Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden

what i mean by the goofy title: - the "buckle-up" bit: i personally have a very "completionist" mindset about rpgs, so when a game offers me a surprising mix of open-world and cell-based maps, with unique encounters, loot, and other collectibles-- it causes me to think more critically before heading out to each next mission, so that im sure that ive found everything in the previous area AND that im as prepared as possible for anything unexpected in the upcoming missions. - the "dive-in" bit: all of this being said-- the game has a wonderful balance of simple yet strategic gameplay. the choice to make the hits 'full-body' instead of 'body-part' based, makes the game probably accessible for any audience, from rpg experts to novices to never-played-befores. on top of this, the whole scenario is fun and extremely visually polished, which keeps the player engaged every time you move forward in the story. i can whole-heartedly endorse this game; for veteran and new players alike

Mutants are done well as characters, with great voice acting for the most part. Art looks good. Locations are rather small, which is not a negative thing, not every game needs to be an open world. There is some junk to find if you look around. I liked the story, nothing extraordinary but it's not bad either. Overall this game has some atmosphere I really enjoyed. The worst part about the game for me is that the resources to upgrade your weapons are quite limited (e.g. you can't sell gear you bought even with a loss) and there are guns that are not worth upgrading or buying. But you can't say this while playing and you often learn it the hard way. I managed to get mostly what I wanted, but I think the risk of wasting limited resources is too great in the game. The game is a series of encounters, not much more is going on. Go to the next location, probably kill everybody, repeat. Also sometimes you must scan every corner in every accessible location to gear up before you can take a road block and push the story forward. This feels like there is one way to play the game. Not a huge problem for me, but don't buy it if you want an RPG.

A good squad based tactical game which never really gets better than good. It’s got an attractive and solid gameplay loop, but the unbalanced combat encounters, limited number of squad members and enemy types and high difficulty makes each encounter very similar. Stealth and scavenging everything is essential to making progress, but once an area is clear, there’s no risk in it and being able to teleport back to town any time you want is immersion breaking. Encounters are extremely one sided - you either win with barely a scratch or get slaughtered against overwhelming odds with the enemy using reinforcement and overpowered healing enemies. Only did the final battle require any tactics, and even then, luck played a significant factor. The graphics, levels, characters and setting all look great and the whole game has its own charm to it, but the plot and even the terminology used is very cliché. Music adds some atmosphere, but not much, and the attempts at humour are referential at best. The game doesn’t feel finished in some areas – the economy is one sided, being only able to buy but not sell items, having to return to town to make simple loadout changes is annoying and although the initial cut scenes were stunning, later ones are static pictures. The controls are simple but a bit clunky, not every option is explained and the game also infrequently stutters and crashes. Still, it was an enjoyable and engrossing experience with a good length and a good story.

It looks good but runs smooth even on older hardware and there's a lot of little adjustments to the turn based formula and action roleplaying tropes to make this game stand out. I like the stealth concept. You can wander a fairly expansive world looking for loot until you come across pockets of enemies and then you can ambush them as long as you stay out of their vision cones, which decrease depending on if you're walking quickly with your flashlight on or slowly with your flashlight off. When you level up you receive points that go into mutations which can increase overall stats or even provide new abilities at higher levels. There's a nifty lore/mechanic blending going on with artifacts. The characters don't know much about 'before' technology so they're always collecting mundane items of today they've elevated to mythical status in an amusing away (assuming a boom box is an explosive...etc). It's charming and makes collecting items more interesting, as well as encouraging exploration and fighting. There's some spicy language you but you the feeling there's some OTT edginess here for the sake a nostalgic 90s feel. Fits right in with the synth music stings and future-punk aesthetic. It's fun though, not as miserable as it could have been or as neon goofy as it might have been either. A nice balance, which describes everything from the challenge to the customization to the complexity. If you enjoy XCom but want something a little tighter, a little looser, and little more like Diablo this is a refined experience.

Let me be straight to the point... Great visual with isometric camera during exploration and over the shoulder&isometric during combat, only complaint is that sometimes the scenery gets in the way of your view, but nothing serious. Music, voices and sfx are professionaly crafted, well implemented and very imersive. Gameplay mixes rpg with turn based combat while you explore a post apocaliptic wasteland searching for elements to upgrade you characters, to advance in the plot and discover some secrets for the patient. The map is divided with, considerable, explorable chunks where you can fast travel between them The intended dificulty is very hard and after you get used to it, you'll start to live, breathe and think like a stalker, making you really think how to aproach each situation. This is a beautiful , adult and very well done piece of software. The characters are uniquely done and captivating, of course somethings could have been more fleshed out like the Ark itself, the rpg elements and some traversing pathways....but in the end these are just recomendations for the next instalment. The main focus is the main characters and their given quest, as it unfolds into something much bigger. This one is perfect as it is...one way trip to the Zone that you'll never forget.