If you’re a fan of Mutant: Year Zero, you’re probably already squirming in your seat. You’re also probably a little confused. It’s been a while since we’ve seen anything of a follow up to one of my personal favorite games of the last few years, Mutant: Year Zero: Road to Eden. I was getting worried that we might never see the quivering, scared, but endearing Mimicous again. Thankfully, while we wait for the full Mutant: Year Zero 2 reveal, the fine folks at The Bearded Ladies have dropped a new trailer for their turn-based, tactical RPG game, Miasma Chronicles.
Set in a world of decay 140 years after a seismic event known as ‘the Seismic’ wiped out most of the modern civilization, Miasma Chronicles sees the chaotic aftermath of the world’s destruction. A toxic goo called Miasma has spread like a plague, wiping out even the strongest of adventurers.
You play as Elvis, a young boy who’s out of his depth, but determined to find his missing mother. Together with his robot ‘big brother’, Diggs, the pair set out to uncover what happened during the apocalypse. And that’s where the Miasma comes in.
Perhaps the most interesting part about Miasma Chronicles is the Seismic Glove given to you by your mother, in an effort to keep you safe. Equipped with the ability to control Miasma, you can create deadly Miasma Storms to defeat your enemies. While the world is falling apart around you, it’s understandable that you want to use every advantage you can get.
After the chaos comes order, and in this case that order is The First Family, who have arisen to prominence thanks to the chaos caused by the Miasma. To save his mother, Elvis and Diggs need to traverse the incredibly hostile earth, working together to rescue their family.
The fifteen-second teaser itself is short, but jumps right into the gritty combat seen in the gameplay trailer further above. It would appear that Miasma Chronicles’ combat is very similar to other turn-based strategy titles, with options given by elevation and cover, as well as the use of the Miasma Storm ability.
We also get a glimpse at a player customization screen, with Diggs and Elvis donning a number of different weapon modifications. This is accompanied by a voice over seemingly from the player, giving us a sense of what it will be like to personalize your playthrough. We also get a glimpse at the different difficulty options, which should provide even the most experience of strategy game fans with a good dose of replayability.
Miasma Chronicles fuses many of the features I love about action RPGs, with the bread and butter of strategy games. While The Bearded Ladies’ previous release, Mutant: Year Zero, was overwhelmingly atmospheric, Miasma Chronicles just looks fun. We can expect the extensive customisation that Mutant: Year Zero gave us, alongside the environmental puzzles and totally unique world, fused with an evolved combat model and even more opportunities to scrap with other humans.
Make sure you read our review of Mutant: Year Zero, to brush up on your Mimicous knowledge before Miasma Chronicles’ launch later this year. Make sure you’re all caught up on everything else coming to the PC in 2023, with our look at the games coming to Consolez, alongside the best Skyrim mods to keep your favourite fantasy game fresh. You can follow us on Twitter, and our Tumblr and Instagram, where we post lots of neat stuff.