Mecha Break GameSpot Review -to-Play Elements

Video games and mechs make a perfect pair, so it’s unexpected that there aren’t more titles focused on controlling these massive combat machines. The latest prominent mech title, 2023’s Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, captivated both seasoned fans and newcomers with its rapid-paced gameplay and extensive customization. However, those searching for additional mecha excitement have been left wanting in the years that followed.

You can only endure so long without soaring through the skies in a sleekly crafted mech, evading missiles and gunfire as if you’re in a scene from Macross or Mobile Suit Gundam before you start to yearn for more. Enter Mecha Break: a fresh, free-to-play, third-person multiplayer experience that captures the exhilarating, high-octane action of classic mecha anime. Featuring three unique game modes and numerous diverse machines to pilot, Mecha Break delivers quick excitement, but its limited customization options and a free-to-play model driven by aggressive monetization and not-so-micro transactions impede its potential for true mecha excellence.

The adventure begins with a short prologue mission that inadequately introduces you to the objectives of an actual match. Featuring boss encounters and scripted moments, it resembles more of a mission from a nonexistent single-player game than a tutorial for what Mecha Break has in store. There’s a hint of world-building centered around a mysterious mineral known as Corite, which propelled humanity’s rapid technological advancement but is now endangering the planet.

Beyond this mission, any hint of narrative is practically nonexistent. What you really need to grasp is that you are a pilot, the mechs are referred to as Strikers, and your goal is to defeat opposing mechs in battle to secure victory. The quickest and most direct method to achieve this is in Ace Arena, Mecha Break’s 3v3 mode. This mode prioritizes straightforward deathmatches, with the first team to attain eight kills crowned the winner. It serves as a solid introduction to the rhythm of Mecha Break’s combat, but due to a mere four small arenas and a lack of diversity, it lacks longevity.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll spend the bulk of your time in the advanced battlegrounds of Operation Verge, a 6v6 objective-oriented mode that bears a fair number of resemblances to the hero-shooter category. Operation Verge comprises 10 maps in total, each associated with a unique objective. Visually, there’s scant variety from one map to the next. You’re primarily engaged in clashes within drab industrial environments that aren’t particularly captivating from either an aesthetic or design perspective. The game modes themselves are somewhat more stimulating. There are deathmatches included, although they are segmented into rounds, along with the conventional territory control modes that require you to capture and maintain various points.

Another mode has you contending with the opposing team over data devices, which you must then transport to a central launch point to upload, while yet another has you attempting to disable mining units as the rival team does likewise. There’s also an escort mode, where both parties compete to be the first to advance their cargo along a path to the endpoint. Activating consoles along the way accelerates the process, but you can also impede the opposing team’s payload by standing on it.

None of these modes presents anything we’ve not encountered before, yet their familiarity allows Mecha Break’s varied array of mechs to excel. Without needing to delve too deeply into the objective itself, it enables you to concentrate your efforts on determining the best ways to leverage your specific mech, enhancing its strengths and lessening its weaknesses.

Each mech is categorized as either assault, melee, sniper, reconnaissance, or support, but they fundamentally fall within the holy trinity of damage, tank, and support classes. For example, Pinaka is a support striker whose energy weapons are mounted on a circular apparatus fixed to its back. If an ally is low on health, you can attach this device to them to create a stasis field that absorbs all damage and gradually restores their health and shields. It’s a useful support skill, but it also includes a fun twist: Since your weapons remain attached to the circular device, you can still fire while it’s on your ally’s back, assisting them in dealing damage while you remain out of danger. I’ve never vanquished an enemy while my weapon was affixed to a teammate before playing Mecha Break, so that’s pretty cool.

Stego, on the other hand, is a heavy-hitting behemoth capable of deploying various missile payloads or transforming into a turret by anchoring itself in position. Narukami, conversely, is a sniper who can cloak itself and generate decoy holograms while inflicting damage from the edges of the battleground. Then there’s Panther, a robust melee fighter equipped with a shield and lance, and Skyraider, an aerial attacker who zooms through the skies by shifting into a jet, reminiscent of Starscream.

There’s a solid mix between hefty combatants and lighter fighters. Those on the bulkier side exchange mobility for extra firepower and often need to remain stationary to deliver their most damaging strikes, while smaller fighters can swiftly evade danger to safeguard their delicate armor. Regardless of the mech you opt for, battles in Mecha Break tend to be frenzied. As the battlefield gradually fills with explosions, laser blasts, and missile trails, it’s immensely satisfying to soar through the air before unleashing a barrage of your own ordinance. The controls are responsive, even when you’re at the helm of a clunky tank, and gliding across the landscape is inherently exhilarating. It may not be as intricate as other mech games, mainly because each mech must conform to a specific hero-shooter role. This straightforwardness, however, renders it more accessible, and mastering a particular mech still demands considerable time and practice.

Overall, it’s fairly well-balanced. Snipers are deadly from afar, but fast-moving airborne mechs like Skyraider and Falcon can quickly bridge the distance and exploit their vulnerabilities at close range. Furthermore, those equipped with shields can block melee attacks, prompting brawlers to reconsider their strategy, while an adept healer can ensure that the most fragile defenses aren’t depleted.

However, there are a few aspects that could benefit from adjustments. Ultra-heavy defenders like Stego and Tricera seem excessively challenging to bring down, to the extent that they can merely hunker down and absorb the damage from an entire team. Some mechs might also benefit from an increase to their energy reserves. Lacking energy prevents you from dashing or taking flight, with the worst-case scenario being getting stun-locked to death by a melee fighter due to your inability to escape. Alysnes is one of the mechs that can take advantage of this flaw, but it also possesses three separate lives, making it particularly unenjoyable to combat, considering the already lengthy time-to-kill.

Despite these problems, Mecha Break still captures the Evangelion power fantasy of piloting a hefty-but-sleek killing machine. Yet, it also lacks one of the essential elements of mech games: customization. You can paint Strikers, apply decals to their shiny metal exteriors, and alter their appearance with skins, but there are no mechanical or structural modifications for you to tinker with. It misses the customization and experimentation that makes other mech games so captivating. You cannot swap components: trading armor for enhanced mobility, replacing bipedal legs with tank tracks, or switching out weapons until you’re fully equipped with Gauss cannons on each shoulder. There’s a PvPvE extraction mode called Mashmak where you can obtain mods to enhance attributes like your mech’s health and maximum energy while playing the mode. However, the only visual difference is reflected in seeing numbers increase, while the impact on gameplay is minimal, rendering it hardly equivalent.

Mashmak itself is also rather uninspiring. Enemy AI is rudimentary, as your adversaries usually remain stationary while you decimate numerous static mechs until a slightly more engaging mini-boss appears. The endless cycle of entering a warzone to gather resources only to return to another warzone to gather resources is also one I seldom connect with, particularly when each outing…

isn’t especially thrilling. You can, naturally, lose everything you’ve assembled if you perish, which brings real stakes into play, but forfeiting all of your diligently gathered loot after a 30-minute session makes joining further matches an uninviting option.

Among Mecha Break’s trio of game modes, Mashmak is also the one most influenced by the game’s chaotic UI and free-to-play components. The main interface is a jumble of various tabs, currencies, and blinking text keen to alert you about the newest store items available for purchase. It’s a daunting environment to step into when launching the game for the first time; it took me several hours to thoroughly comprehend, whether it involved distinguishing the disparities between Mission Tokens, Corite, and Matrix Credits, or realizing what you can genuinely acquire with each one.

In summary, Mission Tokens are obtained merely by playing the game, but you can amass significantly more by initially purchasing the seasonal battle pass. As of this writing, this pass is priced at $13 but typically costs $22. Presumably, the discount only holds during the game’s inaugural season. Once you collect sufficient Mission Tokens, you’re enabled to purchase a few select items each season, such as new mechs, weapon cosmetics, and airdrops for Mashmak, which allow you to call upon ammo and health stations, among other beneficial gameplay-enhancing extras.

You can also buy these airdrops with another currency known as Matrix Credits. These are garnered by completing randomized missions during each Mashmak run or by selling any items you’ve extracted but no longer want. You also have the option to sell them on Mecha Break’s auction house, which features skins, outfits, mods, and other objects sold by your fellow gamers. Besides fostering a pay-to-win atmosphere in Mashmak, auction-house items can solely be bought using Corite, a premium currency obtainable with real cash in various bundles priced up to $47. For $48 (not a coincidence), you can also acquire a purely cosmetic bundle showcasing a new pilot and a custom mech skin.

Pilots don’t really fulfill any function in Mecha Break, apart from being another route for the game to entice you into spending money. You can tailor your pilot to some extent, and there are numerous cosmetic items available for purchase, including the ability to create another character of the opposite gender in exchange for Corite. And for what? You catch a glimpse of your pilot entering their mech at the start of a match—with the camera focusing in for the gratuitous behind shot—and then you receive a brief two-second cutscene of them ejecting whenever you perish—with the camera zooming in for the gratuitous chest shot to highlight the game’s absurd jiggle physics.

At least new mechs can solely be obtained using Mission Tokens, with each one currently priced at 15,000 each. You’re also able to try them for seven days to determine if they’re worth the investment. However, there are artificial cooldowns on missions, and weekly rewards are capped, which restricts your ability to unlock new mechs at a speed faster than the game permits. It’s a considerable grind when you only earn around 100 tokens each match. Mission Tokens also reset at the end of each season, preventing you from maintaining a supply until a mech that fits your specific playstyle appears.

Beneath all the micro- and macro-transactions, salacious gazes, cluttered interfaces, and the incessant promotion of cosmetics and other items, Mecha Break is a commendable multiplayer game featuring a variety of cool and unique mechs that engage in frequently exhilarating battles. It’s unfortunate that all the elements surrounding its frenetic action detract from the experience, and the lack of significant customization is a clear oversight, but Operation Verge is entertaining and worth exploring, even if you only have a passing interest in enormous robots battling it out.

Editor’s note: This review has been updated to clarify that Operation Verge features 10 maps, not nine.