Biomutant - Review Roundup

Originally Posted by Silver
A antropomorphic protagonist with similarly bizarre enemies requires lots of thinking about movesets, abilities, level design, itemisation, animation etc. Trying to make that all work together in atypical action rpg style was perhaps the flaw to this game that the devs will have to remedy next time.

Yeah, don't see it. Making your character a racoon or whatever doesn't change anything that's fundamental to the gameplay of a dozen other similar titles.

Originally Posted by JFarrell71
Yeah, don't see it. Making your character a racoon or whatever doesn't change anything that's fundamental to the gameplay of a dozen other similar titles.

How many games have a protagonist like Biomutant? Would be interesting to do a comparison.

I watched a bunch of review videos on Biomutant today and unfortunately it doesn't seem as though I would like it. Interesting story and characters are two of the most important aspects of games like this and they are both severely lacking from everything I have seen about this game.

Even reviewers who enjoyed the game seemed to agree that the story is forgettable, and the way in which all dialog is handled having characters speak in a different language and the narrator translating means that we only hear any vocal qualities of a single voice actor throughout the entire game, and for me that means no interesting or memorable quirks of character for anyone.

Add these very important issues to other issues such as repetitive and unimaginative puzzles, quests, and interior locations means that unfortunately this game does not seem for me.

For clarification, I'm just summarizing my interpretation of the reviews I watched.

If it has a robust character generation system, that alone could keep me occupied for a while. On the other hand, if the critters are just basically humans with fur slapped on in a generic fashion, I'll likely take a pass. If some developer could capture the genius that was in pen and paper games like Gamma World, Aftermath, and a few others, they'd likely have quite the windfall in their respective bank accounts.

I watched the ACG review - who I respect (even if I don't always agree with him) as I think he generally does a good job of recognizing his biases when he reviews games. Anyway, one thing he mentioned was exploration and the fact that there are some really cool things to discover in the world but that there are also a lot of empty areas you need to traverse through. For me, that sounds like a positive… I like lots of space in-between things vs the Ubisoft cram-the-world-full-of-stuff™ approach. Anyway, my takeaway is I think this is a game I'll enjoy at some point, going into it with more modest expectations.

Is the art style of this game some kind of a new trend? Nothing matches with anything else, the animations of vegetation and hair look like something from 20 years ago…

I have no problem with not liking an art style, but I would really like to understand it.

Originally Posted by Silver
How many games have a protagonist like Biomutant? Would be interesting to do a comparison.

As in a protagonist who has different powers and gadgets and who roams around an open world fighting to capture bases/zones? A lot. The fact that it's an animal-person is window dressing.

I think it's safe to say the game is fairly unique at least in terms of characters and style, and I don't think calling it experimental is really that much of a stretch.

Most reviews seem to agree on the game being uneven and the story being mediocre at best. Not a big deal with the story in an action rpg to me, as long as the fighting and evolution of the characters skills are fun. Maybe some of the uneven systems can be patched to be better. I'll wait a while and see.

Well, when I heard the name biomutant, I was expecting some kind of mature setting, then I saw the screenshot… this game is not for me, I can like a light and flowery setting, but this is just flat-out silly.

I just finished installing it. I'll try to check it out today when I have time and let you guys know what I think.

I for one will be very curious to read your impressions, JDR!

Was this the one with the raccoon that batters people with a toilet brush?

Originally Posted by Ripper
Was this the one with the raccoon that batters people with a toilet brush?

You start out with a sword that's slightly bigger than you, or at least the class I chose did, but yeah.. I saw all kinds of weird weapons in some of the preview vids.

If you can get your hands….paws…..mitts….whatever on a plus five or ten toilet brush of cuisinart, that alone might get me to buy this.

As far as I can see, the one thing that will really annoy me is the awful awful narrator. NPCs speak gibberish to you, then subtitles appear which the narrator speaks aloud. He sounds like some sort of childrens' show narrator. He also won't shut up when you're trying to be all zen in the countryside.
There's probably a setting somewhere…

Originally Posted by Shagnak
As far as I can see, the one thing that will really annoy me is the awful awful narrator. NPCs speak gibberish to you, then subtitles appear which the narrator speaks aloud. He sounds like some sort of childrens' show narrator. He also won't shut up when you're trying to be all zen in the countryside.
There's probably a setting somewhere…

There is indeed a setting for that. There's a slider that goes from 0-100 that affects how often the narrator comments on things. The default is 50, but I felt like I was hearing him way too much. Setting it to 0 shuts him up except to translate what NPCs are saying.

Aren't fights boring? In the video I saw, the player had to spend a lot of time just firing at enemies, and both were always using the same style of combat. That looked very repetitive.

The saboteur looked funnier to play though, but I'm not sure how he can handle the fights against enemies in general.

Originally Posted by Silver
How many games have a protagonist like Biomutant? Would be interesting to do a comparison.

Isn't "Indie" the politically correct term for experimental games?

Although a name like "Experiment 101" pretty much gives it away.

Originally Posted by Redglyph
Isn't "Indie" the politically correct term for experimental games?

Although a name like "Experiment 101" pretty much gives it away.

Finally someone noticed the pun. Thanks for that.

IGN India - Score: 6/10
My fav score.
Said it already in the beg-Inning that this one won't turn out well.