Biomutant may not be as highly-anticipated as other games coming out this year. However, it's certainly the most unique looking. With an impending release this year, we still don't really know that much about the game. Developers Experiment 101 have been quiet about the game's development. Since its announcement in Gamescom 2017, we haven't heard much. So any news about the upcoming open-world game is welcome. That's why we collected all these information in just one place. Here's everything we know so far about Biomutant.

Biomutant will have you control a mammalian humanoid, off to save the world

Just like many of the open-world games we play nowadays, Biomutant allows you to create your character. But it's not every day that you get to create a humanoid mammalian creature. You can customize your sex, size, body shape, and fur. Your gameplay experience is somewhat altered in the way you create your character. Body weight, for example, affects your movement speed and melee attack damage.

However you build your character, you are dropped in an open world environment on the brink of destruction after a natural disaster. Dangerous oil is corrupting the five roots of the Tree of Life. It's up to you to traverse this mutant-filled world and purify the roots, defeating creatures that are gnawing at the root along the way. You will also encounter six different tribes, which you can either help or destroy in your quest to save the Tree of Life. With a branching storyline that lets you tackle the world as you see fit, Biomutant allows players to do things your own way.

A fresh take on third-person action adventures

Developers Experiment 101 claims that Biomutant will have a fresh new take on third-person action adventure. Its combat is a great mix of melee and ranged fighting styles. When it was first revealed by the magazine GamesMarkt two days before its official release, the game was described as a “post-apocalyptic kung-fu fable.” This shows that aside from the weapons you can craft in the game, there's also some focus on martial arts combat.

Speaking of weapons, you can collect parts as you travel around the world. You can use these parts to create and customize weapons. The weapons you build can have traits called “Affixes”. These affixes are somewhat akin to elemental attributes. For example, cryo affixes can freeze opponents. Your character itself can obtain new abilities by equipping cyborg body parts of by evolving parts of your body. These upgrades can be used as a reaction to the world's hazardous environments. The game also has traditional RPG progression mechanics, which allows you to unlock new skills and abilities.

You can traverse the open world of Biomutant by land, by flying riding an air balloon, by jet skiing, and even by riding a mech. The world should be traversed using these different vehicle options, as the world's dynamic weather system puts players in dangerous environments.

Finally, the game's branching storylines and NPCs are affected by a ‘Karma' system. This makes your actions and decisions to affect the behavior of NPCs, as well as the way the story progresses. This includes the player's relationship with the tribes, as well as potential NPC companions that they can recruit in their quest.

Development and Release Date

Development on Biomutant started in 2015, when former Avalanche Studios employees established Experiment 101. Avalanche Studios worked on titles such as the Just Cause series. The developers left Avalanche Studios to go their own way, seeking to create a game that is “fun in a good way.”

When the game was official unveiled in Gamescom 2017 in August, a playable demo was made available to attendees. Biomutant's head of studio Stefan Ljungqvist claimed at the time that the game was content-complete by this time. Experiment 101 has since been busy in balancing the gameplay. The developers is using Unreal Engine in making the game.

While there's currently no exact release date, Steam lists the game as a 2021 release. THQ Nordic's parent company The Embracer Group confirmed that Biomutant is set to be released within the 2021 fiscal year. This puts the game's release date between April 2021 and March 2022.

As gamers anticipate for the release of this game, THQ Nordic has began accepting pre-orders for the game. Aside from the standard physical release, the game is also offered in a Collector's Edition and an “Atomic Edition”. The Collector's Edition comes with the game's mascot statue, wielding a broadsword that it uses in the trailer. The “Atomic Edition” comes with more, including a sweet-looking diorama, a fabric banner, an oversized mousepad, a steelbook, a t-shirt, and the game's soundtrack. However, the Atomic Edition doesn't have the mascot statue. The Collector's Edition retails at $119.99, while the “Atomic Edition” retails at $399.99.

Biomutant is coming out to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC sometime this 2021.