Steel Hunters: The Final Preview

On paper, Steel Hunters is a serious left turn for World of Tanks developer Wargaming. But just because the developer’s next project is rooted in a sci-fi, futuristic setting with larger-than-life mechs doesn’t mean they’re not tapping into their 27 years of multiplayer expertise for this mech hero shooter.

I spent about 45 minutes racing other mechs to an extraction point in Steel Hunters’ battle royale-lite extraction mode, trying out half of its seven-character launch roster. Although I hit a few snags as I got myself used to controlling a building-size robot shaped like a spider, I could see Wargaming’s multiplayer pedigree on full display.

Aside from a short tutorial, which introduced me to Steel Hunters’ movement and controls, I spent all of my time in one mode. This extraction-based mode was kind of like a scaled-down battle royale: a few squads of two are dropped onto a map and sent toward points of interest, picking up helpful stuff along the way. Each mech is fully loaded out with weapons and abilities, so instead of guns or armor like in Fortnite, you’ll pick up various upgrades for your mech’s stats, healing items, and experience points.

While you can find some loot in the wild, most of the upgrades and loot you’ll find in-match come from downing nearby NPC drones. These weaker enemies are scattered all over each map and put up just enough of a fight that they’re a pain to deal with if another squad is attacking you as well.

Different points of interest pop up during the match, giving you and your non-AI opponents something to race toward against each other, creating random chokepoints around helpful supply drops. Eventually, an extraction point gets marked on the map, beckoning all remaining squads towards the final objective. Once you get there, you’ll need to defend the extraction point (or attack it if someone beats you there) for a little while before the match ends.

This was always the best part of the matches I played, as players descended on the chokepoint trying to outflank each other using their mechs’ various toolkits to their advantage. Maybe the agile Fenris uses their speed to flank an unsuspecting duo as they try to maintain control over the extraction point while the self-healing Razorside draws cover, ducking behind cover to patch themself up. Or maybe the sniper, Heartbreaker, might post up behind the defensive, map-controlling Weaver as they set up defensive barriers to protect their glass cannon teammate.

I played all four of those mechs in different matches, favoring Heartbreaker and Weaver the most. Weaver has this extremely satisfying Gatling gun that just melts enemy health and shields and their movement felt the best. Aiming down sights with Heartbreaker reveals weak points in every enemy, delivering extra reward for patient, precise play.

If there was any problem with the demo I played, it was the in-between stuff. While it was fun to pick off weaker enemies, grab their loot, and find other players, the maps all felt a little too big up until the end. I’m certain some of this came from the fact that I was playing against AI-controlled bots in an early build of the game, but that inconsistent pace felt at odds with the relatively quick match times.

To give the team at Wargaming the benefit of the doubt, the studio is a well-oiled multiplayer machine at this point. Just because Steel Hunters trades historical context for futuristic fiction doesn’t mean the studio’s throwing the baby out with the bath water. It’s clear that Wargaming has been through a few multiplayer game launches in the past based on its launch plans.

Starting out with a manageable scale for its upcoming early access launch on April 2nd, Steel Hunters is going to launch with 7 playable characters, one mode, and only a few maps to start out—and no monetization. This calculated approach to launch, with the promise of new content every 5-6 weeks, shows this team’s pedigree and tact when it comes to multiplayer games. This approach gives me a lot of faith in Wargaming’s ability to listen to its player base and take feedback as it moves toward an eventual 1.0 release. Wargaming even teased the first new character coming to Steel Hunters post-launch, reiterating its commitment to three-month seasons.

If you’re hoping to hop into Steel Hunters, you won’t have to wait long, as it launches into early access on April 2nd.