

The graphical difference between the Switch and PC versions can’t be understated the lack of detail has a marked impact on the overall experience.

Mutant Year Zero is yet another example of the ongoing debate between portability and performance. The developers have stated they are working on optimization, but so far no timeline exists for updates. Luckily, you can save anywhere and I do highly recommend to save often as performance issues can lead to crashes and loss of progress. The visuals are definitely improved in docked mode, but items within the environment can easily be overlooked and the low resolution really takes away from the beauty and detail that exists in other versions of the game. The graphical limitations of handheld mode feel like playing through a coating of Vaseline on your screen. The extent to which you’ll be able to enjoy the witty banter and excellent battle mechanics will be determined by your sensitivity to graphical degradation and performance issues. Nothing was more satisfying than leveling an entire building with a grenade, resulting in the removal of cover for an enemy who I then promptly sniped. Objects and items in the battlefield can be used for both cover and to gain a tactical advantage. Multiple types of firearms are available, along with various forms of grenades and mutant powers that can be utilized to gain the upper hand. Creativity can run wild when it comes to devising effective strategies.

The combat sequence involves turn-based gameplay where characters move around the battlefield and end their turn with an action. Exploration and battle sequences follow the example provided by XCOM, wherein you’ll take the team through an open world until you reach a group of enemies to battle. Gameplay consists of taking your group of Stalkers into the wilds in the hopes of locating and rescuing an individual of importance to the settlement. The personalities of each of the main characters are brilliantly written, and the delightful dialogue is full of puns and jokes that really hit the mark. The story has many of the tropes you’d expect to find in a post-civilization title, but the writing finds its stride with the superb interactions between the playable characters. Civilization lives on thanks to the Stalkers, an elite group of mercenaries who travel into hostile territory with the threat of constant attack from zombie-like humans in order to secure resources for survival. In a post-apocalyptic world, the remaining remnants of society adapt to mutations resulting from a nuclear war and attempt to survive atop a retrofitted oil platform.
