MechWarrior 5: Clans review – the joy of giant robots

Enjoyable as first person shooters are, there’s nothing quite like stomping into battle inside a towering, heavily armed bipedal robot. Casually strolling through trees and buildings, and swatting away minor nuisances like attack helicopters and main battle tanks, the only real threats you encounter are other mechs, which demand more tactical use of cover and teamwork.

It’s been five years since MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries was released, and while there are other video game franchises with walking tanks in them, these adaptations of the BattleTech universe are the ones with the deepest roots. The lore comes pre-installed, and you arrive in media res, expected to understand why nobody’s allowed to speak using contractions, while nonchalantly bandying about words like ‘sibkin’ and ‘aff’ without any explanation.

BattleTech’s byzantine politicking is truly, relentlessly dull. MechWarrior 5: Clans trumpets its hour and a half of cut scenes but for all but the most dedicated fans those are 90 minutes of grim tedium. It’s polished and well acted, but also poker-faced and devoid of any sense of its own ridiculousness. A bit of humour would have gone a long way.

Mind you, nobody buys an action game for the story, even if in this case it is pushed to the fore. Where Mercenaries is open world, as you take on largely interchangeable contracts while tooling around the galaxy at your whim, Clans is a more linear and cinematic affair. It takes you through the story of Smoke Jaguar, which may sound like a default Xbox Live gamertag, but is in fact an ancient and noble clan of mech warriors.

Their job is to re-take Terra (or Earth, as it’s known locally), which is just a small piece in a far larger over-arching narrative, but feels suitably epic in this well over 30-hour campaign. Missions range from full-on battles to scouting missions where scanning facilities and protecting POWs are your main jobs, all the while accompanied by radio chatter from your teammates.

You can choose between a clunkier, more traditional control style, where you have to rotate the body and legs of your mech separately, or opt for modern controls, which make it more like a first person shooter. It’s a distinctly arcade style approach and while hardcore fans may lament the comparative ease of use, we rather liked it. Masochists will be pleased to learn there’s still a lack of checkpoints in missions.

Your mech can be viewed from a first or third person perspective, the latter letting you see its lumbering hulk snapping trees, and fiery booster rockets igniting when it takes off. Its size and configuration are also relevant while taking cover. With weapons attached to each arm, you have to be aware of which ones are hidden behind the building or rock formation you’re ducking behind, and which you can use to pummel the enemy, otherwise you can end up wasting precious ordnance.

That’s important because it’s easy to run out of ammunition, which is heavy and takes up weight allowance that could otherwise be used for more weapons, armour or electronic countermeasures. Mechs can also be equipped with lasers, but they rapidly overheat, something you can overcome by standing in a lake or river. Naturally those aren’t always available, so utilising your full arsenal becomes a delicate balancing act.

While you can play in co-op, the campaign’s designed to be played solo and also acts as an introduction to the game’s many mechanics. We’re usually fans of games that don’t over-explain, but Clans goes further than that by not explaining anything, leaving you to figure out the full panoply of purchasable and unlockable upgrades, weapons, and research. Plus, how to equip it all while staying under your mech’s tonnage and upgrade slot limits. If you were a big fan of Mercenaries, the novelties will take a little getting used to, but if you’re new to the franchise, good luck.

Omnipods, which let you save a complete loadout, take some of the sting out, coming pre-loaded with various configurations of weapons, armour and equipment, and letting you switch the lot with a couple of button presses. It’s extremely handy given the variety of missions and biomes you’ll be working in.

MechWarrior 5: Clans screenshot — MechWarrior 5: Clans – outfitting your robot is a complex business (Piranha Games)

All that makes for an enjoyable shoot ‘em-up romp, featuring heroes who dress in neo-fascist uniforms. Its cheerily gung-ho missions gradually lead to its own ‘Hans, are we the baddies?’ realisation that being part of a eugenics-loving group, hell bent on taking over the Earth by military force, might not necessarily qualify as good. It’s no Shadow Of The Colossus, but it’s nice to see a bit of introspection amongst the po-faced speechifying and exchanges of high explosive ordnance.

There are sixteen mechs in total, most of which you’ll need to unlock as you progress, along with a vast wealth of skills to research, weaponry to buy, and mechs to upgrade as each gains experience with your team. In spite of all that complexity, its control scheme and UI design manage to make it at least slightly more approachable than past outings, and it’s all neatly drawn in Unreal Engine 5, which looks crisp, if not mind-blowing.

The plot may be cheesy and portentous, but like a 90s Japanese role-player there’s also something endearing about how earnest it all is. After years of increasingly rote cinematic superhero banter, the total lack of cynicism and fourth wall shenanigans is actually quite refreshing. Most importantly though, the action is just right. And if you’re missing the old days, and its more simulator-orientated approach, just select traditional controls, put your mech in first person, turn the difficulty up a notch, and prepare to be stomped.

MechWarrior 5: Clans review summary

In Short: A sprawling, story-based epic whose ponderous cinematic cut scenes give way to swathes of arcade style mech action, that is amongst the most fun you can have in a giant robot.

Pros: Fun, highly destructive combat, with a new and far more accessible control system. Upgrade paths are varied and satisfying. Lots of content and cut scenes are skippable.

Cons: Lack of introduction or tutorials will make its narrative and systems initially baffling for newcomers and its story takes itself far too seriously.

Score: 8/10

Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PC
Price: £44.99
Developer: Piranha Games
Publisher: Piranha Games
Release Date: 17th October 2024
Age Rating: 16