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Mech Engineer

73%Game Brain Score
gameplay, story
optimization, grinding
73% User Score Based on 1,094 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
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About

"Mech Engineer" is a robot construction and battle simulation game. Players build their own mechs from a variety of parts, then pit them against enemies in tactical combat. The game features a range of weapons, armor, and movement options to customize mechs to different playstyles.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes

73%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,094 reviews
gameplay56 positive mentions
grinding12 negative mentions
  • The game offers a unique and immersive experience with deep customization options for mechs and a compelling atmosphere.
  • Once players overcome the steep learning curve, the game becomes rewarding and engaging, with a satisfying gameplay loop.
  • The developer is active in updating the game and responding to community feedback, showing a commitment to improvement.
  • The UI is confusing and lacks clear tooltips, making it difficult for new players to understand mechanics and navigate the game.
  • The tutorial is minimal and does not adequately prepare players for the complexities of the game, leading to frustration.
  • The game can feel punishingly difficult, with many players experiencing frequent losses and unclear reasons for their failures.
  • gameplay
    286 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Mech Engineer" is characterized by its deep and intricate mechanics, requiring players to engage in trial and error to master the systems, which can be both rewarding and frustrating. While the game offers unique customization options and a compelling tactical experience reminiscent of classic strategy games, it suffers from a steep learning curve exacerbated by a poorly designed user interface and inadequate tutorials. Overall, players who enjoy complex mechanics and are willing to invest time in understanding the game will find it engaging, but newcomers may struggle without sufficient guidance.

    • “Unique gameplay mechanics, not easy to master, great tactical game.”
    • “The game is a gem, and if you can get into it, you'll find a deep game with a lot of emerging gameplay like the original X-COM had, moments of tragedy or heroism with your soldiers.”
    • “Once you figure out the gameplay loop, you get to crush some strong bugs, experiment, lose, and read community posts repeatedly.”
    • “You have to figure out the mechanics yourself through frustration and trial and error.”
    • “The tutorial popups fail to explain basic mechanics, and places where you would think a tooltip should be, there just... aren't.”
    • “The game is really obscure, many game mechanics are not explained at all and you lack info to make good decisions.”
  • story
    272 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story revolves around the player acting as an AI controlling a walking city, sending mechs on missions to gather resources and uncover secrets to escape a ruined planet. While the premise is intriguing and offers a rich backdrop, many players find the execution frustrating due to a lack of clear guidance, overwhelming complexity, and the high difficulty of missions that often lead to repeated failures. Despite these challenges, some players appreciate the depth of strategy involved and the potential for an engaging underdog narrative if they invest the time to learn the game's systems.

    • “A story of courage that transcends time.”
    • “Beyond the viewport you watch through, there is an entire world/story evolving behind the scenes with fascinating lore and an excellent premise.”
    • “As an author, I love the background plot of the game, and I wish it were based on an anime or movie I could watch.”
    • “The story looks like it was farted out of a Russian-speaking ass.”
    • “It's essentially frustrating and unplayable and more of a sadistic slog of just repeating the same mission over and over again until something works... I was at day 3 max, yet it gets even more difficult?”
    • “It's definitely needs some kind of tutorial, you'll spend like 2-4 hours to get to know what to do to not get killed in the first mission.”
  • graphics
    88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are described as utilitarian and simplistic, often evoking a retro aesthetic reminiscent of 1990s gaming, which some players appreciate for its immersive qualities and unique art style. While the visuals may not meet the standards of modern AAA titles, they effectively support the game's atmosphere and gameplay mechanics, appealing to those who value artistic design over graphical fidelity. However, the lack of detailed tutorials and inconsistent visual cues can hinder new players' understanding of the game.

    • “Love the art style and the world building.”
    • “The overall aesthetic of the art, music, setting, lore entries, etc. has a dark, grimy, sci-fi apocalypse feel and it really pulls you in.”
    • “First of all, this game has a beautiful art style which reinforces the gloomy and hopeless atmosphere.”
    • “Graphically, this is not some AAA style over substance game, quite the opposite.”
    • “The graphics suck, the learning curve sucks, the UI sucks, the help guide is incomplete.”
    • “Lack of graphical fidelity in combat is also an issue in that you won't know what's going on unless you already know how to look for it.”
  • atmosphere
    46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its haunting soundtrack, stylish interface, and immersive design, creating a gloomy and captivating experience. While some users note that the interface can be confusing, the overall ambiance and art style significantly enhance the gameplay, making it particularly appealing for fans of dark sci-fi and mech tinkering. Despite its challenges, the atmosphere is described as a standout feature, contributing to a unique and engaging gaming experience.

    • “10/10 atmosphere with haunting soundtrack and immersive interface.”
    • “Insane difficulty and amazing atmosphere is what makes this game.”
    • “Not a hi-fidelity game, but that really adds to the atmosphere.”
    • “If you like tinkering with mechs and a gloomy atmosphere, this is the game for you.”
    • “First of all, this game has a beautiful art style which reinforces the gloomy and hopeless atmosphere.”
  • music
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is praised for its haunting soundtrack and immersive atmosphere, effectively complementing the dark, sci-fi aesthetic. However, some players express disappointment with the limited number of tracks, noting that only two songs can become repetitive during extended gameplay. Overall, the sound design is considered unique and enhances the gaming experience, contributing to a satisfying ambiance.

    • “10/10 atmosphere with haunting soundtrack and immersive interface.”
    • “The overall aesthetic of the art, music, setting, lore entries, etc. has a dark, grimy, sci-fi apocalypse feel and it really pulls you in.”
    • “Fantastic style, art, sound, music, and overall ambiance.”
    • “An actual soundtrack would be nice; 2 songs and silence are not fun to listen to while you spend hours tweaking things.”
    • “The overall aesthetic of the art, music, setting, lore entries, etc. has a dark, grimy, sci-fi apocalypse feel, and it really pulls you in.”
    • “Sound: extremely unique both in background sounds, UI sounds, and music.”
  • optimization
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting severe performance issues, including frame rates dropping below 20fps even on capable hardware. Many feel that the developers have prioritized minor updates over essential performance improvements, leaving users frustrated, especially those with lower-end systems. Overall, the lack of effective optimization detracts significantly from the gameplay experience.

    • “Look, getting down into the nitty-gritty of tuning a reactor and applying different parts to affect the performance of the mechs is super interesting.”
    • “Each component of each mech can be customized and tweaked for specific performance. Your mobile base is huge and requires a lot of care to keep running. Your pilots need to be looked after and can be leveled up in complementary ways, emphasizing planning several moves ahead and picking your battles carefully.”
    • “To do this, you increase the performance with collected components, but it is important that the temperature is kept low.”
    • “Inexcusable performance for an 80 MB game.”
    • “The optimization is just not there; it runs under 20 FPS on an 8000 series i5 with a 1050 Ti and 16 GB RAM.”
    • “- The *real* problem is in the last update: 'fixed wrong bookmarks' and then 'optimized minimap rendering.' Totally focused on the wrong things.”
  • replayability
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game boasts exceptional replayability, with players noting its high replay value and the ability to experiment with different challenges and playstyles. Despite its simplistic nature, the depth and learning curve encourage repeated playthroughs, making it a rewarding experience for both new and returning players. Recent updates have further enhanced its accessibility and replay potential.

    • “A fantastic game made by a single (very active!) developer with loads of depth, replayability and quite a steep learning curve.”
    • “I imagine there is loads of replayability after completion if you choose different challenges.”
    • “It would add even more replayability, and encourage people to adapt their squads and experiment with new playstyles to make use of the gear.”
    • “A fantastic game made by a single (very active!) developer with loads of depth, replayability, and quite a steep learning curve.”
  • grinding
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, often leading to a linear and save-scummy experience. While the game offers unique and immersive elements, the trial-and-error learning process can result in significant setbacks, making the overall experience feel clunky and not worth the time investment. Many reviewers suggest that improved tutorials could alleviate some of the grinding issues.

    • “This makes the game very tedious and not worth my, or your dear readers, time!”
    • “Having figured that out for myself after sinking dozens of hours into it, I can confidently say that even with enough 'know how' this game will still be a linear, tedious, and save-scummy campaign.”
    • “Experimenting and learning through trial and error is super fun, but since this game defines the 'error' part of that as having your entire squad wiped and losing potentially hours of tedious min-maxing, I'd argue that tutorials should still be a bit more involved.”
  • stability
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is described as quite buggy, with minor glitches particularly in windowed mode, though it runs smoothly in full screen. Despite these issues, players appreciate the developer's commitment to fixing problems and express a sense of love for the game that is often missing in AAA titles. Overall, while stability is a concern, the enthusiasm for the game's potential remains strong.

    • “Buggy as hell, but it's got that 'thing' that most AAA games lack: love for the game. I bought it in early access to support the developer, as I rarely ever purchase an early access game anymore since most turn into vapor.”
    • “It is buggy, but the developer is fixing them enthusiastically.”
    • “Minor glitches in windowed mode, no problems in full screen mode so far.”
  • humor
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is consistently noted as amusing, with multiple users highlighting the effectiveness of its jokes. Overall, players find the comedic elements to be a strong point, contributing positively to the gaming experience.

  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the emotional impact of the game to be significant, particularly in the new game plus (ng+) mode, which is enhanced by its deep and subtle lore reminiscent of "Neon Genesis Evangelion." The emotional depth is appreciated for its ability to resonate with players on a personal level.

    • “The new game plus hits hard emotionally; the game is rich in hidden lore - think a less in-your-face Evangelion.”

Buy Mech Engineer

24h Median play time
25h Average play time
4-50h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 12 analyzed playthroughs

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