Mechajammer

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Mechajammer is a single-player cyberpunk horror CRPG with simultaneous turn-based combat, set on a gritty off-world colony. Freely explore the city, jungle, and syndicate hollows, recruiting companions and building large squads to help you escape. The Refracted Update brings new features and improvements, making it an ideal time to dive into this atmospheric, music-enhanced game, despite some remaining bugs.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

48%

Audience ScoreBased on 143 reviews

graphics17 positive mentions

stability25 negative mentions

The game features a unique and immersive cyberpunk aesthetic, with a gritty atmosphere and a fantastic soundtrack that enhances the experience.
It offers deep character creation and customization options, allowing players to create unique builds and playstyles.
The game has a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic CRPGs, appealing to fans of older titles like Fallout and Baldur's Gate.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, including game-breaking issues that require constant reloading and can hinder progress.
The combat system is frustratingly unbalanced, with mechanics that can lead to unfair deaths and unclear feedback on actions taken.
The user interface and overall design are clunky and unintuitive, making navigation and interaction with the game world cumbersome.

graphics
35 mentions
49 % positive mentions
43 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique and charming aesthetic, drawing comparisons to retro styles and creating an engaging atmosphere. While many players appreciate the art style and soundtrack, some criticize the color palette and clarity of visuals, which can lead to confusion during gameplay. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal, despite some technical flaws and gameplay frustrations.
- “The art style is really cool and makes the game feel special and different.”
- “The atmosphere and the art style are awesome.”
- “It's visual aesthetics work well with its atmosphere, and the soundtrack feels like a grimier Blade Runner - like someone introduced Vangelis to industrial music, and the whole package comes together as a smooth, modern take on the influences I grew up with.”
- “Gameplay improved a bit in my opinion since initial release, but other than the aesthetic concept, the game is just subpar.”
- “I'm also not impressed with the style of graphics, and it's mostly because they need a slightly more robust color palette.”
- “In this game, through a combination of unclear UI elements and the low-resolution graphics, I don't know if I'm swinging at a fridge, an explosive barrel, a crate that won't hurt me, a box that might have loot in it, or a box that enemies might pop out of; it's so muddled and unclear.”
gameplay
35 mentions
23 % positive mentions
66 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this indie game is marked by a mix of turn-based and real-time mechanics, but is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches that significantly detract from the experience. While the character creation and squad customization features are praised, the AI struggles with managing multiple companions, and many core mechanics feel unbalanced and poorly implemented. Despite some improvements since launch, the overall gameplay remains messy and unfinished, leading to a frustrating experience for many players.
- “The gameplay itself is a mix of turn-based and real-time.”
- “The world building, game mechanics, and the setting all click.”
- “I've been waiting eagerly for this game, and although there are definitely some minor bugs as of launch, it has exceeded all my expectations in terms of story, gameplay, graphics, and immersion.”
- “Stutters, visual, audio, and gameplay glitches happen often and detract from the already thin immersion the game world offers.”
- “On launch it was riddled with bugs; saves not working, and many gameplay elements like the combat and driving vehicles just didn't work very well.”
- “Game is nothing like the trailers, gameplay is messy, unfinished and really buggy.”
story
26 mentions
23 % positive mentions
65 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its unique world and engaging main quest, while others find it bland and lacking in depth, particularly due to minimal side quests and poor character development. Many users note the absence of guidance and quest tracking, which can lead to frustration, although some enjoy the challenge and agency in progressing the narrative. Overall, while the story has potential, it suffers from bugs and a lack of content that detracts from the overall experience.
- “The agency given to the player in progressing the story is very engaging, and the art and environment is fantastic.”
- “Over the course of the game, you will learn tidbits about the founders of the world and utilize that knowledge in working out puzzles to unlock and access the final areas needed to complete your mission.”
- “While this isn't Fallout or Pillars of Eternity, Whalenought creates a small but tantalizing glimpse into a unique world.”
- “The game is barebones in content, with no side quests at all and zero interaction with the world.”
- “The story so far feels a bit bland.”
- “Game events and story progression are buggy; for example, activating the right terminal twice will trigger the same story cutscene twice.”
stability
25 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is widely criticized, with players reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and a generally unstable experience that significantly detracts from gameplay. Issues include disappearing items, a buggy interface, and frequent crashes, leading to a frustrating experience for many. While some players have encountered fewer problems, the overall consensus is that the game is unfinished and requires significant fixes before it can be recommended.
- “Extremely buggy, money and items disappear or become unusable randomly, forcing you to reload constantly.”
- “Stutters, visual, audio, and gameplay glitches happen often and detract from the already thin immersion the game world offers.”
- “Worst of all, the quick saving system is buggy: I loaded some saves in the old town, and twice in a row, all the enemies respawned, containers were full again, key items respawned.”
music
24 mentions
50 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its fantastic synth soundtrack that evokes comparisons to Vangelis and John Carpenter, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and art style. However, some players have criticized the in-game music as being poor, suggesting it detracts from the overall experience. Overall, while the soundtrack is a highlight for many, opinions vary widely, indicating a divide in player satisfaction regarding the musical elements.
- “The game's soundtrack is fantastic and I adore the game's art style.”
- “The music and art direction is one of a kind.”
- “It's visual aesthetics work well with its atmosphere, and the soundtrack feels like a grimier Blade Runner - like someone introduced Vangelis to industrial music, and the whole package comes together as a smooth, modern take on the influences I grew up with.”
- “Music is terrible.”
- “I had some YouTube music playing on low volume in the background while I could still hear the in-game music, and boy is that in-game music atrocious.”
- “If I was going to play this, then I would mute the in-game music.”
atmosphere
16 mentions
69 % positive mentions
13 % neutral mentions
19 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and gritty design, with many players noting the strong visual and auditory elements that enhance the experience. The unique art style and soundtrack contribute to a captivating environment that feels both modern and reminiscent of classic influences. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, drawing players into its richly crafted world.
- “The world they created really oozes atmosphere.”
- “The art, atmosphere, and music are extremely well done and the main draw of the game.”
- “It's visual aesthetics work well with its atmosphere, and the soundtrack feels like a grimier Blade Runner - like someone introduced Vangelis to industrial music, and the whole package comes together as a smooth, modern take on the influences I grew up with.”
- “Some alleys I swore I could smell right through the screen; the game drips with so much atmosphere.”
grinding
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and frustrating, citing limited interaction with NPCs, a lack of meaningful rewards from combat, and cumbersome navigation tools. Farming for supplies feels like a chore, and the reliance on recruiting NPCs for assistance adds to the overall sense of monotony in progressing through the game. Despite its appealing aesthetics, the grinding experience detracts significantly from enjoyment.
- “Interaction with the world is limited; there is no real talking with NPCs (they will repeat the exact three things and give you various hints). Farming money to get the supplies you need is also a chore, and most NPCs you encounter don't even drop anything when you kill them. This is especially true when fighting enemies, as you won't get much back. The only reliable way to progress is to go around and spam recruit the hobos and use them as cannon fodder while they do the work for you.”
- “I really want to play this game; I just wish finding items and moving forward wasn't so tedious and hard, mostly because of the awful map and navigation tools you get.”
- “The game has some nice aesthetics, but the abstractness and the lack of context on what, where, and how to navigate is extremely tedious.”
optimization
3 mentions
33 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
67 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for its poor optimization, with players experiencing significant stuttering even on high-end systems capable of running more demanding titles smoothly. While combat can be approached with a degree of patience and strategy, the overall performance issues detract from the experience.
- “The thing is that I can run games like The Witcher 3 on high at 45-60 FPS but can't run this game without stuttering all along.”
- “You can kill every enemy in the game with throwing knives and some patience, so don't stress too much about whether you've optimized your skill enough.”
humor
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game starts strong with an amusing introduction, but it quickly diminishes as players encounter frustrating mechanics, such as uncontrollable character behavior that can persist indefinitely if certain conditions are met. This shift from initial amusement to annoyance suggests that while the game aims for humor, it may fall short due to gameplay issues.
- “What a funny start, I thought to myself, but my smile slowly faded as my character continued being uncontrollable for two straight minutes. I checked the Steam forums and found out that if PTSD is triggered out of combat, it just lasts forever.”
- “The humor in this game is top-notch, with clever dialogue and hilarious situations that keep you laughing throughout.”
- “I couldn't stop chuckling at the absurdity of the scenarios; the developers really nailed the comedic timing!”