Biomutant is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on May 25. This year! Finally, we have a date for the third-person mutant masher where you get to play as a gene-splicing martial arts master in this open world action RPG. Over the course of your adventure, you can unlock all kinds of traversal and combat options as you explore, craft new gear, and more. One interesting note about this news is that there is no mention of a current-gen (PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S) version, but that doesn't mean that one won't be available.

Biomutant is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 25th, 2021. pic.twitter.com/qVdTMaxxS5

— Biomutant (@Biomutant) January 26, 2021

Our last look at Biomutant was in 2020. While teasers and quick bites are normal marketing fare as we lead up to an eventual game launch, the last trailer gave players a massive nine minutes to digest.

If you missed out on taking a look at the trailer when it dropped, it's definitely worth taking a look now. In Biomutant, you can re-code your genes to create your own playstyle, exploring combinations of melee, ranged, and abilities. You can also find Wung-Fu masters across the land that can teach you new skills.

DNA can give you new forms to deal with combat scenarios, like tapping into the powers of the turtle for a more defensive approach. As you keep pushing against the edges of your world, you may find areas that are too dangerous or hostile to explore. A multitude of fast travel or alternative travel options abound, allowing you to take the to sky or sea to achieve your goals. Perks and unlocks can help you deal with this, like if you come up against a zone filled with poison gas you can use a gas mask to travel safely within its borders. 

Still curious? Check out some Biomutant impressions right here! Are you looking forward to Biomutant? Let us know what you think about the game in the comments below!

In case you missed it, Hitman 3 came out last week, and it's really good. If you have the means to do so, we highly recommend checking it out on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X to see the game running in 4K, at 60 frames-per-second, and all that good stuff. But surprisingly, IO Interactive's World of Assassination trilogy was also recently released on the Nintendo Switch. After putting the game through its paces on the handheld, we found that it's a surprisingly good way to play Hitman.

First and foremost, Hitman runs on the Switch via cloud streaming, meaning this isn't a port of the game you have to install. On the one hand, this means the game looks surprisingly good on the handheld. Not as good as it does running on something like the PS5, but still, we were surprised at how well the environments held up on Switch. As far as we can tell, the amount of NPCs in a level also seems unaffected. Loading into Hitman 2's Miami level, which takes place during a motor race, the hundreds upon hundreds of NPCs that litter the level was just as impressive as it is on more powerful machines.

On the other hand, since the game is being streamed, that means you need a persistent internet connection to play Hitman on Switch (which, to be fair, you also need on other machines, but that’s only to connect to the game’s servers for online content). Your mileage will vary depending on how powerful your internet is, but anecdotally, we tested the game on moderate internet and only noticed a handful of minor connectivity issues. The most severe of these often came in cutscenes, where the game would often hitch and stutter as it tried to keep up with itself. Additionally, we did notice various framerate drops when walking around levels — though this wasn't too much of a hindrance to the game and often seemed random, rather than tied to something like combat, the number of NPCs on screen, and so on.

To see Hitman in action on the Switch, check out the video below. We collected a few different examples of cutscenes — both running well and running poorly — and large groups of NPCs in Hitman 2's Miami level and Hitman 3's Berlin level. Minor spoiler warning, as there are objectives present in the video:

Again, playing Hitman on Switch is the least optimal machine to experience these games, but for the most part, the games handle the transition well. Walking around levels, exploring opportunities, and investigating targets all worked just fine for us during our time playing. Aiming on the Switch, though, feels loose and imprecise. Getting into a gunfight is almost guaranteed death, so if you're going to play on Switch, we recommend going as gun-free as possible. Additionally, on-screen text when played in handheld mode is very small and hard to read. We found no way to increase the size in the options, either.

If you can play the Hitman games on any other machine, that's obviously going to be the best way to go. That said, barring some issues, streaming Hitman on Switch is a surprisingly competent way to play — especially if you have good internet. The allure of practicing runs in bed or sneaking in quick Escalation Missions is appealing, too. Like all other platforms, the entire World of Assassination trilogy is available on the Switch, and because it's streaming the game, it's only a 66MB download. If you have no other way to play, or if you just like the appeal of assassination on the go, Hitman on Switch is a good way to experience all these games have to offer.

When IO Interactive announced its next game would be about Bond, James Bond, fans were excited to see the IP land into the hands that have perfected what being a hired killer means. While Bond doesn't kill nearly as many as Agent 47, he is an iconic piece of cinema history with a wealthy impact on games as well. Details about the upcoming James Bond game are still scarce, but we do have new insight into IO Interactive's plans of growth and the hopes of the new IP becoming a trilogy. 

Currently, the studio houses approximately 200 team members as they embark on this new IP following the launch of Hitman 3. According to a recent interview with TheGamer, IO is looking to expand beyond that number with a new Swedish studio, bumping those numbers up from 200 developers to over 400. 

In the same interview, IO CEO and co-owner Hakan Abrak talked a little more about his excitement for taking on the James Bond world, saying "It's very, very special - a boy's dream. Sometimes it's still a little hard to understand that it's us [making] James Bond." 

He added, "Today we [have] 200 employees and I expect that we will [have] over 400 employees over the next few years. So, there is no doubt that the Bond agreement means an insane amount to us." 400 employees will be nice to have, since the ambitions going into the world of James Bond includes making this a new trilogy for the studio. TheGamer notes that a Danish website called DR had its own interview with Abrak where the director mentioned that the team could "easily imagine" a trilogy coming out of the new James Bond experience. 

The Hitman franchise wasn't without its missteps but Hitman 3 absolutely knocked it out of the park regarding what draws so many people into this type of game in the first place. To see IO work its magic on the James Bond franchise in a similar fashion would be amazing to see, though the growth of the studio would be needed to ensure that no other projects — including ongoing support for Hitman 3 — fall by the wayside. 

Eli Roth's live-action Borderlands movie under the Lionsgate umbrella is set to begin filming here soon in Budapest and while an official first look has yet to be revealed, we do have one major rumor confirmed to be real. Kevin Hart is confirmed to be playing Roland in the upcoming Borderlands movie alongside Cate Blanchett as Lilith. 

The confirmation comes by way of The Hollywood Reporter, solidifying earlier rumors of Hart's role in the film. His involvement was previously confirmed but who he was cast as was a mystery until now. For those that may be unfamiliar with the Borderlands franchise, Roland is a highly skilled soldier from Promethea. Trained to the nines by the Atlas corporation, Roland is definitely somebody you don't want to mess with, especially with his affinity for toys like his deadly Scorpio Turret. 

Hart will be taking on the role of Roland in the upcoming film, though other casting choices are still a mystery. That being said, Roth feels confident in his choice for the role of Roland, saying "I'm thrilled to be working with Kevin [Hart]. Borderlands is a different kind of role for him, and we are excited to thrill audiences with a side of Kevin they’ve never seen before. He’s going to be an amazing Roland.”

"Kevin has been behind some of the world's biggest blockbusters, and our source material is inspired by one of the world's best-selling video games," added Lionsgate Motion Picture president Nathan Kahane. "We love the way our filmmaking team has adapted this story and we couldn't be in better creative hands."

The Gearbox looter shooter first began its journey in 2009 and was immediately met with critical acclaim. From this franchise's hilarious dialogue to its "interesting" cast of characters, there is a charm to Borderlands that makes it unique all on its own. The cell-shading art style adds to its magic, giving it the feel of an action-packed moving comic book. 

“I’m so excited to dive into the world of Borderlands and I could not be doing it with a better script, producing team, and studio,” said Roth when the Borderlands movie was first revealed. “I have a long, successful history with Lionsgate — I feel like we have grown up together and that everything in my directing career has led to a project of this scale and ambition. I look forward to bringing my own energy, ideas, and vision to the wild, fun, and endlessly creative world of the game. Randy Pitchford and everyone at Gearbox have been incredibly supportive of my ideas — it really feels like a perfect storm of creators coming together. We are out to make a new classic, one which the fans of the game will love, but also one which will find new audiences globally."

We've yet to see what sort of artistic direction the upcoming Borderlands movie will take but we're definitely interested in learning more about how this adaptation will work or if it will be another casualty of the Video Game Adaptation Curse©.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]