Biomutant

Bizarre enough to make Darwin raise an eyebrow.

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Vitality almost radiates out of the screen in waves. A year has passed since our last demo of this open-world actionRPG, in which its profusion of ideas meant well but presented as rather rough and scatty. In that time, Experiment 101’s team has grown quietly, but dramatically – and its game has flourished in kind. With some polish, what once seemed like overexuberance is now starting to look rooted in reality.

Well, as much as a game about a kung-fu red panda that can mutate its body at will to gain the upper hand – or indeed, hands – can reasonably be. Yes, you’ll start out moving a point around a circular area in the character creator to simultaneously adjust appearance and stats: opt for a brainier build, for instance, and your red (or blue, or pink) panda will sprout a Megamind-esque head. But you can level up and respect throughout the game to better adapt to your surroundings.