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.