After an immensely long silence, the unique action RPG Biomutant is set to release this year. Even though it's the first game from Swedish developer Experiment 101, Biomutant seems like an adventure seeded with some promising new features that could set it apart from other games in the genre.

Dubbed as a "post-apocalyptic kung-fu fable," Biomutant will have players traversing a humungous open world through the eyes of an endearing fuzzy creature that is fully customizable. At its core, Biomutant is a true RPG that features a branching storyline, a karma system, flexible combat, and most notably an extensive character customization suite.

RELATED: Biomutant PC Requirements Revealed

Creating the Perfect DNA Strand

biomutant tribe leader

In Biomutant, players will have to choose their initial mutation that will set the foundation for their characters. The six attributes that players can lean towards are Strength, Vitality, Charisma, Agility, and Luck. All of these attributes represent the six different tribes players will come across in the game's massive open world. Through mixing and matching these "six DNA strands," as the game calls it,  players will be able to craft their own unique character.

Character creation in Biomutant is more extensive than it may seem. To begin, players will have the option to choose their character's gender. More importantly, the furry protagonist's appearance would vary depending upon the attributes they lean towards. For instance, if the players decide to invest in the Charisma or Intellect attributes, the character's head would become bigger, indicating that they are smart, which in return would give it more power to pull off psychic abilities. Similarly, if players decide to invest in the Agile attribute, the character would become more nimble. On other hand, a big buffed character would indicate more strength at the cost of agility.

An Extensive Class System

biomutant bubble screenshot

Aside from choosing these DNA strands, which players can also "re-code" or reset later on in the game. Players will also have to choose their initial class that aligns more with traditional roleplaying experience. Choosing their class would also influence player's starting weapons, gears, and abilities. As of now, there's no concrete info on the various classes Biomutant would offer. However, game's creative director Stefan Ljungqvist, revealed one of the classes in an interview with IGN last year. According to him, "Sai Freak" is a class that would offer players X-men mutant style abilities, something that's akin to a mage character in a traditional RPG.

While these are underlying elements of a deep role-playing experience, Biomutant does offer lighter customization options as well. Players can choose from a wide array of fur types and fur coats. Moreover, there are options to change the primary fur color as well as the overall detail color. These subtle additions make for a welcome addition in otherwise gameplay rooted customization options.

Biomutant is shaping up to be an incredibly ambitious open-world RPG from a surprisingly small team of 18 people. While there are obvious comparisons to  The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Shadow of Mordor, BioMutant seems to be carving its own path through its unique customization and fun gameplay elements.

Biomutant releases May 25, 2021, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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