Mechanicus is a solidly well done tactical squad-based combat game a la XCOM. It's an enjoyable look for the first time at the Adeptus Mechanicus of the Warhammer 40,000 universe and one of the better entries in an IP that Games Workshop has rather unceremoniously whored out in recent years. If you're a fan of the IP the game is even better and if you're specifically a fan of the Adeptus Mechanicus I'd even say it's a must play. If you're just a video game fan who likes tactics games then it's worth a playthrough still, especially since it goes on pretty deep sales.
The story is interesting, especially if you're familiar with 40k. If you're not you're likely to be a bit underwhelmed. The story is not told in a particularly engaging fashion but if the common scifi steampunk tropes get your heart goin', you'll be happy nonetheless. It's very textbox heavy so you have to be amenable for that. Which is a shame since the opening cinematic is absolutely an all-time classic monologue.
Gameplay is pretty bog standard tactics combat. Nothing is reinvented or done super well here. It's a knockoff XCOM with less agency over squadbuilding. Which is fine. The skilltrees are somewhat limited and the weapons are rather narrow for the vast and imaginative 40k universe but they do offer an array of fairly standard playstyles and strategies. You're gonna encounter two different armor types, respawning enemies and movement reduction stuff. Standard combat things to think around in a game like this.
All-in-all it is a competent and well done tactics game, it's just not particularly special or unique. Not in gameplay elements. If you've played games like this, this one will be nothing new. But it's still fun and worth a spin.
A couple complaints. First, I thought the maps were way too samey. I understand the nature of the game is narrow in narrative scope with the machine world of the Necrons and their tombs but the sameyness got grating. Maps felt procedurally generated from the same 10 assets. Gameplay was also much too slow. Animations took too long, weren't skippable and there were seconds long gaps between turns. This made missions an absolute slog at times, especially easy missions where you want to speed through.
Difficulty is also a mess. The early game is absurdly hard, feels flat unfair. But once you get a couple upgrades and new weapons, suddenly the game is for babies. Comically easy. Once you hit the midgame you're never going to really experience another challenge unless you're going out of your way to play suboptimally. I think it was designed this way so you could use the various combat sliders to make things more difficult for yourself, but I didn't find the game engaging enough to want to play it several more times. I still don't think that's a good enough excuse for the weird difficulty imbalance.
Mechanicus is worth your time if this genre or IP appeals to you. It's on GamePass and it is frequently on Steam and GoG sales for $5. Take it for a spin, you'll beat it in 6-12 hours on your first run.
The story is interesting, especially if you're familiar with 40k. If you're not you're likely to be a bit underwhelmed. The story is not told in a particularly engaging fashion but if the common scifi steampunk tropes get your heart goin', you'll be happy nonetheless. It's very textbox heavy so you have to be amenable for that. Which is a shame since the opening cinematic is absolutely an all-time classic monologue.
Gameplay is pretty bog standard tactics combat. Nothing is reinvented or done super well here. It's a knockoff XCOM with less agency over squadbuilding. Which is fine. The skilltrees are somewhat limited and the weapons are rather narrow for the vast and imaginative 40k universe but they do offer an array of fairly standard playstyles and strategies. You're gonna encounter two different armor types, respawning enemies and movement reduction stuff. Standard combat things to think around in a game like this.
All-in-all it is a competent and well done tactics game, it's just not particularly special or unique. Not in gameplay elements. If you've played games like this, this one will be nothing new. But it's still fun and worth a spin.
A couple complaints. First, I thought the maps were way too samey. I understand the nature of the game is narrow in narrative scope with the machine world of the Necrons and their tombs but the sameyness got grating. Maps felt procedurally generated from the same 10 assets. Gameplay was also much too slow. Animations took too long, weren't skippable and there were seconds long gaps between turns. This made missions an absolute slog at times, especially easy missions where you want to speed through.
Difficulty is also a mess. The early game is absurdly hard, feels flat unfair. But once you get a couple upgrades and new weapons, suddenly the game is for babies. Comically easy. Once you hit the midgame you're never going to really experience another challenge unless you're going out of your way to play suboptimally. I think it was designed this way so you could use the various combat sliders to make things more difficult for yourself, but I didn't find the game engaging enough to want to play it several more times. I still don't think that's a good enough excuse for the weird difficulty imbalance.
Mechanicus is worth your time if this genre or IP appeals to you. It's on GamePass and it is frequently on Steam and GoG sales for $5. Take it for a spin, you'll beat it in 6-12 hours on your first run.
Fun fact: As much as anything Warhammer related, this game is filled to the brim with deep lore. So here's a piece which many may not know: Flayed-ones (those melee-only Necrons) are regular troops which suffer from a degenerative disease. They do not recognize well their new identities as robots and are often obsessed with flesh (to the point of wearing ripped skin).