RPGWatch @ Gamescom - Biomutant

Just before Gamescom started Biomutant was announced as a game featurring an open world and Kung-fu. While at Gamescom, I got a chance to get some more information.

At Gamesom, Biomutant was shown to us by Stefan Ljungqvist who previously worked at Avalanche Studios on the Just Cause series and Mad Max and who has now founded Experiment 101. He mentioned this to make clear that there is an experience with creating open world games, which is what Biomutant is.
In the announcement of the game before Gamescom the words open world, post-apocalyptic, kung-fu and fabled were used. Fabled relates to the story telling through an animal, which is what this game does as it features only animals, but it was emphasized that they don't take themselves too serious in doing that. Kung-Fu relates to the player being able to make various moves and during those moves make use of weapons or other skills, while still being able to switch between them smoothly. My observation is that the relation with Kung-Fu is not about being able to use martial arts in hand-to-hand combat, but in the ability to use your weapons or skills in mid-air or while you are rolling or dodging. The post-apocalyptic part is not about a nuclear bomb or a terrible war that took place. In Biomutant it is about an ecological disaster, where dead oil is seeping through to the surface contaminating the world and everything that lives on it.

More information.

And here is some information about Biomutant.

'game is best played with a controller' -> not a game for myself.

The open-world post-apocalyptic kung fu thing sounds potentially interesting but
story telling through an animal, which is what this game does as it features only animals,
Nah. Not for me.

Me, I like the fact that it features only animals.
Post apocalyptic? Mweh. But post ecological disaster definetely sounds more interesting.
Kung fu. Double mweh. But

Kung-Fu relates to the player being able to make various moves and during those moves make use of weapons or other skills, while still being able to switch between them smoothly.

The creature is cute, the story original and the info about the game is promising.

Originally Posted by Eye
Me, I like the fact that it features only animals.

I will admit to being a bit inconsistent here, in that I would like to see an RPG featuring animals with a Watership Down type approach - ie, where the animals are animals engaged in their own conflicts in an animaly kinda way (albeit with clear human overtones). But animals dressed up as humans and doing kung fu doesn't appeal to me for RPG characters.

Thats a great idea. I love Watership Down, and in particular the way there is a serious, almost spiritual, tone to the animals and their mythos. Could be a very interesting idea for an rpg in a similar vein.

Bit of trivia - Watership Down is a real place, where Richard Adams used to take his little girls, and make up stories about the animals. Eventually they started badgering(!) him to write them down, and that evolved into the book.

Originally Posted by Pongo
I would like to see an RPG featuring animals with a Watership Down type approach - ie, where the animals are animals engaged in their own conflicts in an animaly kinda way

Oooh, that would be even better!

Reminds me, does anybody has any news about Home Free?

Good trivia! And yeah it's a great book, one of my favorites. Such imagination. It would probably work as a party RPG in a weird way - eg, allowing the player to roll "owlsa" fighters like Bigwig and mystics like Fiver etc.

What is Home Free?

Home Free in the RPGWatch Database

Originally Posted by Eye
Home Free in the RPGWatch Database

ha ha, I would probably buy that! thanks for sharing.

Home Free is apparently still in development (actively). Here is the twitter account of the developer: https://twitter.com/potatojin?lang=en

Reminds me of Princess Mononoke, for some reason. Games that focus on environmental issues are a rarity.

Originally Posted by Ripper
Thats a great idea. I love Watership Down, and in particular the way there is a serious, almost spiritual, tone to the animals and their mythos. Could be a very interesting idea for an rpg in a similar vein.

Bit of trivia - Watership Down is a real place, where Richard Adams used to take his little girls, and make up stories about the animals. Eventually they started badgering(!) him to write them down, and that evolved into the book.

Love Watership Down. Loved Shardik even more. If you haven't read it, I recommend it. The main characters are not animals.

Since I am not following this game closely, I have no desire to know if the Biomutant's narrator's voice really sucks. But, just in case his voice does:

Biomutant's overzealous narrator can be muted if he gets on your nerves

Eh, not a game for me. I don't care much for the setting, nor playing as a Rocket-type creature.