Mutazione (2019)

The first thing you might notice upon starting up Mutazione is that it has a really compelling art style and excellent sound design. The world is interesting and most of the characters are really compelling. The game explores themes of community, rebirth, family, and coming to terms with loss. The plot and dialogue are well-written. I didn't like every character's plotline but I did like most of them.

The game is a simple point and click affair on a relatively small map. The gameplay is quite linear, though thats arguably to it's benefit since it keeps the story short. The game contains one recurring minigame which is quite good of planting gardens that create custom songs depending on what plants you put in them, the minigame is neat though it seems impossible to fail.

The game's greatest failing is its speed essentially the game consists of seeking out each NPC every day, and exhausting their dialogue options. This characters movement speed feels about 20% too slow, which leaves you a lot of time to soak in the games art and ambience. The game tells a fairly emotional story but there just isnt enough gameplay for me, I think something like Brothers did it better. For me, about 60% through the game it started to feel somewhat repetitive, until it picked up again towards the end. Fortunately completing the game is quite short, it took me four and half hours.

Id recommend this game if your looking for something downtempo and contemplative with striking visuals and sound. So long as your patient it's a good experience.

I'm honestly pretty blown away.

The setting is haunting and magical. The characters are complex, varied and lovable. The story knows when to spill details and when to preserve the mystery. Its overall relaxed pace is complimented wonderfully by snappy, pitch-perfect dialog. Screenshots don't do the visuals justice: The game's art style shines in 4K. And the island's soundscapes remain understated until they really have something to say.

I bought a physical copy of this game on a lark. I didn't quite know what to expect from it. But my time in Mutazione flew by. What a lovely and special experience.

This game had been on my wishlist for a while, finally decided to pick it up. Man, should have done so sooner!

Narrative

Earth was hit by a meteor and part of it destroyed. Several people that survived this are now mutated (think catpeople and stuff). You play as Kai, a faceless (literally) teenager who gets a letter from her grandfather who lives in this mutant town, called Mutazione. He arrived there years ago as a scientist but now lives there. He is dying and he would love for you to come visit him before he goes. So you go and meet him, and all the people in this little town. You get to know everyone, and their stories. There is drama, spirituality and a lot of gardening.

Gameplay

It's a narrative game so you walk around and talk to people. The game plays out over a week and everyday there it's divided by parts, morning, afternoon, evening etc. Every part of the day has a trigger/event to continue to the next part, but before that you can talk to all the other villagers. Besides walking and talking, there is some seed collecting and building several spiritual gardens around town that you can fast grow with music. Gameplay is really laid back, never rushed, and besides the triggers you can do mostly whatever you want while being pushed a little bit by the linear storyline.

Setting

It's set in a little town called Mutazione, based around a huge tree. Everyone lives in tiny houses and huts. There is a harbor as well where people live in boats. Then there is the wild just outside the town you can go to as well. The artstyle is unique, and I did enjoy it. Very soft colors, fun character designs and expressive faces without having too much detail. The music ranges from relaxing, to mysterious depending where you are in the game. It was good at setting the mood of the current happenings.

Other

After you finish the game there is a thing called "letters" where you can read letters between Kai and the villagers. But they are locked by timing so I haven't read most of them yet. I don't really like that they are locked because I'm going to forget it for sure.

Conclusion

I loved this game, and I am sad to have to leave Mutazione. It had such a cozy feeling. A community of people, that really care about each other and help each other out. Welcoming to this stranger (sort of) coming to them and starting to mess around with plants everywhere. All the characters had their own unique thing and were interesting to talk to. Such wholesome gardening and an interesting story too. I am really sad it's over. Such a close-knit community just felt refreshing, something I have never encountered in life. I could walk around there forever. And since I love gardening in real life, that also really vibed with me.

In short, Mutazione is a game about community, love, loss and guilt. It hit all the right chords with me. I would highly recommend it especially if you are into narrative games like me.

Mutazione (Italian for Mutation) is probably best-described as a story-driven game. The premise is interesting - A meteor that crashed onto Earth killed several people and caused the survivors to emerge with strange mutations. The island that survived became isolated from the rest of the world, and began to be called Mutazione. Our protagonist, Kai, is a teenage girl travelling to the island to meet with her grandfather, who is ill. Naturally, things turn out to be more than what they seem on the surface.

Mutazione's narrative plays out at two different levels. Kai's grandfather wants to teach her about the island - about its gardens, and about something more mystical. The second part is the 'soap opera' that the developers have described, which are the stories that play out between the island's inhabitants.

Mechanically, much of Mutazione is spent exploring the world through pre-set paths. At certain parts of the narrative, you also work with gardens - predefined patches of land where you can plant seeds, grow plants, and harvest them. One of the mystical aspects of Mutazione is that gardens have a 'mood', expressed through music. So you plant seeds of a specific mood, play a song corresponding to that mood, and the plants quickly grow in response to that. It's a relaxing, interesting mechanic, but there's no depth to it beyond this.

Now, the problems. The biggest problem with Mutazione is the pacing. Everything unfolds at an incredibly slow pace, and I considered dropping out after the first hour or so of my playthrough. The second problem is a failure in establishing the premise. Kai's grandfather is very cryptic about the the things that he teaches. Kai herself expresses some frustrations about this, but unlike her, we have a choice to just stop playing and move on to a different game. The last issue is with the 'soap opera' part, which is a mixed bag. Some characters have interesting stories, but other ones turn out to be very inane.

In summary, Mutazione is a game that doesn't quite reach what it aims for. It's an interesting journey, but not a spectacular or engrossing one.

I wasn't sure about this game when I first started it. It had been on a few indie gaming channels and circles when it first came out and that's how it caught my interest. When I finally fired it up (Thank you Epic Games Store for the free games) I wasn't sure it was gonna be for me. I stuck with it though and I'm glad I did.

The game isn't very long and the pacing of the game feels really good. You travel to Mutazione to visit your very sick grandfather in a very small town setting. You start not knowing anyone and not caring about anyone. By the end of the story you feel like you know everyone and you care about them all.

It's a very neat little world (town) and I really enjoyed the world building. The game plays like a visual novel game with some light farming and exploring on the side. But make no mistake, this game is all about the story it's trying to tell.

And it tells it pretty well! Slowly building up to the climax which I was super into! I couldn't wait to find out more and what was going to happen. And then.....it just kinda ends. Some things weren't explained as well as I thought they should have been and I was left wanting a little better wrap up.

Overall though I thought this game was fun and worth the time to experience the story. I'm glad I played it and will definitely want to check out what the developer decides to do next.

Sublime! With characters at its core, Mutazione has some of the most refreshing grounded storytelling I've ever experienced. Both visually & narratively-arresting, it's affecting in surprising ways.

Ashtray skies and a mutant surprise.

SUB-LIME. Can I just leave the review there? Will you buy it if I do? Best not risk it, I suppose. I can't quite afford to pay for every sale this game deserves like some kind of financially contrariwise Jeff Bezos.

Blood is thicker than seawater.

Mutazione must be the the kookiest injection of pure humanity in existence. Its sheer confidence to dominate proceedings with just these very slow human moments, experiences, interactions and relationships (some of the most grounded and well-written I've hitherto seen) and weave that in with its offbeat world and supernatural concepts. I mean... it's just staggering to me. By virtue of our protagonist in Kai being ultra switched-on and suspicious of the otherworldliness of the island, this weaving is immersively and near-flawlessly executed . Dialogue is never merely functional, but always finely-crafted, natural flowing conversations. Who says gameplay has to be king when we're presented with something of this sheer quality otherwise!

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.

Mutazione's denizens, true to its name, largely don't appear human anymore, but that didn't stop me from being enriched to high heaven in a very human understanding of each of them. Point at any one of them and I could leap into lengthy readings of each character - their hopes and dreams, relationships with other characters, hang-ups and traumas, etc. With its small island life, Mutazione casts a laser-focus spotlight on its small cast. I learnt names quickly, never lost track and was always invested. Most importantly, rather than allowing the plot to wander me away from such a strength, it manages to stick the landing on its central mysteries whilst keeping it linked to the dramas that hooked me in the first place.

An alonely jelly.

But what... is it? With its open 3D exploration of the island, the name of the game is predominantly simply interacting with the island's incumbents as the days progress in a staggered way - after 'primary interactions' of Kira's invaluable journal are fulfilled. The journal doubles up as great insight into Kira's mind, detailing retrospective thoughts on each major encounter and event. Mutazione sidesteps what could have seemed like overwhelming linearity by shifting characters with the time of the day so that you can proceed to explore freely and systematically 'make the rounds' - consuming every last drop of Mutazione essence you can. Having to pay these (admittedly optional) social visits repeatedly in the different day shifts and most often to the same places throughout is as big a criticism as you'll see me level at Mutazione (aside from one other). There's no denying seeking out characters after each 'reset' can be a repetitive one, however much it was my sheer love for the interactions each time that compelled me over mere obligation! Mutazione was at its best for me when I felt I was seeking opportunities out - using previous conversations as primers outside of the journal to catch up with someone. Mutazione also does everything it can to limit any tedium by having each day come alive with new events, be it the Tuesday BBQ, a boat ride through the swamps or a float in the lake. No one is ever just standing around at your behest to be interacted with. Even when they appear to be, it's rendered into a meaningful character moment.

I could make my own 'Where's Kai?' book.

You're not a mere observer, however. Binary dialogue options are peppered endlessly throughout with all the slight impacts and false choices that come associated. I have no idea what the consequences of dialogue are (if any) between days on your exchanges, but it does a wonderful job of permitting you to carve some personality out for Kai. My overuse of joking in a conversation (or possibly previous) had a character recommend I tone it down when I speak to the next. Mutazione excels at the details. However, only through a replay might I get a better grip of the flexibility here.

As a big horizon-starer myself, this game has me virtually covered.

Then there is the garden creation, which is unfortunately more narratively-entwined than I expected and less a dynamic mechanical fascination to be explored on your terms. If I sound (/read) particularly disappointed, it's only because you're provided a gorgeous complete encyclopedia of the mutant plant life that tantalises early on that mechanical expansions may come. However, its not something that needs mining for any know-how, as everything is facilitated by the available UI. I suppose the UI is merely reflecting what is bestowed by the book, but it takes too much thinking out of it for my taste. So too is it demanded that gardens conform to the events playing out and particular characters concerned. As ingenious as that plays out narratively, it also robs the mechanics here of any real 'play' aspect. All this said, I'm perhaps overly impressing my wants over their intentions. It's all gorgeously rendered and meditative a process. Indeed, executed particularly well is 'listening' to your finished garden as your unique (but probably very arbitrarily strewn) setup generates a composition from its musically disparate vegetative elements. It's perfectly in keeping with the slow pace of life on the island and great to soak in in (characteristic Mutazione-induced) awe.

If a bear weed in the forest and no one was around to see it, does it become a singing plant?

And good golly, where are these art styles coming from? First Knights and Bikes, now this. My finger couldn't leave the screenshot key if I tried throughout its near ten hour playtime. It's a truly hand-illustrated wonder in motion with its impressive composition of scenes, dazzling colour palette and a frightening preoccupation with detail. The muddle of wildlife particularly dazzles in motion and it's approach to lighting make all the different times of day truly shine (or not!) to experience. Given the looping animations of faces, etc, the precision required to prevent incongruity between appearances and what is said might as well be magic. Mutazione doesn't trip up like other games do.

Soaps are called such because you veritably have to scrub your brain afterwards. Unless it's Mutazione.

The soundtrack like Mutazione's days is constantly shifting and seems entirely uninterested in repeating itself to you. It's also gorgeous. If you're anything like me, you'll just launch the game to have it play in the background. I'll have to wait for that OST release after launch, I think!

I for one look forward to the post-humanity reclaiming of the Earth by nature.

With characters at its core, Mutazione has some of the most refreshing grounded storytelling I've ever experienced. Both visually & narratively-arresting, it's affecting in surprising ways. Mutazione is almost as revelatory an experience as learning how to pronounce it!