Soap opera adventure Mutazione is coming this year

Mutants don't always live in ruined buildings or lurk in ruined labs; sometimes they hang out in an old holiday resort, watching bad TV or hitting up the local club with their mutant pals. That's the kind of mutants you can expect to hang out with and befriend in soap opera-style adventure game Mutazione.

100 years ago, a meteor struck a holiday resort, killing almost everyone and mutating the rest. The survivors founded their own community, the titular Mutazione, in the aftermath. They seem to be doing all right. We'll be exploring it as Kai, who is visiting her sick grandfather, Nonno.

The announcement trailer is so laid back it's hypnotic, and we're promised relaxing activities like making new friends, wandering around the village and planting musical gardens. Pop some seeds in the ground and you'll be able make your own soundtrack, and then you can share your musical plants with other players online. With its gorgeous but understated aesthetic, it looks like the perfect place for a restorative break. It's not without its drama, however; it is a soap opera, after all.

Expect gossip and secrets and betrayal amid the new friendships. Mutazione is attempting to evoke ensemble cast shows like Lost, Deep Space Nine and Grey's Anatomy, even though we'll just be playing as Kai. And then there's the important adventure game stuff! Solving mysteries. Spiritual journeys. A quest to save everyone. Touching weird goo. Actually, this doesn't sound relaxing at all.

Mutazione is out this year.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.