Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden surprised many in 2018, emerging as an intriguing addition to the turn-based strategy RPG genre. Taking place in a post-apocalyptic world where humans are nearly extinct and mutants roam the land, this new IP managed to captivate both hardcore and casual fans alike thanks to an imaginative story and fun gameplay.
But while Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden does a solid job of showing off the best that the genre has to offer, it doesn’t last forever. As such, we have a list of similar titles that might be just as appealing.
Here are seven games like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden if you are looking for something similar.
Games like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
XCOM
There is no doubt that Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden draws a lot of inspiration from the XCOM in regards to gameplay and story. Gameplay for each operates via a grid, turn-based system, while the sci-fi-esque narratives surrounding an external threat certainly have some overlap.
Strategy is king in each series, especially in XCOM. Going into a fight with the wrong crew or making a mistake while investing valuable resources could mean disaster for both individual situations or even an entire campaign.
The only area where the two differ slightly is in regards to structure. While Road to Eden offers exploration and loot when out of combat, XCOM’s in-game gameplay is entirely based around finding and fighting the enemy.
This straightforward method of action is more enticing to those who enjoyed Mutant Year Zero’s gameplay but could do without the exploration.
Games like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Low Magic Age
Low Magic Age is a medieval fantasy game that places an emphasis on customization and exploration alongside its strategic turn-based system. Field of view, fog of war, charging and flanking, spells, and combat maneuvers are just a few of the distinct gameplay elements that this lesser known title brings to the table.
Arena mode is a fun grind and the game’s character customization is a feature that will remind many players of crafting personalities like you would in DnD. That fantasy aspect of the game is likely to scratch an itch most titles on this list simply don’t appeal to.
Low Magic Age may not be the flashiest game, but the combat, character building, and Arena mode set it apart from the other indie titles trying to stand out on Steam. For a price tag of $10 or less, it’s definitely worth it.
Games like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Hard West
Heavily fictionalizing the Old West is hot right now, but this turn-based tactical game, inspired by XCOM, likely isn’t going to stand out against the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2. Regardless, Hard West still does an admirable job portraying life in this dramatized version of the American frontier, creating interesting scenarios as a result of its style and story.
Bank robberies, lynching, and the gold rush are commonplace in the game’s world, but just like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, Hard West has a metaphysical twist.
Death and the Devil directly influence the lives of the local population, creating demons, ghosts, and undead gunslingers that you must fight to survive. While these elements add to the ambiance, the attribute system is what’s most engaging.
Instead of random number generation to determine hits, characters are given a luck attributes. These traits are reduced by the hit chance of a shot and a character is hit if a shot depletes his luck, adding much-needed variety to the usual, overused back and forth approach to combat.
Couple these small changes with the game’s abstract take on the time period and you can understand its allure.
Games like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Expeditions: Viking
With the help of a culture that is ripe with stories of fierce battles and conquest, Expeditions: Viking creates an ambition party-based RPG for players to wreak havoc in.
As the newly appointed chieftain of a modest Viking clan, your task is simple: carve your name into the history books. To do so, players lead a small band of Norse warriors across the shores of England, garnering acclaim as you raid, pillage, and delve into politics along the way.
Alongside the choice over political ventures, Expeditions: Viking also features a reputation system, meaning every decision you make has a consequence. While fear is a stout way to keep your enemies in line, it also paints a target on your back.
While the similar strategical gameplay is likely what will draw Mutant Year Zero fans in, this game’s narrative is what will keep you on the edge of your seats, making thirst for the next raid.
Games like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Xenonauts
Marketed as a Cold War-era based “planetary defense simulator,” Xenonauts tells the story of what would happen if an alien fleet landed and was immediately hostile.
Gameplay tasks the player with taking the role of commander, training soldiers to fight the incoming threat. With a variety of different classes and options to grow, characters will level up and become an assortment of dangerous weapons themselves, each playing a vital role in battle.
What separates this title from others on this list is that it is considerably difficult. Xenonauts doesn’t have a tutorial, require players to use the good old fashion method of trial and error to figure things out.
When you do master the game, though, your victory is all the sweeter.
Games like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
Flamberge
As I mentioned before, Tactical games tend to stick to the same formula when it comes to decision making in their titles, taking inspiration from other well-known formats. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden does this, using the foundation of games like XCOM —implementing a grid, chess-like system— but adding exploration elements and a neat story to improve upon that base.
But while you can see bits and pieces of inspiration from other titles in Flamberge, its system stands out as unique. Instead of back and forth turns, players play their moves in full and then execute them.
This approach to the genre is interesting, as players can’t do anything to try and solve the battle once it is underway. The lack of a real-time decision making adds a layer of strategy that hardcore Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden fans are likely to love.
Games like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
The Banner Saga
Outside of XCOM, The Banner Saga is the most established franchise on this list. Taking inspiration from games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Shining Force, two of the best in the genre, this trilogy combines an interactive story with a beautiful pallet and fluid gameplay.
Yet, despite constant acclaim and praise, as well as being another amazing tale about Viking, it always manages to fly under the radar. That never stops Stoic Studio from raising the bar though.
With each new title in the series, variety is added to the combat and story, making it so that things don’t get stale, but not attempting to fix what isn’t broken. As The Banner Saga evolves, so do the characters and settings that make up the game, thanks in part to the branching paths provided by the choice-based narrative.
No matter how much things change in the Saga though, its world, story, and beauty never fade.
Updated: Dec 19, 2018 08:07 pm