The Bearded Ladies·Released Dec 4, 2018·Single player
From a team including former designers of HITMAN and PAYDAY comes Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, a tactical adventure game that combines the turn-based combat of XCOM with a real-time stealth and exploration of a post-human world reclaimed by nature… and Mutants.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is one of the best additions to the tactical RPG genre years; a well-written and rewarding experience that combines the creative use of stealth found in the legacy of its ex-Hitman developers with a world that's full of interesting characters and ideas. Almost every game in this genre lives in the shadow of XCOM, but Mutant offers enough new ideas to set itself apart. The visual downgrade on the Switch version can be a little hard on the eye, but considering how this sacrifice has preserved the quality of the game within, we'd call that a worthy trade-off.
While Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden has managed to build a cohesive system for tactical turn-based battles to take place in, it's far too difficult for the average player. Hardcore genre fanatics are sure to get a kick out of proceedings, but those looking for a more introductory take on things will find more frustration than progress.
In changing the interplay between stealth and combat, Mutant Year Zero spins an interesting and intense new perspective on the turn-based tactics game that pushes you to get the most out of every move you make.
Mutant Year Zero also carves out its own niche in the turn-based strategy genre, but a limited scope and bafflingly abrupt ending mar the experience.
An emphasis on stealth, scouting, and ambushing give Mutant Year Zero's tactical combat a thrilling spin.
I’m greedy. I want a bigger, beefier, more flexible Mutant Year Zero. But that’s because the small, linear but smart, powerful and atmospheric Mutant Year Zero I got grabbed hold of me so completely.
Mutant Year Zero is a tense, absorbing and atmospheric new member of the XCOM family.
