So, the world ended, there’s not much left of anything, food’s running
out, there is no brighter tomorrow, it’s down and it’s dropping fast…
Welcome to Mutant: Year Zero
Modiphius’ latest release is a departure from games they’ve done before,
it’s not about big damn heroes, crossing the multiverse or punching Cthulhu
out, it’s a story of day to day struggle in a world that’s gone bad. The players take the part of those who are
left following the cataclysm that ended the world as they knew it, but they’re
not the same as the people who once inhabited that world, they’re changed,
they’re different…
They’re Mutants…
The background to the book is covered in less than two pages, and in
any other game, this would be a woeful lack of material to work with, but
that’s where this game comes into its
own. The whole point of this game is to look to the future, not wonder what
happened in the past, it’s about finding hope in the dark places, keeping your
own people alive, and trying to find some measure of safety in a world gone
wrong.
It jumps straight in with Character Creation, all the players are mutants, each of them
given a single (random) mutation that is theirs to use. It’s entirely possible that characters will
end up being something that their players did not at first envisage, but that
works with the way the game is set up, if there were elements of choice in
anything the players were doing, it would take away something from the feel the
game gives.
System is D6 based, certain numbers yield certain results, either good
or bad, and multiple dice colours are used to represent the different
influences on the dice roll. Each game
starts with the threat of the week, rolled randomly by the GM and then worked
up from there. If the characters
succeed, their successes can affect what happens the week after and these
successes can be used to build the world around the characters.
In terms of artwork and Layout, there’s good atmospheric pieces
throughout, the front cover clearly sets the scene, as do the maps on the
inside cover, there’s no repeated artwork throughout the entire book and most
of the scenes depicted convey well the idea that’s being pushed. Full colour throughout with high production
values that justify the £35 price tag.
The system does come with optional dice and cards, but the judges looking
at this were using regular dice and the tables within the book rather than the
optional extras
And on to the Judges comments
There’s a feel to it unlike anything else I’ve played, I can see that
it’s not about the character but about the community, you don’t get attached to
goodies and treasure in the same way…
Not sure about the long term playability of it, but it’s been great as
an isolated game…
I like that’s it’s always forwards, there’s no pause in the game, no
respite, it drives itself and it makes you hang on to try and steer it.
