Posted on: October 27, 2020

svjson
Verified ownerGames: 84 Reviews: 8
So much to love, yet it falls short
Yes, there's a lot to love about this game, but in the end it falls flat on its nose due to being incredibly linear and the gameplay repetitive and unbalanced. The characters are great, the constant bickering and bantering between Bormin and Dux is entertaining, the environments are awesome(Being a Swede, It's really great to see all the remnants of actual Swedish places and puns on Swedish companies and logos). Where it fails is that gameplay-wise it doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Is it a turn-based strategy game? If so, it falls short because there is really one viable strategy to use. Stealth. All the time. Pick off loner enemies silently without being detected, and then move in to finish the rest. On every single map. Supplies and upgrades are scarce, which would be fine if not for the fact that if you spend those resources in the wrong way - you're screwed as the mobs quickly grow stronger and you can no longer pick them off one by one, either due to too weak silent weapons or not enough special skills/mutations in your squad. Granted, the following is obviously an exaggeration - but the game made me remember old Amiga games like Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, which were gorgeous for their time but consisted only of pressing the right key at the right moment, or BAM - you're dead. Is it an RPG? If so, it falls short because there isn't enough RPG elements or variety. There isn't much in the way of choice on how to play or upgrade your characters. Do it "right", or you're screwed as per above. The skill trees contain very few unique skills/mutations. Both Strategy and RPG games should offer at least some choice in how to play the game, even if some strategies are doomed to fail. Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden doesn't provide any. Some aspects of the game deserve a much, much higher rating than what I'm giving it, but ultimately it stops being fun after a few hours, no matter how gorgeous it is. And games should be fun.
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