THQ Nordic Japan will release the open world action RPG "BIOMUTANT" on May 25th. Supported platforms are PC (Steam/Epic Games store/GOG.com/Humble)/PS4/Xbox One. The PC version will be released on May 26th. This work was announced in 2017 and was originally scheduled to be released in 2018. There are many people who have high expectations because the work that has been postponed for quality improvement is finally coming out.

This work is packed with elements such as 'kemono', 'open world', and 'post-apocalypse', and the previously released trailer also features a kemono that explores the relics of civilization buried in rich nature. The figure of the main character of is projected. However, on the other hand, there may be some people who do not have much of an image of what the game is specifically about. Therefore, this time I had the opportunity to enjoy the game (PS4 version) to some extent, so I would like to introduce the game content in the form of answering the possible questions.

Q.In a nutshell, what kind of game is it? A. An open-world action RPG set in a world after the collapse of civilization

The stage of "Biomutant" is the near future after the collapse of civilization. As a result of environmental pollution by Toxanol, a large company that existed before the collapse, living things became mutants and humankind was destroyed. Currently, mutant creatures have formed several groups called "tribes", and it is an era of rivalry. The world is dotted with concrete ruins buried in the forest, broken home appliances with the lingering scent of civilization, and records of stupid human mistakes. there is

The main character is a beast who inherited the martial arts "Wang Fu" from his mother. The story progresses centering on several main quests and a huge number of subquests. Solve the problem of the monster "World Eater" that eats away the roots of the "Tree of Life" in the center of the world, belong to one of the tribes and unify the factions, and gradually reveal your own past and The main goal of the game is to settle the situation. Sub quests are content that allows you to understand the world view of this work more deeply, such as listening to NPC's requests and looking for relics of old civilizations.

Q. What game is it similar to? A. I felt something close to the "Fallout" series.

In addition to the commonalities of the post-apocalyptic genre, I felt that the exploration elements were similar to the Fallout series. In "Biomutant", items are collected from old civilization buildings in locations scattered on the map, and unnecessary items are disassembled and used for craft parts. The locations and clothing also have a slightly American feel to them, which should strike a chord with players who like to scavenge in the Fallout series.

In addition, rarity is set for various items such as equipment, and you can strengthen your character by using the excavated items.

Q. What is the equipment collection/enhancement system like? A. You can craft a variety of equipment by combining 5 levels of rarity and effects.

There are 5 levels of rarity for items that can be collected from locations. Weapons in this work consist of multiple parts such as grips, muzzles, and sword tips, and each part has a rarity. By combining these, you can create weapons with higher rarity and stronger effects. In addition, add-ons can be added to armor, and these add-ons can also be excavated from 5 levels of rarity.

Q. Is there a build build factor? A. The direction of the build is determined by the class you choose at the beginning, and you can acquire skills by consuming points that can be obtained by leveling up and exploring.

In this work, the fighting style you are good at differs for each class you select at the time of character creation. However, by spending "upgrade points" that can be obtained by leveling up and exploring and acquiring "status bonuses", it is possible to increase the power of your favorite weapon regardless of class.

In addition to common stat bonuses, there are class-specific skills that can also be acquired by spending upgrade points. For example, if you are a class that specializes in shooting, you can acquire skills such as "shortening the reload time of ranged weapons" and "increasing the damage of two-handed guns." Skills are selected from a list rather than a tree system. Since there is a relatively large amount of points that can be obtained, it is unlikely that it will become an irreversible situation.

Q. What classes can I choose to start with? A. You can choose from 5 classes with different characteristics and the "Mercenary" class, which is a pre-order bonus.

You can choose one of the following classes: "Deadeye", "Commando", "Cyfreak", "Saboteur", and "Sentinel". Also, if you apply the DLC, which is a pre-order bonus for the download version, you can also select the "Mercenary" class. Each class specializes in different attack methods, such as shooting for deadeye and rhino attack (supernatural power) for saifreak, and different skills can be acquired for each class by consuming the points that can be earned by leveling up and exploring. .

Q. What is the combat difficulty (medium)? A. It's not that difficult for me.

There are three levels of difficulty in this game: "Easy", "Medium", and "Hard". The evasion action is easy to use, so if you see the enemy's motion, just press the evasion button for the time being and you'll be fine in most situations. Plenty of recovery options. In the early stage when the equipment is not ready, the enemy seems to be a little hard, but the world will change completely when you get a high rarity weapon.

When you finally get a strong weapon through exploration, the difficulty drops considerably, and you can defeat most enemies by just hitting the attack button without thinking about combos. You can change the difficulty midway through the game, so you can switch to hard if you feel like you're getting too tired.

For reference, let me describe my action game history. In "Darksiders Genesis" from the same THQ Nordic, I was better at exploring, and cleared the battle side with the help of friends who were playing multiplayer together. As for single-player action games, the "Nier" series and "Fallout" series can be cleared without too much difficulty on normal difficulty.

Q. What weapons do you have? A. Basically, there are 3 types of melee weapons and 4 types of ranged weapons. In addition, there are unique weapons, such as dual wielding and dual pistols.

There are three types of basic melee weapons: one-handed slash weapons, two-handed slash weapons, and crush weapons. In addition to this, there are hand-to-hand combats, each of which consumes upgrade points to acquire unique actions. One-handed slash weapons can be dual wielded by consuming upgrade points separately.

There are four types of ranged weapons: "gun", "rifle", "automatic rifle", and "shotgun".

In addition to the basic 3 + 4 types of weapons, there are also unique equipment that can be obtained by meeting certain conditions. I will hide the details, but it is a lineup that allows you to enjoy unique actions.

Q. What is the combat system like? A. A system that accumulates icons when you hit a combo technique, and consumes the accumulated icons to hit a super firepower technique.

There are different combo techniques for each weapon, and you can unlock combo techniques by consuming upgrade points. By hitting the enemy with the combo technique released with points, you can accumulate the "Super One Fu" icon, and by accumulating three of these, you can activate the Super One Fu state. The Super One Fu state is a kind of trance state, and you can unleash powerful attacks during the activation time.

Q. What is the volume of the game? A.In addition to the main quest, there are many subquests and exploration elements. The author took about 30 hours to clear the first time playing.

It took me about 30 hours to clear the stance of exploring all the locations I found along the way. About half of the subquests remain. In this work, there are quite a lot of search-type sub-quests such as searching for relics of the old world and going around designated locations. If you want to enjoy the world view of this work more deeply, it is recommended to play while taking a detour.

Q.Are there replay elements other than the main story? A. Exploration and equipment collection are replay elements.

By completing search-type subquests, you can discover relics from the old world left behind around the world. If you want to master the search, doing subquests will be a shortcut. You can also strengthen yourself by repeatedly collecting weapons, armor, and crafting materials that can be found in various locations.

Q.Can you switch between 3rd person and 1st person view? A. You can't switch.

All exploration and battles are drawn from a third-person perspective. Exceptionally, only when playing parts with puzzle elements, such as repairing machines that are relics of the old civilization, is the first person perspective.

Q.What is the range of character creation? A. There are 6 races, but there is no big difference in their characteristics. The physique can be manipulated by adjusting the parameters.

In this work, you can choose from 6 different races when creating a character. The characteristics such as "having" and "having both feline and rodent characteristics" remain unchanged. There are differences in the atmosphere of appearance, such as somewhat wild features and cute facial features, and the initial status is different for each race.

By choosing a genetic structure after selecting a race, you can increase six types of stats. physique. Apart from the initial settings, the status can also be set by 10 parameters for each level up later, so you can decide based on your appearance preference. In addition, there are elemental damage and slip damage due to terrain in this work, but you can also decide resistance to it in character creation. This resistance changes the color of the arm.

You can also change the pattern and color of the appearance. This is an element that is not related to parameters. Also, you can't choose your gender, and you're neutral. You can't create beasts with feminine silhouettes. By the way, the main character's voice is fixed with a voice that feels relatively cute, like a boy.

Q. How accurate is the translation? A. Slightly heavy.

Although this work supports Japanese, including voice, there are some difficult points. One is that there are many poetic phrases, so it is difficult to say that the text is plain Japanese. The other is that conversations with NPCs are basically spoken in a unique language, which is translated by the partner's automaton (described later) and made to be heard by the protagonist. Because of this, it may take some time to get into the story until you get used to the unique phrasing. However, the system tutorials and explanations have been translated, and there is no problem with gameplay. In addition, there are many unique proper nouns in the post-apocalyptic world, which can be confusing at first glance. Even if there are some words that you don't understand at first, it's best to ignore them as you enjoy gradually grasping their meanings.

Q.Can I enjoy it even if I don't like animals? A. No problem.

I would like to especially tell players who were not interested in the point of "animals", but this work is by no means a game that targets only animal character lovers. Most of the game's featured elements are aimed at players who like exploring open worlds, and even if you're not interested in mofumofu, you can still enjoy the game. There may be users who have different tendencies, such as a post-apocalyptic worldview. I don't have a strong taste for beasts, but I can enjoy the game without problems due to elements such as ruins exploration and combat.

Q.Can NPCs be killed? A.Basically, no.

In principle, mob villagers, quest NPCs, etc. cannot be harmed or killed.

Q. Is criminal play possible? A.There is little freedom, but outlaw play is possible.

In this work, the player's own "aura" leans toward light or darkness depending on the action selected by the player. If you're playing the good guy, you're leaning toward light, and if you're playing the bad guy, you're leaning towards darkness. Although there are no crime elements with a high degree of freedom such as theft and NPC killing, outlaw play is possible by choosing during the quest. There are also effects beyond just role-playing, such as changing the ability you can unlock depending on your aura.

Q. Will there be a companion character? A. There is a navigator character called Automaton, who assists in battle and exploration. It is also possible to change the appearance.

From the beginning of the game, there is an automaton, a small insect-like machine that accompanies the protagonist on his adventures. At first, it looks like a grasshopper, but it is possible to change its appearance by collecting items in subquests. Also, as you progress through the quests, various auxiliary functions will be unlocked that will help you move and attack the enemy together. On the other hand, unlike the Fallout series, you can't take NPCs you meet while traveling.

Q. How wide and dense is the open world? A. My impression is that it is neither narrow nor wide.

It's not so vast that you can't explore it, and if you play the main quests and subquests, all the maps will be revealed before you know it. The fast travel points are arranged at reasonable intervals, so you don't feel stressed about moving. A vast map is prepared, and rather than objects being placed in it, the impression is that the objects are first placed and the map is created accordingly.

Q. Can terrain and buildings be destroyed? A. Partially possible.

Some fragile walls can be destroyed by using specific items or special mounts. There are also doors that can be pried open with a crowbar. However, since village houses cannot be destroyed, the degree of freedom in terms of destruction is not so high.

Q. How does the photo mode feel? A.It is not multifunctional, but the minimum functions are suppressed.

Photo mode can be activated at any time, allowing easy angle adjustments and depth of field to be turned on and off. Also, although there is no color filter or other color adjustment function, the overall color of the game itself is vivid, so even simple adjustments will result in beautiful screenshots. The screenshots used in this article were also taken using photo mode unless the UI was included.

The above is the Q&A created above after playing around with "Biomutant". I would appreciate it if you could use it as a reference for your purchase. Kemono action RPG "Biomutant" will be released on May 25th (PC version on May 26th) for PC (Steam/Epic Games store/GOG.com/Humble)/PS4/Xbox One. If you are interested in this work, check out the official website and THQ Nordic Japan's Twitter account.