Biomutant: Everything we know about these kung-fu fighting cats
After years of quietly kicking around, Biomutant is almost here. Developed by new studio Experiment 101 and published by THQ Nordic, Biomutant’s premise is intriguing and its art is striking. It's an action-RPG, but with cats. Cats with swords, and guns, and kung-fu skills. There aren’t enough games about badass cats, and I’m glad something is being done about it.
Biomutant videos didn't pop up often throughout development, but every time they did it looked mighty ambitious. Experiment 101 finally shared a new set of gameplay clips and information in the summer of 2020 as it approaches final work on the game. Now, at last, we have a release date too.
Here’s everything we know about Biomutant, from the earliest reveals, newest trailers, and how creating your RPG cat hero works.
What is the Biomutant release date?
Biomutant will launch on May 25, 2021 on Steam. It will also be available on PS4 and Xbox One.
Biomutant was originally set to release sometime in 2019. Developers Experiment 101 finally updated fans on Twitter about the status of the game in early 2020 saying that it would "reveal the release date as soon as everyone at our studio feels confident about hitting that date and that the game is ready for it." Why the long period of silence? So they could fix bugs without crunching, studio boss Stefan Ljungqvist explained.
Here are some Biomutant gameplay videos
Combat trailer 2021
A minute's worth of quick scenes showcasing various moves like ground pounds, chain combos, and aerial spinning while shooting. The whole thing is somewhat overshadowed by a revelation at the end that the Mercenary class will be a preorder bonus.
Summer of Gaming 2020
A set of gameplay clips during IGN's summer event show off combat and enemy encounters. There are all kinds of large-and-in-charge monsters with brightly colored fur and huge teeth. You can also spot your character using several different vehicle types: a submarine type thing, some kind of jetski, and a glider for flying through the air.
Gamescom 2018
This chunk of Biomutant gameplay shows off a lot of ground and mech combat. It’s interesting to see the game bounce between post-apocalyptic environmental undertones and whimsy (mostly captured by the omnipresent narrator). It also starts off with a look at the character creator, showing how messing with your cat's stats will also change their appearance,
What kind of game is Biomutant?
Developer Experiment 101 officially describes Biomutant as a “post-apocalyptic Kung-Fu fable RPG.” That’s a mouthful, but it seems appropriate for the strange vibes that Biomutant puts off. From the limited gameplay we’ve seen, it’s essentially an action-RPG with an ambitious “Mutations” system that changes the genetic makeup of your custom cat hero over time.
There’s also a deep crafting system for making new weapons and armor. The gameplay demos so far have been fairly linear, but Biomutant is an open-world game with a 4x4 kilometre sandbox, not including its underground areas.
What is Biomutant’s story?
Biomutant has a unique take on post-apocalyptic worlds. Instead of your typical natural disaster, Biomutant’s world was destroyed by a massive oil flood that rose from the ground.
Experiment 101 has been cagey about the story, but it has emphasized that the choices your cat makes has a huge impact on the story. As an oil plague has infected the Tree of Life try to return vitality to the world, it’s your job to save it while uniting the world’s "tribes."
The Tree of Life quest sounds similar to Mass Effect 3’s "Galactic Readiness." Curing each of the Tree of Life’s "roots" will increase your percentage chance of saving the world at the end of the game.
Biomutant’s narrator speaks for every character in the game
As far as we can tell, there’s only one voice actor in the game—the omnipresent narrator. Not only does he narrate the constant action of your protagonist, but he also voices every NPC conversation. It’s like he’s reading dialogue out of a fairytale, and it’s kind of adorable. There are several dialogue options in conversations, but we haven’t seen them impact gameplay.
Your custom cat’s physique will affect its stats
At the beginning of Biomutant, players will tweak their cat protagonist’s genetic code to their liking—including strength, agility, vitality, charisma, and intellect. Shifting them around in the character creator drastically changes the physique of your cat. They can be short or tall, buff or skinny, whatever you want. Stats have a direct effect on things like weapon damage, persuasion, and movement speed.
Players will discover new physical and ‘Psy” abilities
The "mutant" part of Biomutant comes from your cat’s tendency to pick up new powers when exposed to the post-apocalypse wastelands. We’ve only seen a few powers so far—a telekinesis ability that lets you hurl small enemies at each other, and an ability that stuns enemies and force them to attack indiscriminately by swarming them in moths.
Biomutant's combat plays like Devil May Cry
In a sit-down with YouTube channel Radioactive Games, Biomutant representatives apparently compared the combat to Devil May Cry, and it’s not hard to see the influence. The combat is a mix of melee and ranged with the same lock-on style that DMC is known for. Melee is reliant on combos and crowd control.
You can craft weapons out of random pieces of junk
Supplies found in the open world can be used to craft unique weapons. We’ve seen swords, staffs, rifles, and pistols so far. One sword might have bent stop sign reinforcing the base while another uses a monkey wrench as a grip. In the latest gameplay video we spotted a giant toothbrush as well.
Biomutant’s Aura system reacts to your allegiance
Your actions in Biomutant will teeter your "karma" meter called Aura back and forth between good and bad. Apparently, you’ll see a different ending depending on your Karma by the end of the game.
In early 2021, Experiment 101 explained that it had massively expanded Biomutant's script over the past year so that NPCs will have different dialogue depending on your alignment.
Here are Biomutant's system requirements on PC
Minimum
- OS: Windows 7 or higher (64 bit)
- Processor: AMD FX-8350 or Intel Core i5-4690K
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: 4 GB Direct3D 11 capable video card (GeForce GTX 960 or Radeon R9 380)
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 25 GB available space
Recommended
- OS: Windows 10 (64bit)
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 or Intel Core i7
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: 6 GB Direct3D 11 capable video card (GeForce GTX 1660Ti or Radeon RX 590)
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 25 GB available space
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