Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden is the 'tactical adventure' you didn't see coming

Swedish developer The Bearded Ladies Consulting (TBLC) and publisher Funcom have just unveiled upcoming action-strategy adventure Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden. Judging from the reveal trailer (and the name), it will be a spin-off of the quirky pen-and-paper role-playing game.

Gameplay will be similar to other strategy titles such as XCOM where you control multiple team members on a grid. The difference here is that only combat will be turn-based; exploring the maps and sneaking around will be done in real time.

The three main characters are Selma, Bormin and Dux. Selma is a human with the power to transform into --- something. Bormin and Dux are upright walking animals --- a boar and a duck, respectively, to be specific.

These three protagonists appear to be the only players on the team (or at least, that is how it seems from the trailer and screenshots). The developers are not giving too much away but do make mention of "other characters." Whether or not those will be playable remains to be seen.

"Control a team of mutants --- A duck with an attitude problem and a boar with anger issues; these aren't your typical heroes. Get to know Dux, Bormin, Selma, and many other characters each with their own unique personality and deranged perspective on the world and their situation."

One element the game adds is stealth. XCOM 2 had something of a stealth element but it was clunky at best and not really a focus for the game. With Mutant Year Zero, TBLC has decided to make stealth a true gameplay element. In other words, you will be allowed to sneak through areas to avoid conflict or you can take on enemies guns-a-blazin'.

A bit of the stealth can be viewed on the game's official website. As you can see, sneaking and exploring takes place in real time. From the short looping clip on the page, it appears the developers have added a sound mechanic to the stealth. You can briefly see this as the characters step through the puddle of water when slipping past the guard.

Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden is slated for release later this year on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. You can keep up with the progress on the game's Steam page and its official website. As a connoisseur of strategy games, I'll be keeping my eye on this unique title.