"That's me. Mister More-Than-Human. aka. a MUTANT. I look weird to you. But, hey, you look weird to me. So let's leave it at that." –Bormin, a stoic, dashing, charming, dependable and eminently likeable Stalker with a plethora of redeeming qualities

In any given year, you see devs follow the same, recurring trends to make their games appeal to an audience.

Most, sadly, bet on Visual Titillation: take a genre that sells (an FPS, 3rd person action or platformer), add a sprinkling of tried-and-true mechanics (your cover systems, quick-time events, mini-games, or rogue-like elements), write a meh plot and invest HEAVILY into graphics and effects. The result is a bland game that sells because 1) it's pretty and 2) it shares enough commonalities with Worthy Antecedents. It's a rote, but profitable, formula which makes up the majority of a given year's releases.

Some, emboldened by the embers of passion (or simply less risk-averse), double-down on (Slight) Boundary Pushing: taking an existing idea or genre and infusing it with a few Original Elements. These games will almost always resemble something you've played before, but have enough Newness (TM) to offer a fresh take on existing gameplay.

Lastly, a brave smattering (my heros!) will go out on a limb for (dun-dun-DUN!) a Wholly Original Idea. And, to be fair – this isn't always best practice if, say, you're trying to stay in business: WOIs can be bad, after all... But I feel this approach is the only one that actually moves gaming, as a whole, forward (the only way to know if something works is to try it, after all).

And while Mutant Year Zero: The Road To Eden falls squarely in the second category, it does its (Slight) Pushing with such aplomb that the end result is difficult to dislike.

Based on an 80s Swedish pen-and-paper RPG, MY0 envisions a world ravaged by climate change, flensed by plague and devastated by nuclear conflict in which humanity is reduced to a handful of mutated unfortunates eeking out a meager existence on an elevated settlement called the Ark. Beset on all sides by cannibals, raiders and malevolent fauna, the Ark relies on Stalkers – adventurers brave and tough enough to venture into the Zone (pretty much the rest of the world) for supplies to keep the little community afloat.

But the Ark's usual problems are compounded when its resident engineering virtuoso, Hammon, goes missing, putting its continued survival at risk. You play two Stalkers – the boar-some Bormin and quackable Dux – tasked by the Ark's Elder to find Hammon and save the settlement from extinction.

At its core, MY0 is an XCOM clone and when you enter combat, you will find yourself on familiar ground right away (two action points per turn, lo/hi cover, % to hit, so on and so forth). But while its core is serviceable and commonplace, it is in the garnishes on top of and around it that the game truly shines.

The Mutant setting is fantastic: I've never been to Sweden, but getting to explore its remnants from the standpoint of creatures unaware of history, societal norms, or the realities of everyday life is fascinating and, in a sad way, almost endearing. The little soliloquies that your Stalkers have, wondering about the purpose or meaning behind, say, an iPod or an arc welder, are funny, sure, but also kind of forlorn — showing us how much of knowledge is compartmentalized and sequential; and how much of it we casually take for granted.

The game is split into three sections.

1) The Ark is your run-of-the-mill store hub. You get to (briefly) chat with some community figureheads, progress the plot with the Elder, and spend your Scrap (MY0's currency) on equipment and weapon upgrades. You can also trade collected artifacts for squad-level perks and upgrade your characters' mutations (which function like XCOM's class abilities). When you are ready to set out into the Zone, you venture out into the—

2) Zone Map, which is (as the name implies) a map of the Zone regions surrounding the Ark. Here you decide which region to explore next and get a glimpse of what might await you... That's pretty much it until you actually get to—

3) Stalking (the good, non-creepy kind). This constitutes the game's grand oeuvre and is where you will spend the most of your gameplay experience. Each Zone area is presented in pristine, UE4 detail with lights, atmospheric effects, rippling water and plenty of charming detail. You walk around in real time, with flashlight on, or sneak towards (or around) obstacles, collecting Scrap, artifacts and exploring to your heart's content.

Areas are largely non-linear and big enough to allow for some off-the-beaten-path nooks and crannies, but not so extensive as to take up too much of your time. Each area has groups of enemies scattered throughout – standing idle or patrolling – and each group can (but doesn't have to) be engaged in combat.

You can wade right in, if you feel confident, but the odds are almost always stacked against you and it is much more advantageous (not to mention fulfilling) to sneak up on and ambush your opponents, taking them down one by one until the odds are to your liking.

The best aspects of the game are its setting, atmosphere and deft little touches like visually unique armor you can see your Stalkers' wearing, humorous interpretation of current events (like a red, "Make Sweden Great Again" beer-hat) or upgrades that actually alter the appearance of your weapons. The individual components of MY0 may well be things you've seen before, but the loving way they are cobbled together is what makes this game truly unique.

If you enjoy post-apocalyptic settings, rich world-building, eminently likeable characters, isometric, XCOM-like combat, free-range exploration or just Games Made By People Who Care, Mutant Year Zero is an absolute must-play. While it's not an extensive experience (even with the Seed of Evil expansion and the optional, competitive Stalker Trials, you will probably be done in under 30 hours), it is one you are not likely to regret.

Pig Recommends:

• -more games with porcine protagonists; enough with the chiseled-jaw hu-males and svelte femme fatales! Pigs deserve equal representation!

• -Mad Max (game) for a painstaking recreation of George Miller's post-apocalyptic Oz, some thrilling vehicular (and pedestrian) combat, and the unique, quasi-archeological experience of sifting through the ashes of a world you (the player) may consider commonplace, but which the game's protagonist sees as unknowable and wholly alien;