I wish I could put a "neutral" rating on my review. The game has a very, very good combat system, which is a fresh take on a traditional turn-based system (well, it's not like it hasn't been done before, but there are very, very few games that did this, Frozen Synapse comes to mind). In fact, the battle system is what kept me going mostly, because everything else is... well, pretty meh. Unless you're a fan of mechs, I guess?
The game itself is pretty stable, I haven't had any sort of technical problems with it. One thing I can remember is in one battle the enemy just stood there stuck in the building, doing nothing, but that's pretty much it. Not even sure it was a bug, maybe he was supposed to stand there like this, no idea.
The controls in combat require some getting used to, but once they click - they feel exactly like controls for this time of combat should be, in fact, I'd say they are this game's greatest achievement, because it's one thing to come up with an idea of "simultaneous turn-based", but implementing it in a way that feels exciting and doesn't struggle against you - now that's hard. These madlads managed to do just that.
Now, so far it sounds like a good game, right? So why the supposedly "neutral" rating I spoke of in the beginning?
My main problem with it is the equipment system, which is overcomplicated for no reason at all. Imagine you're playing some game with inventory, and you have something like 60 swords in your inventory. There are like 12 types of swords, each type differing from another by 3-4 characteristics, otherwise they look identical. Also there's rarity tiers. Also each sword has some built-in perk. Also rarer-tier swords can have modifications installed. And now you're looking at your inventory, chock-full of swords, and ask yourself why do you even care if you get a new one. Multiply that by 5, and then by 2 to 4. This is this game's inventorization, and it's ridiculous. The issue is you're supposed to care deeply about your inventory, because that's all that defines your combat effectiveness (well, there are pilots, but I didn't really feel any impact from them), but looking at all the identical arms and legs I was supposed to slap onto my mech, all I could feel was exhaustion.
Other thing that I couldn't bear with was the music. Granted, I'm not a fan of mechs, but from my understanding, the whole vibe around them is supposed to be bombastic, over the top, screaming in your ears in all the blaring glory. Well, music-wise you won't find it here. Best you get is a bit of lukewarm synth ambient, not even the dynamic type, which kills the mood and never does anything to help it. Yes, during the combat too.
Overall, I'd still recommend trying it out, to check out another interesting take on TRPG if nothing else. I would really love to see a sequel, because it feels like with all the experience these guys got during the development of this one, their next title with this combat system could be an absolute blast.
