Reviewing as a 2026 "100% Completionist" who had also completed 5 other AAA titles at this point in time.
STORY
The story holds itself up really well, where the majority of action-packed games are linear, the game offers 3 endings, by which I will not spoil, but in regards to them as a whole, it answers several questions I find myself asking, "where was the superweapon of this side?" "What happened to this mysterious area?" (For reference, if you go to Mission 3 where you crash-landed, you will see what I mean by it answers many of my questions) It is a story where questions are answered the more you look into the lore. The details are very intricate, and it shows the depth the story has in comparison to where other action-packed game stories are typically linear. ||
GRAPHICS
10/10 Holds up really well. If you go into camera mode, there are details you will discover like the heatsinks, the weathering of the armor, as well as enemy gear, the environment immerses you in an apocalyptic setting, and makes you ask ; "Who built these massive things?" "Just how massive are these battles?" "Who is funding these wars and operations?" I know that there will come a day when graphics technology will far surpass this generation, but the game relies more on art direction than graphics, and that is hard to top.
COMBAT
I love how you can approach combat in any way that you like, you can go from speed build, to damage tanker, and the weapons have a learning curve, for example. if you go laser-lance, it will DEAL HUGE STAGGER and DASH, but the potential for missing is high, and consumes energy. If you go for mini-guns, it is really dependent on the internal systems how fast your tracking is, if ypu go for shotguns, yes, they got nerfed, but that adds to the learning curve. If you ask me, there are builds that make the story bosses just much easier, (for reference, laser-lance, repeating shotgun, dual needle launchers) and melt the enemies of those in story mode, if you actually hit the laser lance, which in story mode, is pretty easy. At the same time, ypu can go very risky and have an endgame coral blade, and endgame coral laser, you will deal huge damage, but at the cost of being stationary. For starter players, I love how the story of the game was fine-tuned for players who are still starters, and doesn't go hard on them, the bosses are much of a challenge, and there is beauty in that. There is art in persevering on bosses as a starter. I am also absolutely in love with how intricate the building system is. That leads me to my next point...
MECH-BUILDING
In this case, what you build is an armored core, but it is still similar. It honestly feels like I am building together a car for the trade-offs of speed, cornering, dirty air strategies, or such, except I am making a mech and the trade-offs are speed, carrying capacity, weight, and thruster-power, and so on. It isn't like you want this part because it looks cool, and you will dominate - no. It doesn't work like that.. Every part has their own drawbacks, and while I did manage to build something I am proud of both aesthetically and functionally, even then, I still feel drawbacks of combat.
MULTIPLAYER
I encounter tons of memorable matches, speed-type matches, but at the same time, encounter missile boats, and kites that I don't think require skill. For context, imagine the helicopter bosses but they go away from you and rain down bullets and missiles. I would recommend that in 2026, treat the PvP as a bonus feature after completing the game, and not the main feature. Going against someone that is pure skill, and against someone who is just kiting or missile-boating is a gamble. It isn't a consistent roster throughout.
VERDICT
ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT in 2026
