As a long time battletech fan and having played the OG Mechwarrior 2 and 3 etc, I have to say that this is still not a worthy game/sequel. I am not surprised, as Mechwarrior 5 Mercenaries etc never hit the mark but wanted to give it another shot, just to realize that Piranha Games still do not do a competent job with this. Only recommend it when it's on sale, at a steep discount, and with the below points in mind:
Positives
- The story is better than expected, and the relatively good character models and (voice) acting helps a lot with that.
- The mech models look good enough.
Negatives
- Parts of the story are really ridiculous; rather than fighting the Draconis combine most of the time in the invasion (as it is the first regular inner sphere power, you encounter with Clan Smoke Jaguar), you are mostly fighting a yakuza group with seemingly endless supplies. The first two missions or so are against regular DCMS forces, that are quickly defeated, and then it is just countless battles against the yakuza, which for some reason are much stronger. It is also not really guerilla-style battles, but pretty much open battles against never-ending waves of mechs, tanks and bombers.
- The mech animations look so bad and clunky. Destroyed mechs just turn black and flip over, also physically often behaving incorrectly. Then they disappear in the ground, literally sinking into it. Seriously, almost all other mech games have way better animations and more correct physical behavior. Whether it is HBS's Battletech, granted it is turn based, it is many years older, but still so much better in that department. Or Armoured Core 6 etc. Completely immersion breaking and done so poorly in this game.
- Also otherwise, the combat just feels off and very "arcade like". It is like a shooting gallery, very much lacking in deeper tactical play and ultimately boring. The game should make one-on-one situations against enemy mechs more challenging, and force you to think a little bit, but in the current state it is barely more than button mashing. Also AI is really dumb.
- Graphics at first sight look nice, given the UE5 use, but when you go through a few missions, you discover so many ugly spots. Whether it is incorrect lighting or very ugly and low res textures, the environment is not pretty. On top of that you often have object proportions that are out of scale and unrealistic and a way too saturated color pallet, making it look like a cheap comic. You get "the picture".
- Sound is ok, but in sum rather a step back compared to the previous Battletech games. I wish ballistic weapons would have more palpable impact, firing rockets is just a "whoosh", and if you press the button, they are fired all in one go (unlike before, where they were fired in succession). Also ACs don't have much "dakka".
- Finally, the progression system is not done well either. You gather experience, reputation and money, and for that can unlock upgrades for mechs, pilots and get access to heavier mechs and buy more (mechs, weapons, technicians etc). It is of course the obvious and straightforward way to design the progression, but it is in my feeling just not very "Battletech" and feels cheap, superficial and trivial. Especially the "mech experience", that I collect for each model, that then allows me to accelerate more or turn more quickly etc, feels so tacked on and uninteresting, that I think the game would be better off without. For the pilots, a system similar to HBS's Battletech, e.g. focusing on mechwarriors' individual strengths in use of certain weapon systems, special abilities etc would have made it more "deep" and give the NPCs more personality.
I was hoping for a significant improvement over the previous game by Piranha, and while there is a lot of improvement in terms of story/atmosphere, there is still so much wrong with the core gameplay. Depending on what you are looking for, I would recommend you rather play one of the much better alternatives on the market:
For Battletech fans, my recommendation is to go with HBS's Battletech (which is of course turn-based strategy), and one of the complete overhaul mods, that make it really interesting. For fans of immersive Mech-action, the best game you can find is Armored Core 6, which is imo close to perfect.
