Who doesn’t love giant robots? Well, invading Kaiju for one, but there’s a reason that Gundam has been around for forty years, why Power Rangers continue to sell toys, and why The Matrix Revolutions is the best one in the series – mechs are cool. MechWarrior stands amongst the most iconic mech-enhanced gaming series, but you’d be forgiven for being slightly confused by the numbered and subtitled releases that litter the last thirty years like stomping metal confetti. Prepare to be confused no further, as MechWarrior 5: Clans is an all-new entry in the series, and one which centres on storytelling rather than PvP battles. As the franchise heads into new territory, we’ve gone hands on with the first couple of hours to see how it all plays out.
Clan Smoke Jaguar have the same air of militaristic zealotry you’ll find from the Ultramarines in Space Marine 2 or Dune’s House Harkonnen. It’s all ‘trembling before our might’ and “bringing vengeance down’, with little hint of a wry smile. You can at least forgive the gung-ho attitude of your team though, as the opening of MechWarrior 5: Clans casts you as a young MechWarrior recruit at the start of your career, trying to complete your training.
There’s a lot of names, colloquialisms and alien terms to wrap your head around in the first few minutes, particularly if you’re a newcomer to the series, but some things are clear. You’re part of a military squad, thrust headlong into piloting your mechs, proving your worth to your brutal superiors.
As you start out, the first thing you’ll appreciate is the smart and alluring visuals you can see from the cockpit of your mech. You can take a first-person or third-person view here, while the UI gives you a readout on your mech’s armour and ammo reserves for each weapon. You’ve also got details for each of your teammates, with Mia, Ezra, Liam and Nasir your backup and your responsibility to command.
You can individually assign tasks to each of these teammates, or command them as a group, all from the Function keys, and you’ll soon settle into the rhythm of paying attention to their battle as well as your own. I really enjoyed the interplay between the five pilots, and their relationship looks to form the basis of the game’s emotional core and overarching drama, chatting mid-mission or in the in-game cinematics.
You might be surprised by how light and manoeuvrable your mech is, with swift and light camera control ensuring that when an enemy moves into your field of view, you’ll be ready to destroy it in moments. You’ve got four main weapons to help take them apart, ranging from cannons and lasers through to missiles, and that’s undoubtedly only going to expand as you progress.
Once you’ve completed the prologue, you’re given access to the Mech Bay and the Store, where you can buy upgrades for and configure each of the mechs in your team, from their weaponry and equipment through to their paint job. There’s a lot to get your teeth into here, with multiple slots to open up, and a vast array of different weaponry to choose between. Weight is the key constraint here, making you adjust your choices based upon just how much your chassis can hold, but as you level up you can unlock bulkier chassis, capable of carrying much more and, in theory, taking more damage.
I think my only real negative at this point is the sound design, with everything feeling a bit too light and weightless, from secondary sounds in the environment to the way your blasts connect with enemies. It needs cranking up to truly carry the sensation of being involved in a bombastic battle, and I hope it’s something they consider tweaking. That said, the high-quality voice acting and the vocalisation-heavy soundtrack are both highlights, with gnawing tones that add menace and drama to the explosive mechanical events.
There are a few rough edges still here – frame rate drops, long loading times – but they’ll hopefully be scrubbed off in the last few weeks of optimisations. I’ve really enjoyed my ealry foray into the world of MechWarrior 5: Clans, and there’s definitely an intriguing sci-fi story to dive into. There’s not too long to wait either, with MechWarrior 5: Clans set to release on the 17th of October 2024 for PC.
Bengali (Bangladesh) · 
English (United States) ·