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Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a tactical turn-based game that people are comparing to an XCOM clone. Although in my opinion, it is a completely unique game with additional features. For people who are into turn-based tactical strategy games, this is a must-play. The price is a bit high without regional pricing. Otherwise, I fully recommend this game.

The world as we know it no longer exists, and the game takes place in a post-apocalyptic time. Most of the humans are gone as well. Only one safe place remain: The Ark, which is ruled by The Elder. In order to provide The Ark with needed supplies, Stalkers are ordered to scavenge the area. These Stalkers are mutated humans that you as a player will control.

The game starts with a good tutorial that can be turned on or off. This shows you pretty much all of the things you need to know about the game.

There are three difficulty settings, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard. There is also Iron Mutant option that can be turned on as well, this means no multiple saves and permadeath. For this review I have played the game on normal difficulty.

You will need to scavenge the areas with your squad, individually or as a group. The whole atmosphere is a bit creepy and depressing, and it is very well done. It truly gives the vibes of a post-apocalyptic feel.

On the map you will find various things, good and bad. You will find scraps for The Ark or other goodies like parts for weapons, etc.

Other times you will encounter enemies and stealth is an important part of the game as well. Once you go into stealth mode, you can sneak up on enemies with your flashlight off. Or you can pass by enemies in this way undetected, especially if they are much stronger than you.

If you get into a fight, stealth mode and ambush is your best friend. You can find cover, and you definitely will want to stay in cover if possible. There is full cover and half cover. You will have 2 action points to spend. You can walk first and try to shoot, throw a grenade, turn on overwatch, or use a medkit.

As expected, the game shows you the damage amount that you will do and how much chance for a critical. You will want to keep an eye on your ammo, reloading also costs an action point. As it is turn-based, your enemy will have a turn after yours.

After winning a battle, your squad will be fully healed. This allows the people who have not played a lot of turn-based tactical strategy games to get into it as well.

You can also level up and spend your points on stats or mutations.

In addition, your inventory is where you will change your weapons or add grenades. You can equip various armour and helmets as well.

The game allows you to fast travel in the zone map, you can revisit previous locations with this.

The Ark acts as your home base, where you can trade goods that you have found during your scavenger hunt. You can upgrade weapons, or buy general supplies here.

The game has automatic saves, but you can also manually save in different save slots. This is a nice option to have. You can always choose Iron Mutant mode to have a single save with permadeath.

The game can be played with a mouse and a keyboard, or with a controller.

The graphics are beautiful, everything looks a bit creepy, as expected for a post-apocalyptic world. Even the animations in the stats screen look nice, when you upgrade your mutants.

All of the texts are spoken, and done very well.
The music and sound effects intensify that eerie effect, and I like the atmosphere these work together to create.

I absolutely love this game, it is beautiful and the gameplay is unique and fun. The battles are very good and the scavenger hunts are designed to be fun as well. There are enough unique elements to make it stand out from XCOM games, and it is not a clone. I wish the price were a bit lower, as it costs €35 and is a bit pricey. There is no regional pricing either. Leaving the price out of the review, I would fully recommend it. I do think this is a must-buy for people who enjoy turn-based tactical strategy games.

I really love this game, and I give it a 9/10.

I received the product for free. I did not receive any compensation to write this review. The opinions represented here are entirely my own and were not influenced in any way.

[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow our curator page: [b]IndieGems[/b] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.[/url][/quote] [i]Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden[/i] is a tactical turn-based game that people are comparing to an [i]XCOM[/i] clone. Although in my opinion, it is a completely unique game with additional features. For people who are into turn-based tactical strategy games, this is a must-play. The price is a bit high without regional pricing. Otherwise, I fully recommend this game. [h1]Story[/h1] The world as we know it no longer exists, and the game takes place in a post-apocalyptic time. Most of the humans are gone as well. Only one safe place remain: The Ark, which is ruled by The Elder. In order to provide The Ark with needed supplies, Stalkers are ordered to scavenge the area. These Stalkers are mutated humans that you as a player will control. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] The game starts with a good tutorial that can be turned on or off. This shows you pretty much all of the things you need to know about the game. There are three difficulty settings, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard. There is also Iron Mutant option that can be turned on as well, this means no multiple saves and permadeath. For this review I have played the game on normal difficulty. You will need to scavenge the areas with your squad, individually or as a group. The whole atmosphere is a bit creepy and depressing, and it is very well done. It truly gives the vibes of a post-apocalyptic feel. On the map you will find various things, good and bad. You will find scraps for The Ark or other goodies like parts for weapons, etc. Other times you will encounter enemies and stealth is an important part of the game as well. Once you go into stealth mode, you can sneak up on enemies with your flashlight off. Or you can pass by enemies in this way undetected, especially if they are much stronger than you. If you get into a fight, stealth mode and ambush is your best friend. You can find cover, and you definitely will want to stay in cover if possible. There is full cover and half cover. You will have 2 action points to spend. You can walk first and try to shoot, throw a grenade, turn on overwatch, or use a medkit. As expected, the game shows you the damage amount that you will do and how much chance for a critical. You will want to keep an eye on your ammo, reloading also costs an action point. As it is turn-based, your enemy will have a turn after yours. After winning a battle, your squad will be fully healed. This allows the people who have not played a lot of turn-based tactical strategy games to get into it as well. You can also level up and spend your points on stats or mutations. In addition, your inventory is where you will change your weapons or add grenades. You can equip various armour and helmets as well. The game allows you to fast travel in the zone map, you can revisit previous locations with this. The Ark acts as your home base, where you can trade goods that you have found during your scavenger hunt. You can upgrade weapons, or buy general supplies here. The game has automatic saves, but you can also manually save in different save slots. This is a nice option to have. You can always choose Iron Mutant mode to have a single save with permadeath. [h1]Controls[/h1] The game can be played with a mouse and a keyboard, or with a controller. [h1]Graphics[/h1] The graphics are beautiful, everything looks a bit creepy, as expected for a post-apocalyptic world. Even the animations in the stats screen look nice, when you upgrade your mutants. [h1]Sounds[/h1] All of the texts are spoken, and done very well. The music and sound effects intensify that eerie effect, and I like the atmosphere these work together to create. [h1]Verdict[/h1] I absolutely love this game, it is beautiful and the gameplay is unique and fun. The battles are very good and the scavenger hunts are designed to be fun as well. There are enough unique elements to make it stand out from [i]XCOM[/i] games, and it is not a clone. I wish the price were a bit lower, as it costs €35 and is a bit pricey. There is no regional pricing either. Leaving the price out of the review, I would fully recommend it. I do think this is a must-buy for people who enjoy turn-based tactical strategy games. I really love this game, and I give it a 9/10. [quote]I received the product for free. I did not receive any compensation to write this review. The opinions represented here are entirely my own and were not influenced in any way.[/quote]