Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden – Stalker Trials and Free Demo Available

The new score-driven Stalker Trials challenge mode for Funcom and The Bearded Ladies’ Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is now live on PC along with a new patch that fixes a number of miscellaneous crashes and issues, and disables the game’s DRM system in the process. On top of that, you can now check out a free Mutant Year Zero demo that lets you play through the game’s early missions.

Here are some additional details:

Welcome Stalkers, to your new testing grounds!

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is expanding with the release of Stalker Trials. This separate challenge mode rolls out in a free update and will truly put your skills as a Mutant Stalker to the test.

All you need to do to access this new content is to patch the game to the latest version. Then you’ll find the Stalker Trials in the main menu.

The game’s maps will be re-populated with different types of enemies to create new challenges for you and your chosen team. All characters, mutations and skills will be available at your fingertips, but you need to buy and upgrade any weapons and armor you think you’ll need.

Out in the Zone, Pripp the bartender will be waiting for you. He’s the brains behind the Stalker Trials, having set up the series of challenges for Dux, Bormin and the rest. As you fight your way through an area, Pripp will score you on your progress and performance, and you’ll be rewarded with extra points and multipliers by performing certain actions, like not taking damage, or killing an enemy with an Overwatch attack.

Your progress will be registered on leaderboards, and the weekly and all-time top players will have an NPC named after them for other players to take down.

Keep watching this space, as there is more to come down the line. We’re not quite ready to talk about it just yet, but we think you’ll like what we’ve got in the pipeline.

Additionally, we’re also adding in some quick fixes and quality of life updates:

Patch Notes:

STALKER TRIALS ARE NOW AVAILABLE

• A series of challenging map remixes with leaderboards
  • Compete worldwide to see who is officially the best stalker.
• Added dialogue for chest opening.
• Additional options
  • Mouse sensitivity slider
  • Subtitle size slider
  • Motion blur slider

Major Changes/Fixes

• Crash fix when returning to the dirty old man after finding his stashes.
• Fixed all reported instances of crew getting stuck in levels.
• Crash fix for rare chain lightning issue.
• Improved mouse focus for multi-screen setups.

Medium Changes/Fixes

• Fixed issue that made it impossible to throw grenades from the inside to the outside of train carts
• Fixed issue where killing with a mind-controlled unit could cause the next unit to loose its turn
• Melee attacks with possessed units now always cause the same damage as they would have being on the other team.
• Fixed issue that allowed Tank Ghouls to charge cloaked units
• Fixed issue where player would lose an action point when being caught sneaking
• Fixed issue with molotovs thrown onto train roofs
• Fixed issue that would cause Zone Dogs to be stuck in midair when knocked off certain buildings.
• Fixed reported instances of enemies shooting through walls

Minor Changes/Fixes

• Skull countdown icons removed from character portraits. Didn’t really work well and added clutter.
• 25% Penalty removed from kneeshot
• Melee health bars are now working correctly
• Achievement fixes
• DRM is disabled
• Many other small fixes and tweaks