Biomutant is finally here, and players worldwide are now able to get their hands on this long-anticipated game and its charming world made of furry, quirky creatures, and heirlooms of humanity. The setting of the game is that of a post-apocalyptic tale where humans are long extinct or gone, deep in outer space, with the use of spaceships because Earth was deemed uninhabitable. What happened in Biomutant is a combination of toxic wastes, capitalism taken to the extremes of corporate profit and personal gain, exploitation of resources, the greed of the few, and raging war across a dying planet.
This is juxtaposed to how vibrant the world is when the game starts, forests and fields now thriving, the seaside and mountains teeming with life, and of course encampments where other biomutants live happy lives. However, things in Biomutant are going to change, and another apocalypse is impending on the critters' society like Damocles' sword. The last bulwark of life, the world tree, is being destroyed by the four world eaters. Biomutant sends a powerful message with its setting and background that may feel a bit on the nose, especially with all the talk about morality and letting players choose "good" or "evil," but it isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Biomutant's Biohazards And Pollution As Central Themes
Pollution, in particular, is at the very core of Biomutant's narrative. The game's iconic trailer showed one of the furry cat-like mutants touching a strange liquid near the tree of life, only for its hand and arm to be contaminated by it, giving the creature strange mutations. Furthermore, there are multiple areas that are polluted by either one of the elements of the game like Biohazard, or by other contaminants that can be absorbed with the use of one of Biomutant's vehicles, the Mekton.
This theme of pollution or nature's corruption is an overarching one: It makes players wonder what the real damage of pollution is, and the impact it can really have on planet Earth. That's likely the point Biomutant's developers at Experiment 101 tried to make.
While Biomutant's graphics, cool aesthetics, and lively world are charming and great to look at, the story told by the game's setting is quite grim in contrast. It's a cautionary tale about the dangers of pollution, and that becomes clear very early on, but the thing is Biomutant also tries to show how nature always finds a way to survive. Whether it's through the hardships it is put through by people or mutant monsters alike, nature is still very much alive in Biomutant. The Aura system is there to make players immerse themselves in the world, and discover how the actions of an individual can have branching consequences that set a chain of events in motion.
Still, despite the underlying message of Biomutant, the game is also an epic mix of exploration, overpowering enemies, and using a plethora of gadgets to enhance the main character in different ways. There is a certain dividing line between the more fun and action-oriented gameplay with the sheer beauty and calm of a post-apocalyptic world, as much as there is a contrast between biohazard and radiation versus the combat exclamations appearing on screen like in comic books. This makes the experience varied, and it makes Biomutant a very unique game that can offer a lot more than what meets the eye.
Biomutant is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.