 2021, it appears that the release date might be harder to reach according to Bloomberg Tech’s Jason Schreier. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you contempt with no God of War plans beyond video games currently? Source: The New York Times

Remedy Entertainment To Initiate Production On Epic Games Project Soon, Financial Report Reveals

This August will mark two years since the initial release of Control. And while developer Remedy Entertainment has worked on the game being optimized for Xbox Series X|S & PlayStation 5 back in February, there are other plans in the pipeline already. While it is not determined the game as of yet, the project is being propped up to be a large entity nonetheless. For that, it was reported in March 2020 that Epic Games will be publishing a new game for Remedy Entertainment. But, that is all for the official information on the project. But, GamesBeat’s Jeff Grubb states to be familiar on the project. In that, he states Remedy Entertainment is planning to resurrect Alan Wake for a new sequel with Epic Games funding the development. In a new statement collected from Remedy Entertainment’s recent financial report, it is shared that the developer is planning to commence production on the Epic Games title fairly soon. The Crossfire team is finalizing the single-player operations for Smilegate’s CrossfireX and Crossfire HD. With both of these games launching in 2021, this is a significant year for Crossfire. Remedy’s AAA game project with Epic Games is soon moving into full production, and the second, smaller-scale game continues in full production mode. With Vanguard, our free-to-play co-op game project, we have now defined many of the core elements of the game. Development progresses at a good pace, internal playtesting continues, and we are starting the next phase of closed external gameplay testing. Tero Virtala, Remedy Entertainment CEO As gathered from the statement, it is also apparent that its other project codenamed ‘Vanguard’ is also progressing well. While little details are still vacant from the production currently, the free-to-play experience appears to be progressing well with a limited playtest to be initiated in the coming months. Additionally, the CrossfireX single player story campaign is near completion. For those unfamiliar, the game was originally projected to launch in fall 2020, but was abruptly delayed into the 2021 abyss. But, with good progress being made, it is anticipated a new release date is to be revealed very shortly. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you interested as to what the new project between Remedy Entertainment & Epic Games is? Source: Remedy Entertainment

Former Shadow Of Mordor Lead To Helm New Electronic Arts Division Formed In Seattle To Work On An Open-World IP

In terms of new releases from publisher Electronic Arts, the firm appears to be residing heavily on its billboard IPs over developing new franchises it appears. Following the downfall of BioWare’s Anthem back in 2019, the company has illustrated to be backpedaling to series that already proven to work. Entries such as Mass Effect & Dragon Age are currently one of the most anticipated titles in the development pipeline. That is not to say new properties do not come out successful. For one, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a prime example of a succeeding release. The game at launch in late 2019 instantly broke records for Electronic Arts to being the top-selling game – especially on PC with the publisher returning to Steam. The same is also drawn out for Apex Legends as it now accumulated more than $1 billion in revenue. Perhaps it’s only a trend following work from Respawn Entertainment? Regardless, Electronic Arts is certainly aware of the situation as it now opens a new division in the Seattle area with former Shadow of Mordor development lead Kevin Stephens to helm the new team, a report from gamesindustry.biz reveals. Kevin joining forces with Samantha and the incredibly talented teams at Electronic Arts adds even more depth to our creative collective. Kevin is an exceptionally talented game developer leader and we look forward to supporting him while he builds his team. As someone known for his open world action-adventure games, we know players will be eagerly awaiting more details on this new studio and its projects. Laura Miele, Electronic Arts Chief Studios Officer As for the project that this new team will be handling, it is disclosed that the target is for an open-world adventure. Although Electronic Arts has pursued the genre in the past, nothing has yet to stick with its last efforts being Electronic Arts Vancouver’s cancelled Star Wars game codenamed ‘Ragtag’. Samantha Ryan, Electronic Arts Senior Vice President and Group General Manager had this to say on the new team forming for the project: “Kevin and his team will figure that out as they go along.” Ryan goes on to elaborate on the projections for the scale for the publisher’s plans that will later become Stephen’s final game. “I know Kevin well. I know the kind of quality team he will build and the kinds of amazing games he will deliver. I don’t need him to rush to prove anything to me! I want things done right and know that Kevin will build an amazing group.” Ultimately, it is still undetermined if the project will follow a new creative path or be based on a pre-existing IP, the outlet reports. But, it is said more details will emerge in the latter half of 2021. As for Electronic Arts’ ambition for better overall outcome of its projects, the firm is leaving development in the trust of its teams without strong arming the studio to make a release date by a certain time. You can read the full report by heading here. What are you hoping this new project might be? Source: gamesindustry.biz