Even with my bad case of battle royale fatigue, this upcoming mecha game’s 60-person battle royale/extraction shooter hybrid mode sounds pretty sick
We weren’t quite sure what to make of Mecha Break when it was unveiled at last year’s Game Awards—is this a story-heavy challenger to Armored Core’s throne, or something else entirely? After a gameplay reveal earlier this year and a conversation through a translator with developer Amazing Seasun’s CEO, Kris Kwok, I got the skinny on a much weirder game, one that’s pairing tight team-based shooter modes with a take on battle royale that, despite my fatigue from the genre, definitely has my interest.
There are also more classic competitive modes, which we’ve seen in action via an IGN gameplay reveal in January and streams of a closed alpha from last month—Armored Core YouTuber FightinCowboy has a good 30 minute VOD of gameplay to give you an idea of how it plays. While the size and speed of the mechs is front and center, the other main gameplay touchstone is hero shooters like Overwatch.
While you’ll be able to customize your mechs, Kwok made it sound like individual part choice will be less impactful than it is in games like AC6, MechWarrior 5, or Brigador, with a focus on recognizable heroic archetypes—Kwok cited “chivalric knight” and “shinobi” as examples of the flavors of mech on offer. Seasun seems particularly concerned with mech balance, with Kwok saying that testing and balance tweaking usually takes “twice as long” as setting a new mech’s art and design.
Kwok described Mecha Break as having “asymmetric” balance. “Our understanding of balance is that it doesn’t mean we have to make each mecha as strong as each other,” he said.”The real balance is that we want to make sure each mech is taking a proper tactical position, and make sure that they create synergy as a whole, and then provide a dynamic balance experience to our players.”
That certainly calls to mind Overwatch for me, while Kwok’s primary inspiration from the mecha side of things is definitely the Gundam series, with a number of models decorating the Seasun conference room the studio head talked to me from.
That inspiration reflects in Mecha Break’s pace of play: it looks slightly slower than Armored Core 6, and definitely nowhere near 2006’s blazingly fast AC4, but Mecha Break is still a much faster game than the more sluggish Armored Core 5 or the tactical chunk of the MechWarrior series. With Gundam hero shooter Evolution having been shuttered shortly after launch, there doesn’t seem to be anything quite like Mecha Break on the market.
And speaking of things unique on the market, Mecha Break’s PvEvP mode sounded genuinely intriguing to me, even as a skeptic of all things battle royale and most things extraction shooter. Kwok described it as involving up to 60 players in a map comparable in size to that of Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds. It’ll feature that classic battle royale slowly shrinking play field, but also NPC interactions and boss fights.
The real kicker is its extraction mechanic: you’ll be able to leave a match early via set escape points, similar to those in extraction shooters like Escape From Tarkov. Kwok presented this as a lower pressure, less competitive way for players to engage with the mode.
Mecha Break’s combination of mechs, hero shooter, and battle royale/extraction makes for a heady combination, and while it does not yet have a release date, there’s another opportunity to try it out like last month’s alpha coming up. Mecha Break’s closed beta will run from April 26 to 29, and you can sign up for a chance to check it out via Amazing Seasun’s recruitment survey.
News Related
-
Window opens for Zahid to ride off into the sunset – but at Anwar’s cost Sources within Umno have not ruled out strong speculation since last month about a so-called “exit plan” for Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, a move that could pave the way for his political retirement having survived more ...
See Details:
Window opens for Zahid to ride off into the sunset – but at Anwar's cost
-
Brianna Ghey died after she was found with fatal stab wounds in a park Two teenagers accused of murdering Brianna Ghey showed a “preoccupation” with “violence, torture and death”, a court has heard. The body of Brianna, 16, who was transgender, was discovered by dog walkers in a park in ...
See Details:
Murder-accused teens 'had preoccupation with torture'
-
ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY Guard Corps Commander-in-Cheif Major General Hossein Salami speaks at an anti-Israel protest in Tehran on Saturday. The IRGC trained Hezbollah to use human shields, say the writers. The conflict in Gaza has raised a deeply troubling issue: Reports suggest that Hamas is deliberately using civilians as shields, a ...
See Details:
A plea for Islamic voices against using human shields - opinion
-
Photo for illustration purposes only. – BERNAMA FILE PIX SHAH ALAM – The government needs to strengthen the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, especially with the exemption of visas for Chinese and Indian citizens visiting the country starting Dec 1. Universiti Tun Abdul Razak economic expert Emeritus Professor Dr ...
See Details:
Strengthen MM2H programme, promote multiple entry visa
-
GEG element removed from anti-smoking Bill KUALA LUMPUR: The generational end-game (GEG) element has been removed from the revised Control of Smoking Products for Public Health 2023 Bill tabled for the first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Nov 28). This is as the Health Ministry tries for the ...
See Details:
GEG element removed from anti-smoking Bill
-
-
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Malaysia Airlines launches year-end sale
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Dr M accuses govt of bribery over allocations
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Malaysia to check if the Netherlands still keen to send flood experts
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Appeals court to rule in Isa’s graft case on Jan 31
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Elephants Trample On Axia With Family Of Three Inside
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Sirul fitted with monitoring device
-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd has launched its year-end sale with ticket prices starting from RM79 to domestic destinations and from RM229 to international destinations, for travellers who book flights between Nov 28 and Dec 11 this year. In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said all-in one-way Economy Class ...
See Details:
Nigerian airliner lands at wrong airport
OTHER NEWS
THOSE looking for fresh produce may find themselves spoilt for choice at the biggest wet market in Klang, but visitors to the place say the condition of the facilities and ...
Read more »
Olive Grove is the first-ever gated-and-guarded development in Bercham, Ipoh with 24-hour security. IPOH: YTL Land and Development Bhd announced that Phase 1 of Olive Grove is fully sold while ...
Read more »
Screenshots of a video showing a teenager pointing a knife at an elderly e-hailing driver. PETALING JAYA: Police have arrested a 13-year-old boy for holding an elderly e-hailing driver at ...
Read more »
Sprint Highway’s Semantan To KL Slip Road Fully Closed Until Dec 31 If you’re a regular user of the Sprint expressway, you’ll need to do some planning for your trips ...
Read more »
Genshin Impact Version 4.3 Leak Showcases Update to Domains New leaks reveals a quality-of-life update to Domains in Genshin Impact, making it easier for players to repeat and farm resources. ...
Read more »
CG Computers will host the Urban Republic (UR) Warehouse Clearance from 30 November to 3 December at the Atria Shopping Gallery in Petaling Jaya. During the event, visitor can get ...
Read more »
Photo for illustrative purposes only – 123RF KUALA LUMPUR – Hyperinflation has never happened in Malaysia and the government hopes it will never happen, according to the Economy Ministry. It ...
Read more »