I was a big fan of Mechwarrior back in the Activision days, and so the new Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries gameplay video that comes to us courtesy of Polygon hit me like a big ol’ wave of nostalgia. It’s ten minutes of stomping through a small outpost, blowing up everything in sight with lasers, rockets, and an AC5—and it looks just like the game I remember.
That’s not to say that it looks like a 20-year-old game, which obviously isn’t the case. But the style is almost dead-on: Blocky, non-interactive buildings assembled in the midst of a remote desert, nobody around to accidentally (or, you know, not) step on, explosions galore, and of course a soothing voice telling you that everything is going to be OK, because all systems are nominal.
Nostalgia aside, it’s fair to say that there’s not actually a whole lot going on in the video. The level is basically a punching bag for Stompy McGunhands, and the mech-on-mech action doesn’t start until about the halfway point. And the guys driving the opposing mechs aren’t exactly ELH elites, either. Obviously I hope (and expect) that the final product will offer significantly greater depth and detail that what we see here. Even so—and bearing in mind that this is obviously still in a very pre-release state—I think it looks really good. I was very disappointed when Mechwarrior Online arrived without a campaign, and so you better believe that I’m looking forward to this one.
Mechwarrior 5 won’t be out until late in 2018, but a playable demo will be available at MechCon, which will take place on December 9 in Vancouver, BC.