Biomutant: a Western post-apocalyptic wuxia?

Biomutant had much going for it, but it seems for many it’s failed to live up to expectations after its lengthy production. And yet, I did find it appealing in some small way as I enjoyed roaming through a post-apocalyptic martial arts world. Thematically, it seems to do something quite new. It rubs shoulders, a little awkwardly, with Bethesda’s Fallout and martial arts RPGs like Bioware’s wuxia foray, Jade Empire. In other ways it reminded me of sleeper hits like Avalanche’s post-apoc Mad Max (2015) and the PSP title Kingdom of Paradise [aka Key of Heaven] (2009).

=Does it work as a standard action RPG?=
It’s very much the mould of a Bethesda-y fetch-quest coupled with some Ubisoftian capture-the-outpost – so not that inventive. If you can get over the frame-rate issues, the game looks stunning with its jumble of rural East-Asian aesthetics matched with urban decay. The gameplay is reasonably fun too but overall it is very sparsely put together, tied together with a rather weak story. Perhaps that’s because there’s a glut of gameplay mechanics the devs tried pumping into the game? Some do seem refreshing for an action-RPG (e.g. infinite ammo; no inventory limit) but a lot of the combat and crafting comes on too quickly and too much. Moving around is decent and fluid as your character leaps and runs across the landscape too. But then the sound design is fairly poor. Good thematic music with an ear for a far east feel but repetitive. There is also only ONE voice-actor for the whole game, who doesn’t fit the aesthetic and tires quickly. Changing the VA to the Chinese, Korean or Japanese dubs does make some improvement and adds to the sense you are a wandering Chinese xia or Japanese ronin.

==But does it work as a wuxia story? ==
Examining Biomutant through the lens of it a wuxia gives it legs though. Wuxia videogames are few and far between in the west, so I’ll take what I can, this time with a post-apocalyptic mashup (though with Biomutant’s lengthy development, the TV show Into the Badlands beat it to the punch). Biomutant functions as the first open-world wuxia title from a western studio. I found it rewarding to ignore the overall story and roam the countryside as a xia (knight errant), taking on small quests, cultivating my gong-fu skills, bettering my armour and crafting personalised weaponry. Tropes common to wuxia stories are several. Besides the obvious fact that the martial arts featured is reminiscent of Hong Kong swordplay, we also have qinggong (i.e. flying abilities through the air) abilities called ‘super wungfu’. Also there are cultivated techniques in the form of mutations like radioactive projectile needles, and shenguai magic powers like toxic breath, flaming trails and ice traps bringing to mind films like Bride with White Hair and Zu Warriors. There are rival martial arts clans of course with prized weaponry and some moral quandaries for the hero to solve (though these are basic). But even here there are so many things that are missing from a true wuxia open-world rpg and the game is only held afloat by the buoyancy of its other post-apocalypse thematic setting. There could have been more variety in weapons, clothing and and missions too.

Overall, it’s certainly not a AAA game, but comfortably sits in the AA zone. Worth a look for about £10-£15.