BioMutant, a unique RPG developed by Experiment 101 and published by THQ Nordic, made a very positive impression on many after it was announced at Gamescom, and even ended up winning our staff Game of Show award. That being said, one small feature that caught the attention of many is the player's ability to tone down BioMutant's narrator.

In a recent interview with DualShockers, Stefan Ljungqvist, Head of Studio & Co-Founder at Experiment 101, explained to us what exactly this feature lets players tone down, and if turning it down will have a noticeable impact on BioMutant's story and gameplay.

After stating that he doesn't see it as a "key feature" of BioMutant, Stefan explains that this option mainly applies to how much the narrator comments dynamically during events like combat. Experiment 101 is aiming to give the player many opportunities to customize their experience, so the amount of "dynamic narration" can be increased or decreased through a slider in the game. The amount of dynamic narration will also automatically decrease as players put more time into the game:

Yeah, its funny how media works when you get some attention. Everything becomes news, which I am grateful for as a developer and gamer myself. If I see an interesting game, I want to know as much as possible about that. However, that you can tone down the Narrator is not really a “key feature” of the game.

First of all it's important to mention that the part of the narration that this is reflecting (and was questioned) is the amount he actually comments dynamically, i.e. primarily in combat. For example Horizon: Zero Dawn also had loads of combat commentary in the first demo, but they downed that down significantly for the final game.

Our approach is that the player should be left with as many options as possible to customize their personal experience. In terms of the Narrator, you’ll be able to decrease or increase the amount of dynamic narration with a slider option. In addition to this, the system itself actually decreases the amount of dynamic narration over time for each session you play and over total time played.

That being said, Stefan Ljungqvist reassured to DualShockers that this slider won't impact narration that is important to the story. The narrator will relay what other characters say to the player, and also provide more information on different areas and quests. Stefan also reinforced that the narrator is considered to be a "major character" in BioMutant, and that the narrator's role will be significant in the story and endgame:

This however, doesn’t affect the main narration, like the interpretation of what other characters you meet says and the contextual (area based or quest related) narrative. So in essence, you’ll never be able to accidentally miss important information.

Its also important to mention that the Narrator is a major “character in the game, not only a “voice” and what role he plays will play a part of the story and end-game.

In short, the narrator's dynamic comments during things such as combat can be toned down with a slider, but players won't have to worry about missing major story beats if they choose to tone it down. Be sure to stay tuned to DualShockers for our full interview with Stefan Ljungqvist about BioMutant in the coming days. BioMutant is currently slated to release on PC, PS4, and Xbox One in 2018.