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Biomutant Video Game Review

Biomutant Video Game Review

A few years ago the first glimpses of Biomutant were released to the world and it received quite a bit of hype. Then the game went through several delays, but it is finally ready to be released tomorrow. While I didn’t really follow the game until hearing about the upcoming release, I was immediately intrigued by the game. As a sucker for the post apocalypse theme along with open world games I was excited to try out the game as it seemed right up my alley. With a game that has been delayed so many times though, you have to be a little leery as there are so many cases of hyped games that turned out to be duds at final release. Biomutant is a little too ambitious at times leading to some issues, but it is still a highly engaging massive open world game that was a blast to play.

In Biomutant you play as a mutant animal/creature living in the post apocalypse. The original inhabitants ruined the planet which lead to their ultimate demise. This destructions also lead to the rise of the mutant creatures who now control the world. You play as child of the creator of wung-fu. After your families murder when you were a child, you have become a traveler who uses their special skills to deal with the wrongs in the world. Things have been peaceful in the world for a long time until the rise of the “Worldeaters”. These Worldeaters have been attacking the Tree-of-Life which gives life to all of the creatures of the world. If something isn’t done quickly the tree will be destroyed and with it maybe all other life. Will you unite the tribes of the world in an effort to save the Tree-of-Life, or will you let it die for good?

While Biomutant has plenty of different influences which I will get to throughout this review, at its very core the game takes a lot of its inspiration from the third person open world action adventure genre. The game presents you with a large open world to explore with various locations and missions scattered throughout it. You will collect items from the old world and gain experience and abilities as you progress in your journey to save or end the Tree-of-Life.

Like most games in this genre, a large emphasis of the gameplay is built around the combat. The game is played in third person, but that is basically the only limitation on the combat. This is due to the sheer volume of combat options that the game gives you. The game offers melee and ranged combat, and there are many different types of weapons in both categories. Whether you prefer fast or powerful weapons, the game will have a weapon type that will fit your playstyle. You can even quickly switch between weapons so you can design specific weapons for any type of situation. On top of this you will gain access to special abilities that work like the magical abilities from most games.

Besides the combat much of the game revolves around exploration. There are many locations to visit in the world and with that comes a lot of loot. The game has an extensive equipment system both for weapons and armor. You will find items everywhere from the prior civilization that have now found new purpose. The game also has a crafting mechanic. You will find small accessories that you can attach to weapons and armor that add stat boosts and other effects. While not as prevalent as the Borderlands franchise, the amount of items found and weapon customization options is somewhat comparable in Biomutant.

If that sounds like a lot, it should as there is a lot to unpack in the game. I haven’t even talked about the game’s puzzles. These are mostly pretty basic as they revolve around turning wheels, swapping symbols, and other basic puzzle types. These are neither great nor terrible as they mostly act as little breaks to the rest of the gameplay. There are a few other things that I haven’t talked about, but I hope this gives you a small glimpse into what Biomutant has to offer.

When I first started playing Biomutant I have to say that I was genuinely surprised by the quantity of content that the game has to offer. What you get out of the game will depend on what type of player that you are, but the game is not lacking in content. Regularly when I was traveling to a mission objective I would come upon an abandoned building/location and stumble upon several other side quests to complete. At some points in the game I would end up adding quests quite a bit faster than I was able to complete them. If you are looking for a large open world to explore, Biomutant has that covered.

This is accentuated by Biomutant’s overall atmosphere. Simply put the game deserves a lot of credit for the world that it has created. At times the game seems to have some minor technical issues/slowdowns as things load in, but it understandable for a game made for last generation consoles. The world is really large where it will take quite a bit of time to traverse even while riding a mount without taking any stops.

The world may be large, but it looks fantastic as well. The game really leans into the post apocalypse setting as you traverse different biomes where you can see the wreckage of the previous inhabitants around every corner. The character design is quite unique as there are a lot of different creature types that you will encounter throughout the game. As a sucker for this type of theme, I thought the game utilizes it very well. From the weapons and armor you and the enemies carry, everything was influenced by the remains of a civilization long since forgotten. I think the game deserves a lot of credit as they put real work into creating a unique world instead of just using a cookie cutter post apocalypse world.

Lets get to the actual gameplay as that is what most people probably care about most. I enjoyed the gameplay quite a bit. You can immediately tell that the game took inspiration from many games from this genre. The combat is pretty typical of a third person action game. Where the game somewhat differentiates itself is just with the pure variety that it offers. Whether you prefer playing with quick attacks or as a slow attacking tank, the game has you covered. You can also switch pretty quickly between playstyles just by changing your weapon. The game gives players enough options, that you can truly craft the combat into what you want.

I genuinely enjoyed the combat in Biomutant. The battles are fast paced where you are routinely outnumbered. The game does a good job making you feel overpowered where you can take on a much larger force. I was not as big of fan of the boss battles mostly because they utilize vehicle combat which I was not a huge fan of, but those were still enjoyable in their own way. Fans of open world action adventure games should really enjoy the gameplay of Biomutant.

I was genuinely impressed with everything that Biomutant has to offer. I think the game’s biggest fault might just be that it honestly tried to do too much. Most of the mechanics work well as the game is really fun. At times though you can tell that the game was stretched too far. There is so much in the game that quite a bit of it I never really got into. For example the equipment customization. It is impressive all that you can do to customize your equipment. I just never really felt the need to do it. I am the type of player that usually just equips the equipment with the highest stats though so those who like customizing gear may get more out of it.

The fact that the game tries to do so much, means that it doesn’t really do anything particularly original. Don’t get me wrong, the game’s theme and atmosphere are quite original and are fantastic. The gameplay itself is not particularly original though. I had a lot of fun playing the game, but I can’t recall a single mechanic in the game where I told myself that I had never seen that done before in a game. In a way the game feels like it was chasing gaming trends from a few years ago. It succeeds in that task, but it doesn’t really do anything original to distinguish itself.

While the quantity of content is expansive, it somewhat leads to a repetitive experience. Much of the gameplay revolves around capturing various outposts spread around the world to unite them with your chosen tribe. How you capture each of these outposts differs somewhat, but it doesn’t really feel any different from other games from this genre. I didn’t mind this repetitiveness that much as I was genuinely enjoying the gameplay. Those that enjoy a more varied gameplay experience though may be a little disappointed by this.

My final issue with the game simply comes from the fact that I found the game to be kind of easy. I haven’t quite beat the game yet, but outside of the Worldeater boss fights, I have not found the game to be particularly challenging. I did choose the normal difficulty though, so maybe a higher difficulty could have solved some of these issues. The problem is that while the game gives you a lot of different combat options and rewards you for combos and varying your combat techniques, none of that is required most of the time. You can succeed pretty well in the game just by spamming the same attacks as long as you at least try to dodge enemy attacks occasionally. I can see quite a bit of depth in the combat, but you can resort to the easy lazy path and generally have just as much success.

After so many delays you are always a little cautious about how a game like Biomutant will eventually end up. I think the game held up quite well. I will admit that the game is not highly original on the gameplay front as it clearly took inspiration from a lot of other games from the open world genre. While I wish there was a little more variety, that doesn’t detract from the simple fact that the gameplay is really enjoyable. The combat is varied and gives players a lot of options to customize it to their preferred gameplay style. The exploration mechanics are enjoyable as well. The world itself might be one of the game’s greatest assets as it is large and shows a ton of creativity. It truly feels like you are exploring a post apocalyptic world now run by mutated animals that have adapted to the ruined world left to them. Honestly the game’s greatest issue is probably that it just tried to do too much. There are mechanics that I never really felt the initiative to spend any real time in. Because of this some of the main gameplay can become a little repetitive as it doesn’t differ much from your typical game from this genre.

My recommendation for Biomutant is actually pretty simple as it comes down to your opinion of open world games and the overall theme of the game. If you don’t really care for either, Biomutant may feel like just another open world game. Those that are intrigued by both though will likely really enjoy their time with the game and should definitely look into picking up Biomutant.

Buy Biomutant online: Digital(PlayStation 4/5, Steam, Xbox One/Series X|S), Physical (PC – Standard Edition, Collector’s, Atomic Edition, PlayStation 4 – Standard Edition, Collector’s Edition, Atomic Edition, Xbox One – Standard Edition, Collector’s Edition, Atomic Edition)

We at Geeky Hobbies would like to thank Experiment 101, and THQ Nordic for the review copy of Biomutant used for this review. Other than receiving a free copy of the game to review, we at Geeky Hobbies received no other compensation for this review. Receiving the review copy for free had no impact on the content of this review or the final score.