Mechs & Mercs: Black Talons
- January 9, 2015
- Camel 101
Get on SteamIn Mechs & Mercs: Black Talons, command your own mercenary company and decide which Contracts to accept as you navigate a complex political landscape. Fight battles in turn-based combat, utilizing a variety of mechs, vehicles, and infantry units. Manage your resources, expand your territory, and ensure the survival of your company in this challenging war simulation.
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Reviews
- The game features a compelling story about a planet resisting an invading army, with memorable campaign missions and a tactical gameplay style that rewards careful planning.
- Unit progression and skill trees add depth to the gameplay, making it important to keep squads alive and develop their abilities over time.
- The game has a unique setting with different factions and a variety of units, including mechs, which can be customized and upgraded for strategic advantages.
- The game suffers from poor pathfinding and AI behavior, leading to frustrating moments where units fail to follow orders or leave cover unexpectedly.
- Battles can be slow-paced and repetitive, with some missions feeling drawn out due to large maps and the sluggish movement of heavier units.
- There are numerous bugs and design flaws, including a lack of mid-mission saving, unresponsive controls, and a general feeling of imbalance in gameplay.
- story122 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 84 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The story revolves around a planet's struggle against an invading army, with players taking on the role of a mercenary who can engage in both campaign and optional missions across various factions. While the campaign features some memorable moments and a deep narrative, many players find the mission structure repetitive and the pacing slow, leading to a lack of engagement. Overall, the story is seen as interesting but hampered by gameplay issues, including balance problems and a lack of meaningful character connections.
“The story is about a planet resisting against an invading army.”
“Story-wise, this game seemed to be rather interesting; playing as a mercenary, you're here to help and get paid, working alongside other factions to gain approval.”
“It has a long campaign and an interesting story.”
“The story is non-existent.”
“I wanted to know more about the game universe, but clicking around on the strategic map only tells you the planet name and whether there's a mission.”
“The missions are so incredibly boring I didn't even know what they were; instead, I was just trying to capture and kill everything on the map just to stay engaged long enough to see if things got better; spoiler: they don't, and it's just a long ride on a rollercoaster that stays completely level.”
- gameplay52 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for its broken mechanics, numerous bugs, and lack of balance, leading to a frustrating experience. While some players appreciate the strategic elements and fluid real-time combat, many find the overall gameplay dull, repetitive, and poorly executed, with a lack of depth in combat mechanics. Despite impressive visuals, the game fails to deliver a satisfying experience, leaving players disappointed with its potential.
“Nice visuals and fluid gameplay are pros.”
“A lot of tactical gameplay with squad leveling.”
“The real-time gameplay works out really well, and thankfully there's no base building, which means that everything is purely focused on combat.”
“Broken mechanics, lots of bugs, and the devs abandoned it soon after launch.”
“Uses frustrating combat mechanics that don't seem to make any sense: apparently identical encounters can be won easily or be a total bloodbath, seemingly at random.”
“I'd give this game a 4/10, the mechanics are broken, and the gameplay is just so dull and boring, not to mention the environments are as bland as the gameplay.”
- graphics32 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the nice visuals, compelling settings, and decent artwork, particularly in cutscenes and menus. However, many note that the graphics feel dated or lackluster, especially in the early missions, and some describe them as mediocre or old school. Overall, while the graphics are considered decent for an indie title, they are not without their flaws and do not significantly enhance the gameplay experience.
“Nice graphics with a cyberpunkish mood.”
“The graphics are excellent for what it is; menus and between mission planning and upgrading are very well implemented.”
“Overall it's an impressively designed game with some rather dated graphics and a couple glaring issues, though for my money it's a great purchase.”
“The graphics are old school.”
“Graphics could use some improvement.”
“Overall it's an impressively designed game with some rather dated graphics and a couple glaring issues.”
- music8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally considered standard and not exceptional, but it effectively maintains the mood. Some players find it overly loud, while others are indifferent to its quality, focusing more on other aspects of the game. Overall, it serves its purpose without standing out significantly.
“Music is not excellent, but it keeps the mood.”
“Music is way too loud.”
“Music is quite standard game music, but I'm alright with that and the graphics aren't that bad, but I usually don't care about that.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, as they are often overwhelmed by enemy AI with multiple spawn points while only having one, all while juggling additional objectives. This imbalance leads to a repetitive and challenging experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment.
“It's mostly just blasting enemies with as many units as you can while damaged sections run away (tediously) to healing pads.”
“While this seems simple, it's often made tediously impossible by giving the player 1 spawn pad and the enemy AI 6 or 7 per level, then forcing the player to also manage some other tedious tasks like 'evacuate the civilians' or 'don't lose your engineers' at the same time.”
“It's mostly just blasting enemies with as many units as you can while damaged sections run away (tediously) to healing pads.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is generally acceptable for an indie title of its size; however, players report issues with buggy missions that detract from the overall experience.
“Not bad for an indie game of this scale, but unfortunately it has pretty bland gameplay and buggy missions.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the emotional depth of feeling like a competent and respected leader of a formidable mercenary unit, rather than just managing a disorganized group. This sense of empowerment enhances the overall gaming experience.
“It was a nice little touch that I liked; it made me feel like I was actually the leader of a mercenary unit that was super badass and not just in charge of some ragtag force made up of the bottom of the barrel.”
