Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a turn-based tactical role-playing video game developed by Swedish studio The Bearded Ladies and published by Funcom. Based on the tabletop role-playing game Mutant Year Zero, the game was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in December 2018. A Nintendo Switch version of the game was released on July 30, 2019.
Gameplay
The game was described by publisher Funcom as a "tactical adventure" game, played from an isometric perspective. There are three difficulty levels for players to choose from. Players control a party of three characters as they navigate the game's world. Different characters have different abilities and skills. Selma, a mutated human character, is an expert in explosives; Dux, a duck hybrid, is equipped with a long-range crossbow; Bormin uses shotguns as one of its weapons. Each character also has their own passive, minor and major mutation attacks that can be activated and customized. The team as a whole levels up as the game progresses, and new weapons and gears could be unlocked. The game also features a skill tree, and a branching story. There are five characters for players to choose from, including three default characters and two recruitable ones.
Gameplay alternates between turn-based tactics combat and real-time exploration. The Zone is a series of interconnected maps that players can freely explore. In the Zone, players could collect different artifacts, scraps and weapon parts which can be used to purchase new gears and tools in the Ark, the game's hub world. To explore the world, flashlights can be used to spot different objects, though this draws unwanted enemy attention. In real-time, players can split up the party and guide them in different tactical positions to stage an ambush. Once players enter combat, the game shifts to a turn-based mode, similar to Firaxis' X-COM reboot series. After players finish a turn, enemies controlled by artificial intelligence (AI) would move and respond. Players can also kill an enemy stealthily. If other enemies are not alerted to the player's presence, players can continue exploring in real-time.
The Seed of Evil expansion available as downloadable content for separate purchase extends the story and play area, but does not modify the gameplay significantly. It includes upgrades to existing skills, some advanced equipment, and a new character.
Plot
After the outbreak of the deadly Red Plague and global nuclear war, humans have largely become extinct, with the few surviving ones becoming mutants, having been affected by radiation. The Elder (voiced by Gergo Danka), the only person with the knowledge of the past, resides in the Ark, a fortified settlement that serves as the last bastion of civilization. With severe resource shortages, the base sends out special mutants called Stalkers who scavenge resources in the surrounding wasteland known as the Zone. However, the Zone is also populated by Ghouls, human survivors driven violent and insane from the aftermath of the bombings who worship the old world civilization as the Ancients.
Two Stalkers, Bormin (a humanoid boar voiced by actor Enzo Squillino Jnr) and Dux (a humanoid duck voiced by Jared Zeus), are tasked by the Elder to head north to search for another Stalker, Hammon. Hammon is a technical genius and is the only person capable of keeping the Ark's systems running, but he and his team disappeared during an expedition, and his absence puts the entire Ark at risk. Bormin and Dux set off to find Hammon, finding clues that he journeyed north to investigate a strange craft that crashed from the sky, believing it holds the key to finding the mythical promised land of Eden. As they travel north, they find and rescue Selma and Magnus, Hammon's fellow Stalkers. They also learn of the Nova Sect, a group of fanatically religious Ghouls who seek to restore Ancient weapons technology that can be used against the Ark. The Nova Sect was able to capture Hammon, and are attempting to force him to assist in their plans.