The Funcom countdown we stumbled across last week recently ticked down to zero, and I'm sorry to say that it is not a Stalker MMO. It still looks like it might be cool, though. It's a "tactical adventure game" called Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden that blends turn-based combat with real-time exploration on a ruined, "post-human Earth."
The unfortunate state of things in Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden was brought about by the combined effects of climate change, economic crisis, some sort of pandemic, and a nuclear war. Just to be sure. With humanity finally off the board, mutants have stepped in to take over. The game is being developed by Swedish studio Bearded Ladies, whose members include Ulf Andersson, a designer on games including Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Payday, and Payday 2.
"Our goal is to blend the deep and tactical combat of XCOM with branching storylines that unfold as you explore overgrown forests and abandoned cities with your team of Mutants," Andersson said. "Mixing that with real-time stealth gameplay gives you a unique way to approach or avoid combat situations you encounter while exploring."
The trailer clearly isn't representative of gameplay, but the promise of XCOM-style brawls in a Fallout-flavored world, played as an angry, armed Daffy Duck and a cop from Duke Nukem, is intriguing if nothing else. Funcom will show off live Mutant Year Zero gameplay later this month at GDC, and it's expected to be out later this year. For now, you can find out more at mutantyearzero.com, or on Steam.
