Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden

Due to quick levelling up and relatively small map Mutant Year Zero feels smaller than it actually is, but still don’t expect more than 12-15 hours of moderately engaging gameplay that unfortunately slows down towards the end. [01/2019, p.80]

While it mostly iterates on the foundation laid by other games in the genre, quirky writing and characters help keep things fresh. Unfortunately, Mutant Year Zero’s short campaign and predictable story hold it back from being a slam dunk.

With all its attractive graphics, Mutant Year Zero lacks scale to offer exciting tactical options and does very little to flesh out its intriguing post-apocalyptic world.

A refreshing experience for those who wants a tactical game set in a well-polished universe with interesting scenario and well written characters. Sadly, the user interface is limited and the fights sometimes look a bit sloppy, lacking of clarity and balance.

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden’s blend of turn-based tactical combat with stealth is interesting, but not always successful, and its story doesn’t take advantage of its unique setting. Although the ability to explore the world and sneak up on enemies adds a fun twist to the genre, it brings unwelcome complications and technical hiccups as well. I also ran into numerous performance issues, including game-ending freezes, that strained my initial fondness for the game.

Occasionally, Road to Eden comes to life with fun, challenging combat and a smart implementation of stealth. But even so, the feeling quickly disappears as you remember that there’s little to enjoy after you’ve won. The game often seems empty and dull, with under-utilized characters and clumsy pacing, and not enough overarching mechanics to keep you engaged in the long run.

You have to spend hours crawling around, looking for lone enemies that you can gang up on and take out without raising the alarm – because there’s no way you’ll be able to fight everyone at the same time. To put it bluntly – it’s not fun, and Mutant doesn’t have anything else to offer. [Issue#235, p.46]

We find it hard to recommend Mutant Year Zero as the frustrating combat, occasional bugs, slow movement, and awkward camera make us quit to desktop more often than not. But at the same time, the story and the world keeps dragging us back for more. And though it has aged us considerably, if you’re a fan of the source material, then it’s worth it to stick it through just to experience the story. Especially if you’re like the rest of us and can’t get a group together anyway.

As it stands now, Road to Eden feels less like a full release and more like an extended demo.

It's tough not to imagine how a sequel could improve the writing and the exploration to realize what is, at this point anyway, mostly just a lot of potential.