FROM SOFTWARE WITH YET ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE PANTHEON OF VIDEO GAMES (8.5/10)

This is yet another excellent title from arguably the most talented video game development company at the moment (Demon's Souls, Dark Souls Trilogy, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring). Its gameplay is fast, with many options and enjoyable, the story and lore very interesting and told in a very clever and unique way (the new game plus and plus+2 playthroughs reveal further elements about it) and the themes are memorable, especially when so successfully intertwined with the game's mechanics. Probably the game with the best technical performance from the company (perhaps along with Sekiro), divine art direction and engineering/mechanical design of the robots, and an excellent soundtrack woven with the aesthetics and the deep human emotions that the story and gameplay evoke. The artistic sensitivity of FromSoftware's ARTISTS is also undeniable here. Just try it and it will not disappoint you, provided of course you persist against its initially steep difficulty curve.

This game may not be for everyone. But for fans of mech games, it's top tier. That's not to say other people will not enjoy it. I usually play fantasy rpgs and never shooters or sci-fi games.
Story wise, it has a style similar to Dark Souls/Elden Ring. That being you get minimal plot through dialogue and cutscenes and you have to put together information you gather from collectibles or item descriptions. That and exploring the game's different endings. With that said, people probably don't play a mech game for an immersive story but to shoot and blow things up in a giant robot suit of death.
Contrary to other FromSoftware games difficulty is not a main focus and many of the game's challenges can be trivialised with the right build.
Speaking of builds, it's incredible how many options there are. Part of this game's appeal is experimenting with parts to build the right mech for the situation (or just what's more fun to you). I've spent as much time building mechs as playing with them. For example, I made an AC for my brother that can fly and hover infinitely, consistently raining down bullets and rockets. I named it Topler (cause it's always on top).
And the gameplay is great. There's not much to say other than it being extremely fun and very empowering. Seeing the result of your build is a unique feeling that you can't get from other games.
What this game does better than any other FromSoft game is the PvP. Going against other builds never gets old, considering the gameplay aspect of AC vs AC combat. Playing against friends and organizing mini tournaments is one of the best gaming experiences out there.
I've seen some complaints about the graphics, but they've never been the studio's focus. Personally, I'd rather have a fun game that plays well than an overpriced movie. Even so, I think they game looks good.

90% of my first playthrough was miserable. Many bosses were overtuned (Cel-240, for example), half or more of the weapons were not viable, and the story was simply sleep-inducing. In the last 2 hours, after unlocking the good weapons, I managed to create a decent build and finally started enjoying myself, while the story also started to become somewhat interesting.

The second and third playthroughs were like day and night. I went in with a full build and everything was fine. The endings and the whole plot made more sense and had nothing to do with the disability and boredom I felt at the beginning. Of course, it's not a matter of "git gud," it never was. It's about finding what works and what doesn't. What I never liked about the game is the reload times, which are way too slow compared to the game's tempo and disrupt the flow. Additionally, tank builds are by far the best way to approach the game.

Finally, I will say that one main aspect that holds FromSoft back hasn't improved yet, and that is the storytelling. Many things happen, but we see very few, and in the end, we rely on VaatiVidya to tell us some fancy theory so that we can understand the overall picture of the plot. I wish there was more coherence in the game, so that we could fully experience its good moments instead of wondering what, who, and where.

I am a big fan of mech games, which we haven't seen for many years, and on the other hand, Frost Software has released some very good games. Unfortunately, I expected it to be much better.
The positives are the movement of the mech, the bosses and the difficulty of some, the customization that gives you plenty of options, and the beautiful weapon effects.

On the other hand, we have a boring story that you simply overlook. Also, the presentation becomes tiresome as you mainly learn it through a voice in which the voice acting is not the best. Also, it interrupts during missions.

For a game in 2023, the graphics (with some exceptions) were below average. There were no details that should have been there, especially on objects and the environment. For example, there were enemies that looked like simple metal boxes, the objects around you and the environment itself gave a sense of cheapness with many one-dimensional objects and surfaces made of metal, dirt, or snow that were very flat. However, the mech itself and several of the bosses were quite good, as well as the effects. I didn't like the tank at all in terms of movement and appearance, as it didn't give me the feeling of a robot, although this is purely a personal preference.

The missions themselves had variations in difficulty, interest, and completion time. Overall, I wasn't thrilled.

The difficulty of the game is real in several bosses, personally I consider this a very positive aspect, it would be negative if the difficulty was due to bad mechanics. In general, you can experiment with customization and try different strategies.

Overall, if you are looking for a single-player mech game with a good combat system to play, I would recommend it. On one hand, there is nothing else like it, on the other hand, while it definitely has several flaws, the battles with the bosses and maybe some other enemies will satisfy many to enjoy a few hours. I would give it a 7 out of 10