MechWarrior 5: Clans Review

MechWarrior 5: Clans is a brand new full fledged mech shooter game from developer Piranha Games. Despite its name suggesting this is an expansion or a DLC for the earlier MechWarrior game, it's not. 

MechWarrior: Clans is a major release with a big story, an incredible level of mech customisation and solid gameplay that the fans of the franchise will certainly appreciate. And you can really tell that MechWarrior 5: Clans was made for the veterans of this long-running series first and foremost. 

The number of options here is abundant, allowing you to customise the gameplay in a way that suits you. So for example, if you like faster, more agile mechs, you can choose a lightweight model, spend XP to add a couple of upgrades and perhaps use weaponry that focuses on shoot and move style of gameplay.

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MechWarrior 5: Clans

But I guess the majority of mech fans want to feel powerful and badass when playing games like MechWarrior and you can be that too. I discovered that striking a balance between the two is usually the most fun but I'd be lying if I said that watching those heavy models destroy everything in their path with heavy rocket barrages and lasers didn't feel incredible. 

In addition, you can spend money on the market to buy whatever mech you want. You can swap weapons, add armour, targeting systems and more stuff that will make your life easier during missions. There's co-op here too so you can pretty much create a deadly squad of mechs that complement each other on the battlefield with different builds.

This concept here is fairly streamlined and works well, even if you're a newcomer to the genre like me. I never felt overwhelmed with these options even though there's a lot of depth to MechWarrior 5: Clans' setups and preparation before you take on a new mission.

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MechWarrior 5: Clans

One thing that caught me completely off guard is how narrative-driven MechWarrior: Clans is. I certainly didn't expect the quality of cinematics, characters and overall story to be at such a solid level in a game where it's all about mech carnage.

I was particularly impressed by the game's cinematography in cutscenes which can look breathtaking. Character models are also highly detailed and voice acting isn't half bad either which is a major win in my book, as I expected the story to be an afterthought. 

The great thing about the story is that it's newcomer friendly too so I was able to follow and understand the events that occurred to some degree. I'm sure the hardcore MechWarrior fans will find it even more pleasing than myself.

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MechWarrior 5: Clans

In terms of visual presentation, MechWarrior 5: Clans looks great. It's not the best-looking game of all time but the graphical fidelity is more than acceptable. The game is set across several planets, each with different biomes, so you'll witness some gorgeous vistas like desert wastelands to sprawling grass hills to lush jungles. 

Now to talk about some of the aspects of MechWarrior 5: Clans that I didn't like. One of them is mission design, which I found to be a bit bland and repetitive. The missions lacked variety and most of the time felt very similar to the one you played previously giving you objectives to take down more mechs just in a different environment. In addition, a lot of missions felt like simple fillers to make the game longer, instead of being meaningful for the story. 

This is a shame as there was plenty of potential here to create some very unique stuff but it's certainly not a dealbreaker as the core gameplay loop still has plenty to offer, especially when you consider how much mech customisation can change the combat. 

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MechWarrior 5: Clans

Another drawback was the performance on my PC. With the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Nvidia RTX 4080, I was still getting FPS drops below 60 FPS, especially on planets that are rich with foliage. The FPS drops are also noticeable in chaotic sequences when there are a dozen of mechs on the screen firing lasers, rockets and flamethrowers. 

Hopefully, performance is one of the things that the devs will look at in future patches.

Overall, if you're a MechWarrior series fan, you won't be disappointed with MechWarrior 5: Clans. This is a game you've been waiting for; made with passion and love and that's truly visible at every corner. For newcomers, there's a lot of fun to be had here too so definitely give it a go if you have an active Game Pass subscription.