Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden Reviews
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden should be played by tactical RPG fans, there have been some major updates recently with more on the horizon. If it's not on your radar, you should probably start looking into it.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is the kind of game where developer The Bearded Lady's excellent writing and prudent choice of genre preserve this game as one worthy of purchase and play despite its borrowing from a variety of sci-fi sources.
A version of a tactics game that heavily incentivizes stealth to the point where it makes it mandatory. Good writing and style but a singular focus on the right way to play the game hold it back.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a positive step in the right direction for the future of turn-based strategy on a mechanical level, but it finds itself lacking in the storytelling department. Hopefully, we get more from this world. A bigger, deeper sequel is a must at this point because there’s huge potential for Mutant Year Zero to be a frontrunner in the strategy arena.
"Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a clever little game filled with atmosphere that made me greedy for more of it. Its linear story and lack of random encounters means that its pleasures are rather finite. Sure, you can take a crack at a harder difficulty or turn on permadeath, but that’s about it as far as replay value goes."
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a must-buy this holiday season. Such a seamless and wonderful amalgamation of genres is rare and The Bearded Ladies have blended them so well that in Road to Eden you have a completely unique experience that feels natural, almost welcoming. Until it steps on your face but I say that is a part of the charm…
Mutant Year Zero mixes exploration and stealth with turn-based strategic combat for a fresh, fun and exciting romp through the apocalypse. A must-play title that I wasn't expecting, but can't wait to get back to.
On top of the fantastic experience of simply making your way through the game hunched over in sneak mode (literally my entire time in Skyrim in any playthrough, so I was hungry for it), the lush environments and levels really are a thing of beauty. The detail of this torn world really sets the game up to run a chill down your spine, even in the best of situations. The character models are ridiculously well done to the point where you think you're going to laugh at the fact that you're toting around Howard the Duck in a post apocalyptic world--but it never really seems to cross your mind as everything about them is so convincing and immersive that it's hard not to take it seriously. The enemies are foul and deranged--a real threat. Five minutes with the mutant hunters in your midst and you're guaranteed to know what they're all about without a massive context behind them.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is an interesting attempt to combine two disparate genres, but it's definitely not perfect. It's not unenjoyable, but it suffers from repetition and way too simplistic gameplay systems.
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Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a title that’s not afraid to take some risks, and the result is a very unique –if sometimes flawed – tactical action game. It’s a great title for casual fans of the genre, although more discerning tactics fans will probably enjoy it more for its stealth and its storyline.
The story is simplistic but the lore is interesting. The combat is fun at times but hampered by the games linear nature and finite resources. Exploring and finding new loot is fun but I do not think stealth killing enemies combined with RNG works well at all.
All in all, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a pretty good game to keep and play again for the challenge. Great gameplay, good visuals, solid voice acting, several options for upping the difficulty, and an intriguing storyline are the reasons I gave it a high score. I do see some parts that need improvement that needs to be implemented in the next title though. Devs, make it happen because I really like this game despite its small flaws.
Mutant Year Zero Road to Eden is a fun, engaging experience, great to pick up and play for seasoned RPG veterans or newer fans of the genre.
For fans of XCOM and turn-based gaming in general then Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is definitely worth a look, especially if you are an Xbox Game Pass owner.
The Bearded Ladies delivers my surprise game of the year with a brisk tactical tale of mutants and the apocalyptic world left behind by man’s hubris.
I’ve very much enjoyed wandering this post apocalyptic world with my mutant friends.
Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden is an engaging, fun and fresh turn-based strategy game that plays with the genre’s conventions in unexpected ways. It could do with some fine tuning, but the interesting world, brilliant combat and challenging stealth mechanics mean this journey through the apocalypse is one that never wears out its welcome.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden can be quite difficult at first and, if you don't play wisely, you can be put in some intense situations and be tempted to restart. With perseverance and strategy, however, you can overcome these initial issues.
Combat is challenging and enjoyable enough that I briefly started a second playthrough on hard. I wanted to master the combat challenge and solve the puzzles properly instead of brute forcing my way through them. I got through a few encounters and then it hit me just how similar the experience would be the second time around. There weren't any cool new mutations to play with or better weapons to acquire. So I stopped playing. My first playthrough lasted fifteen hours and it was decent. I'll keep an eye out for a sequel or an expansion, but at the moment, Mutant Year Zero doesn't have enough worldbuilding or interesting variety in its upgrades for my tastes. I doubt I'll ever finish that second playthrough.
neither the RPG or combat components are individually as strong as the games it is so clearly inspired by, but together they combine to create a wonderfully unique experience that takes both genres in new directions. Add to this some wonderful stealth mechanics and a sound and visual design second to none and Mutant Year Zero has easily climbed its way into my top games of the year.