Watch a duck grow moth wings in Mutant Year Zero's latest video

The direct XCOM comparison doesn't quite work for Mutant Year Zero. The oddball sci-fi tactics game incorporates elements of real-time stealth, which serves and intelligence-gathering phase before combat is joined. The latest video covers the details, and there's an explanatory blog post on the Mutant Year Zero site.

"Sneak attacks and ambushes are crucial throughout Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden. Ambushes allow you to isolate enemies and kill them away from their companions, hopefully without raising an alarm in the process," reads the post.

"The difficulty level is quite high, even on the Normal setting, and your characters aren’t supersoldiers. They can take a bit of a beating, sure, but if you get swarmed, they will die quickly. You should observe your enemies’ patrol routes and habits as you sneak around so you can set up the perfect ambush."

The oddest moment in the trailer sees the sniper duck grow moth wings so he can gain crit bonuses by hovering above enemies. The second oddest thing is the alarm enemy with a trombone strapped to his face. Gotta respect that mutant ingenuity.

Mutant Year Zero is due out on December 4.

Part of the UK team, Tom was with PC Gamer at the very beginning of the website's launch—first as a news writer, and then as online editor until his departure in 2020. His specialties are strategy games, action RPGs, hack ‘n slash games, digital card games… basically anything that he can fit on a hard drive. His final boss form is Deckard Cain.