BioMutant gameplay trailer showcases bipedal trash pandas and stranger things

Biomutant is a game about "a sort of violent raccoon that can alter its genetic material to gain super powers." That's how Tom described it after checking out a demo at the PC Gamer Weekender earlier this year, and despite some reservations about the combat and the scope of the open world, that sounds very much like a game I want to play. The new "gameplay sizzle" video released by publisher THQ Nordic has not changed my mind on that one bit.

The video isn't exactly a coherent journey from A to B, but rather an extended series of smash cuts, between which we catch glimpses of giant robots, different classes of bipedal trash pandas, a Sarlacc pit, a towering Furby-looking thing that may or may not be friendly, and a lush, primordial jungle landscape littered with ruins including what is possibly the broken hulk of a U-boat. And that really sells it for me: I don't know what's going on but it doesn't matter, because it's just so damn weird that I can't help but be interested.

THQ Nordic ran down the basics of BioMutant's features in the blurb accompanying the video—recode your genetic structure to change your appearance and play style, craft your own unique melee weapons, equip whatever gear you want—and also touched on the story, which I don't think we've heard anything about yet.

"You’ll create your own adventure as you explore the open world and what lies beneath its surface, by foot, mech, jet-ski, air-balloon and more," it said. "A plague is ruining the land and the Tree-of-Life is bleeding death from its roots. The Tribes stand divided, in need of someone strong enough to unite them, or bring them all down..."

Yes, I am still very interested. One thing the video does not have, however, is a release date. At the time of our preview BioMutant was expected to be out this year, but BioMutant is now slated be out sometime in the summer of 2019.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.