[h3]Version 1.0.0 Update - Written September 30th, 2025[/h3]
What's the difference between Early Access and "Full Release"? Unfortunately for the case of M.A.S.S. Builder, almost [i]NOTHING.[/i] It's too little, too late, as is always the case with this game. In the span of over [i]two years[/i] since my original review, virtually nothing I took issue with has been measurably improved. There's a couple new weapons, cosmetic weapon attaching is a thing now, the impossible Very Hard bosses got slightly nerfed (but they're still impossible), but basically this is the same game as when I first played it.
I understand Vermillion Digital has like 7 people employed. Yet I have to ask, is this the best they can do? Is there too much technical debt and spaghetti code to revitalize the game at this point?
[h3]Original Review from August 19, 2023:[/h3]
Superb cosmetic customization. Okay graphics, albeit it makes my GPU run way hotter than it has any right to. Inoffensive music. Very okay to mediocre sound effects. Completely uninteresting story and forgettable characters. Unfortunately for M.A.S.S. Builder, the gameplay is the most important component to a video game, and that is where it completely falls apart.
The combat ranges from ~okay~ to horrible and infuriating. Mech/weapon parts only really effect things cosmetically, so all of the weapons will feel the same for the entire game, and they feel weak and ineffectual. The sound effects leave a lot to be desired, especially for melee. A 200 ton metal great maul impacting an alien apparently sounds like a stock punching sound effect. Enemies are bullet sponges, many of which will have little to no reaction whatsoever when you hit them, no matter what you hit them with. Worst of all is the infinitely respawning mobs during bosses, [i]CONSTANT[/i] projectile and AOE spam, sometimes combined with area hazards. It seems like very little thought went into designing some missions, the worst of which feel totally unplayable at higher difficulties.
Most tangible upgrades come from ability skill trees, which increase anything ranging from health, shields, damage dealt, damage received, boosting, ammo pools and reloading, to special effects like doing an AOE when shooting things or doing a melee combo. While these are important, the balance could be better. If you want to actually deal halfway decent damage, you cripple your frame's defense and fuel economy. If you want the defense to be able to survive harder missions, you sacrifice your damage and fuel economy. Melee is able to get more shields, health and armor to cope. Ranged playstyles in comparison are a lot more fragile and overly rely on boosting to get out of harm's way.
Other than the mediocre combat, the grind is the worst part of the game. M.A.S.S. Builder demands a truly obscene amount of time to grind for blueprints, credits, resources, upgrades, etc. You will find yourself spamming the same mission a hundred times just to buy new upgrades to overcome the newest roadblock. You'll do a few more story missions, then it will happen again. And again. And again. It gets worse, by the way. You might think you can skirt by just investing in upgrades for a particular playstyle, and [i]maybe[/i] you can. But the game gives you incentive for unlocking everything, which exponentially increases the grind. The devs could quadruple the amount of credits and resources you get per mission and the grind would [i]STILL[/i] be bad.
Do I recommend M.A.S.S. Builder? I'm leaning towards no. The game has been out and in development for a very long time, and many of the problems people have with the game have not been fixed, including mine. That isn't to say there isn't any hope, or that the game is dead, but the game has been out for like 4 years now. Progress is glacial. Chances are if you're really itching for a mech game with customization, you're probably going to get this anyways, but temper your expectations. And/or get it on sale.
