Mecha Break: The Final Preview

The upcoming free-to-play online shooter Mecha Break really does well to evoke the exciting, breakneck sense of action from classic Japanese anime like Gundam Wing or Macross Plus. Focusing on the dizzying combat and thrills of piloting giant robots tearing through environments and enemy steel, it so far looks to deliver on its potential of over-the-top mechs duking it out in stylish fashion.

Ahead of the open beta, I got to dive into several hours of a near-final build of Mecha Break, seeing its opening storyline set on a post-cataclysmic Earth and a suite of multiplayer skirmishes that range from familiar match types to a surprisingly ambitious take on a squad-based Mecha extraction shooter on a large-scale map. So far, Mecha Break offers an impressive suite of mechs and modes for its upcoming debut.

Set in a far future where an ecological disaster has torn Earth apart, you play as a pilot in an organization known as S.H.A.D.O.W., which fights rival mech pilots and works to stop the spread of a crystalline virus that infects both organic life and even mechs. By engaging in strike missions and amassing more resources to upgrade and unlock new mecha, you can help the war effort and improve humanity’s chances of survival.

For anyone who’s watched any mecha action series or tried their hand at building Gunpla over the last 30 years, Mecha Break’s influences are obvious – and the lead developer was clear about what type of game he wanted. During our chat at the preview session, Kris Kwok, CEO of Amazing Seasun Games and executive producer of Mecha Break, stated that the team aimed to capture the experience of watching a classic mecha anime with giant robots weaving through missile fire and landing a slick finishing shot.

“I’ve had a wonderful childhood experience watching a TV station in Hong Kong, which introduced me to Japanese anime. My favorites were Gundam and Macross, and they are my biggest influences on Mecha Break,” said the CEO of Amazing Seasun Games. “I’ve always wanted to make a multiplayer game like this, and I drew upon a lot of military tactics to offer different types of experiences for players – you have strikers with light or heavy armor, and you have a sniper role, or mechs that fly and move swiftly through the environment. Our core design philosophy was to have a roster of mechs that all capture the experience of piloting giant machines of war, regardless of your role in a match.”

The opening missions are the most story-driven moments of Mecha Break, but considering there are no present plans for a dedicated campaign, it was a little disappointing to see it’s not much of a focus. However, the existing plot did well in framing the multiplayer engagements, and you’ll even be able to have your custom pilot explore the massive hangar to talk with other characters and observe your mechs. The heart of the gameplay is the multiplayer engagements, and as seen in last year’s beta, Mecha Break features the traditional 6v6 multiplayer match types such as territory control, guiding payloads, and a twist on capture the flag, which involves delivering fuel to a rocket ship while avoiding enemy fire.

But what elevates these engagements is the awesome suite of mechs that lean into the hero-style archetypes. Aquila is the long-range heavy sniper that can hover in mid-air to time a shot, Falcon is the agile, flight-focused mech that can rain down missiles, and Tricera is the heavily armored mech that can tear through enemies with its twin Gatling guns. I was impressed by how well-designed and visually striking each mech was, and I had some fun decking out the robots with custom decals.

Mecha Break is gorgeous to see in action, and I was very pleasantly surprised with the current state of its level of craft and polish. Since last year’s beta, the developers have taken in feedback to fine-tune the player interface and balance between mechanisms. Considering how fast and exciting the matches can get, seeing how well-layered they are is impressive. It’s also a multiplayer game that’s not focused on racking up kills, but on helping the team achieve objectives and offering support. Still, I definitely had my moments where I became an absolute menace in the air as Falcon, only for the team’s sniper to adapt to my tricks and pick me off from afar.

The pacing of Mecha Break is incredibly fast, and yet I sometimes found myself forgetting about capturing objectives because I was so swept up in the action and the dizzying pace. In some cases, I spent so much time focusing on enemy movements and attacks that I missed clear opportunities to help the team’s larger goals.

One mode that was more recently added is Mashmak, which is Mecha Break’s take on an extraction shooter. In this large-scale mode with several other players, a squad of 3 will hot drop onto a random spot on the map and take out AI mechs and elite foes to collect forces, all the while facing off against other players and even the environment as tornadoes and deadly swells rip through the environment. By upgrading your mech with mods and other gear – such as a glider that I missed out on using – your team will have been able to boost up and eventually provide you coordinate and pick your battles.

It’s an impressive concept for sure, and I appreciate just how expansive the mode is – especially when piloting mechs – but given that it’s a much slower-paced mode, it felt at times felt like the matches took a little while to properly get going, even with the AI mechs to battle. I also felt generally underpowered when facing some battalions of enemies, which prompted my team to move on to other places to avoid wasting time. Still, I see the potential of this mode, and storms in game really do well shake up the match and instill some tension.

It took some time for the developers to properly get Mashmak into shape, but they stated they found a nice balance for the experience by offering variety.

“It took some trial and error to get this right, as we were never happy with how it initially turned out – our first prototype was not that positive,” Kwok recalled. “So we had to rework everything, and sometime later we had a better version of it, but it still was not there. So after iterations, we finally brought Mashmak together and it was very important to offer variety within these matches. The auxiliary weapon systems you can collect, the [hazardous weather] storms, and the boss enemies you can find really do add a lot to these matches, especially on a large map to explore with a team.”

So far, Mecha Break’s fast action and stellar selection of mechs present a fun and thrilling package for its online multiplayer. As a live service game, it’ll definitely offer a lot of options right out of the gate, but I do have some lingering worries about how the in-game store will be set up, which is a normal worry to have these days. Mecha Break’s combat and style is in great shape, and it’ll certainly make for a solid option for fans looking to get their next mecha action game fix.