MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries Reviews
Despite a solid 'Mech-shooting foundation, MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is crippled by technical issues, horrendous grind, and repetitive missions.
MechWarrior 5 is lengthy and complex but extremely tedious and often obnoxious. What could have been a very enjoyable experience is dragged down by bad movement, menus, and pacing.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries delivers a fun, combat-adventure game and a worthy sequel within the franchise. The movement controls, backing action music, and combat mechanics offer a thrilling, Mech-based action game. However, the inconsistent narrative design, demanding PC specifications, and frustrating repair mechanic detract from the game’s potential. In its current state, players may find Titanfall 2 the more appealing mech-centric choice.
MechWarrior is back with poor story without new ideas and charisma of previous games. Only contracts and cooperation can save this low quality sequel.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Playing MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, I couldn’t help but feel like it’s an old game given a fresh lick of paint.
For fans of pure mech action, there's enjoyment to be found in MechWarrior 5, but by and large, this is a game with a lot of unresolved issues that ultimately hold it back from being anything more than passingly fun.
The hardcore fanbase will appreciate MechWarrior 5 at its core as it feels like a game that wishes it had today's hardware technology 30 years ago.
What Legend of the Kestrel Lancers comes down to is how much players enjoyed the spectacle and gunplay of MechWarrior 5, and how much they want to extend their time with the game through a new, and definitely interesting, story, and bigger battles. The gameplay is fun, tight, and tactically sound, but it was in the core game as well. The DLC offers more of the same, hampered by a lack of new mechs and diverse missions, but what is present in Kestrel Lancers is fun and purpose-built to give fans more of what they like. If players are only dipping their toes into MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, the base game has plenty to offer before players need to judge this DLC's worth.
Though a fun concept and quite enjoyable in the opening hours, MechWarrior 5 suffers from really repetitive gameplay, sharp difficulty spikes without warning, and bad writing.
If you are a MechWarrior fanatic, MechWarrior 5 will probably give you hours of enjoyment. If not, I’d wait until some of the problems above are addressed before making a purchase.
While I cannot compare to previous entries in the MechWarrior series, I have to wonder if this is a giant leap forward for the franchise, or more like a lateral move. It has some fun moments, but these are quick-lived and generally get overshadowed by some of the more glaring issues present in MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. Newcomers to the franchise may have a hard time digesting this as I did, but fans clamoring for more Mech goodness will likely find a lot to enjoy in Piranha Games’ latest outing.
While I am glad to see MechWarrior make a return; its just not the one I’ve been waiting for. While the latest expansion Legend of the Kestrel Lancers adds new mechs, biomes and a linear story missions its still more of the same, so if one doesn’t like the base game…. Then the expansion isn’t going to do much to change that.
Clearly meant for those who have long been ingratiated with the BattleTech universe, MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is an appreciably deep mech stomper that needs a lot more polish a better storyline and cast of characters before its appeal can reach beyond the outer limits of its dedicated fanbase.
The core of the game is solid, and the financial dread of being a badass is something rarely explored in video games. I recommend playing MechWarrior 5 in co-op with a friend, as I found coordinating builds and strategies with someone really added a layer of fun and replayability to the contracts.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a game designed especially for all fans of the saga and mechas, a title that combines classic mechanics such as the division of our robot in two and implements new weapons, scenarios and new mechanics such as the possibility of creating our company of mercenaries. However, due to its unexplained difficulty spikes and somewhat cumbersome interface, we can see ourselves somewhat stuck, but once we catch the tranquillo everything will be easier and more pleasant.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Enjoyable mech combat hobbled by poor mission design, unnecessary load screens, and a dull story
It might be overwhelming for newcomers, but stick with it and MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries offers some surprisingly deep and rewarding giant robot combat. The management side might confuse, but stick with it, and you’ll enjoy the ups and down of mercenary life.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries focuses too much of its efforts in pointless filler, such as a milquetoast story and an annoying progression system. Its insane multiplayer is where it shines the brightest, but then again, I feel like this is best experienced on PC, with a mouse and keyboard setup.
A thoroughly decent-to-good mech game with some weird design choices and a not-always-good retro feel.
Patient gamers waiting for a new installment of MechWarrior will be pleased to find a graphically modern version of a classic franchise, but also a game that struggles to compete with the story, pacing and characters of recent action games that have learned to balance complexity and momentum with a little more panache.