MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries

 PC
User Score
5.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 292 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 106 out of 292
  2. Mixed: 63 out of 292
  3. Negative: 123 out of 292

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  1. EerieDemonble
    Dec 6, 2021
    6
    It's not a great game for sure.

    - Graphics are average to bad - Story is boring and full of cliches - Game balance are all over the place +++ Soundtrack on the other hand is absolute banger 10/10! I'm not sure when we gonna see next Mechwarrior game. At this moment this is the best we have. But after patches, 2 DLCs and some awesome community mods, I'm not gonna lie - I'm having    It's not a great game for sure.

    - Graphics are average to bad
    - Story is boring and full of cliches
    - Game balance are all over the place
    +++ Soundtrack on the other hand is absolute banger 10/10!

    I'm not sure when we gonna see next Mechwarrior game. At this moment this is the best we have.
    But after patches, 2 DLCs and some awesome community mods, I'm not gonna lie - I'm having fun with carrier mode.    … Expand
  2. VoidWinter
    Jun 5, 2021
    5
    Ok, ok. The actual combat is fun, but really, that's where the good stuff stops. WHERE IS THE MOST ICONIC OMNIMECH IN THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE? You SERIOUSLY made a friggin mechwarrior game without the Mad Cat / Timber Wolf? WHAT THE EFF WERE YOU THINKING??? INEXCUSABLE! Really, looking at the lineup of mechs in the game just makes me grumble. Almost all my favorites didn't make the cut.Ok, ok. The actual combat is fun, but really, that's where the good stuff stops. WHERE IS THE MOST ICONIC OMNIMECH IN THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE? You SERIOUSLY made a friggin mechwarrior game without the Mad Cat / Timber Wolf? WHAT THE EFF WERE YOU THINKING??? INEXCUSABLE! Really, looking at the lineup of mechs in the game just makes me grumble. Almost all my favorites didn't make the cut. There are a few good ones here and there but by and large, the list is dominated by weaker, less fun-to-play mechs. There are parts that just boggle my mind, like being unable to both repair and refit a mech at the same time. It just feels like extra, unnecessary steps to slow you down and pad things out. Even how the mechs are organized gets on my nerves. You sort them by mass, not alphabetically. The tutorials also left a lot to be desired. FAR too much was left out, leaving me frustrated trying to figure out how to hire pilots, organize my mechs, and even put weapons on them. The mechs are far less flexible than in previous games and the execution of playing with your loadouts (what little you can do) was overcomplicated and difficult to understand initially. But when it comes down to it, it IS a mechwarrior game, even if only just barely. A game with good meat, sandwiched in terrible bread and strange, inappropriate condiments.… Expand
  3. quetzal1
    Oct 3, 2020
    7
    I understand why people are disappointed. In my opinion this game was saved by the modding community. I enjoyed playing with mods to remove all the annoying aspects, have a user-friendly interface, and acceptable AI. Would've given 10 if all the work by the modding community were already done by the developers.
  4. Urye
    Jun 21, 2022
    6
    the story is only okay and the battle map size isn't very impressive and too small
  5. RynCage
    Dec 11, 2019
    6
    MechWarrior 5 does little more than provide the bare minimum to meet expectations, while doing very little to innovate or move the franchise into the modern era.

    While the game looks and sounds decent, you'll often be met with some awful pop-in and generic rock soundtracks. The story is serviceable enough to introduce newcomers to the setting, but nothing to write home about. The    MechWarrior 5 does little more than provide the bare minimum to meet expectations, while doing very little to innovate or move the franchise into the modern era.

    While the game looks and sounds decent, you'll often be met with some awful pop-in and generic rock soundtracks. The story is serviceable enough to introduce newcomers to the setting, but nothing to write home about.

    The gameplay while solid, is brought down by AI that somehow manages to be worse than games from 20 years ago.
    Such features include: Friendly AI getting stuck on terrain. Stuck on one another. Never using jump jets, Shooting you and each other in the back. Moving into your line of fire and blocking you constantly. Running into and damaging structures you are supposed to be protecting. Randomly decided to stop following you or engage in targets. Teammates just barely managing to follow instructions, if they aren't outright ignoring them.
    Let's not forget that enemy mechs and tanks will spawn out of thin air mere inches away from you during some missions.

    The mechlab is bare bones and a step backwards in the franchise. A system of hardpoint, size and slot limitations [multiple smaller weapons cannot fit into larger slots. 1 slot, 1 weapon.] mean that a very clear meta develops and you often find yourself ignoring or glossing over a large variety of mechs due to being limited to terrible loadouts. Neither is the progression system polished enough to really ever force you into using these less than optimal units outside of what the game starts you with.

    Since mission variety only ever boils down to "destroy the everything" and PGI's idea of difficulty is "throw more tonnage at you", Light mechs are quickly left in the dust and forgotten about, So you can go ahead and forget about buying that rare spider hero mech, it belonged in the trash before you ever even found it.

    Co-op is completely unbalanced due to the fact that the AI is sub 100 IQ, and with no other way to adjust difficulty outside of "take a light mech instead of a medium", you'll never be challenged outside of self-handicap.
    Never mind that the game is EGS exclusive for a year and lacks every quality of life feature you can think of.

    The framework for an amazing game is here, but what we were given is held back by various shortcomings that show that the project wasn't ready for release, The money behind it just ran out. Modding has the potential to turn this game into something incredible, but that might even be asking too much. As much as i love the franchise and wish to see it do well, i can't earnestly recommend the game in its current state. You'll be better off waiting for the steam release and seeing what mods are available at that time.    … Expand
  6. Octomort
    Dec 15, 2019
    6
    OK, could have done better, after 17 years!

    This is an update from my review 24 hours after release. will leave the original. Imagine the Mona Lisa, all the elements of a classic. Grace, beauty, mystery, plus blowing the crap out of things!. Now imagine the Mona Lisa drawn with Kindergarden Crayons. Not a Christmas treat. Perhaps Easter or Summer Hols. I suggest you wait till the    OK, could have done better, after 17 years!

    This is an update from my review 24 hours after release. will leave the original.
    Imagine the Mona Lisa, all the elements of a classic. Grace, beauty, mystery, plus blowing the crap out of things!. Now imagine the Mona Lisa drawn with Kindergarden Crayons.
    Not a Christmas treat. Perhaps Easter or Summer Hols. I suggest you wait till the price drops at least 8 GBP/EURO/USD.
    Worth playing just not at the release price.

    below my original release day review.

    The intro is long and uninteresting.
    The voice acting is OK but the scripts are bland.
    Visually not magnificent but good for the genre. ( I have a PC which easily runs everything at max graphics)

    I do not feel as fully immersed as with previous titles. Ok 17 years later but I'm a middle-age gamer so not that much of a change in my outlook as say from 13 to 30 yoa.
    Mek AI bloody awful! they close and run around in a circle centred on your mek, most of the time.
    Lance mates have a habit of stealing your kills, which is OK as they, Lance mates, are much more effective than in previous titles. Oddly they seem to use dance (for position) and dodge tactics as you would in a mek, not running around in circles. So why don't the opponent AI's do the same?
    Mission always seem to end up in a base either defending destroying or assassinating. In bases you are constantly demolishing buildings as manoeuvring space is far more tight than even the city combat in MW4.
    After each mission you have to do a first person walk through the mek hall up the stairs to get to the bridge (where all out-of-mission management takes place) every time, every sodding time!

    Burst fire projectile cannons are now worth having, good in mission sound and graphics when firing them. There is a version of the Auto cannon (5 and 10 and 20) that fires a burst of shells in one go and it is actually balanced, heavy on the ammo but not so as to put you off tweaking your mek.
    The mission landscape feels small. I know I am in a 10m tall mek but mountains are usually a bit taller than that. The scale feels wrong. Quite easy to get stopped by pieces of landscape.
    The pilot interface works for me. All meks now have a 2x zoom on the mouse wheel by default.

    The star map is huge, I mean really big, I mean huge!
    i like the way the actual contract side works. you can negotiate between extra money, extra salvage or insurance for damage to meks. yep you can get your employer to pay for your repairs.
    The star-map is divided into the various houses/factions but there are also clearly defined war zones. The latter is where you get contracts. But in a war zone materiel is scarce and so repairs and upgrades cost more, maybe even a third more. There are industrial planets where things are cheaper, but this takes you out of the warzone and away from C-bill making contracts. So far I would give the strategic side an 8/9.

    I will soldier on (pun intended) with the campaign (had it just 24 hours at time of posting this).

    if you have not yet bought it hold back and see what others say or if the price drops.    … Expand
  7. Kazurath
    Dec 10, 2019
    7
    Are you a Mechwarrior/Pilot Sim fan? Guess what, no big surprise, you'll enjoy this game. It's Mechwarrior, it's a pilot sim, it exceeds no expectations and meets most.

    It needs major improvement in 3 areas: 1) HOTAS control management, recognition, and customization. While present, it feels like a grudging addition. Personally I want one-directional throttle control with a reverse    Are you a Mechwarrior/Pilot Sim fan? Guess what, no big surprise, you'll enjoy this game. It's Mechwarrior, it's a pilot sim, it exceeds no expectations and meets most.

    It needs major improvement in 3 areas:
    1) HOTAS control management, recognition, and customization. While present, it feels like a grudging addition. Personally I want one-directional throttle control with a reverse modifier. I can't do this in the base settings.

    2a) Targeting. HOTAS targeting is an insultingly bad joke. There needs to be a targeting reticule for auto-lock inside said reticule. Mouse targeting is superior as if comparing it to controller targeting.
    2b) Target acquisition. I'm not sure if radar is a thing in this game. It is, but it isn't. You can only track what's actively shooting you or if it's in your LoS. Did it move behind a building? Might as well have a cloak engaged. The game also has an annoying habit of spawning enemies in behind you.

    3) "Human" piloting. I would have been happy with a copy/paste of mech controls for the human walk about portions, but no, not even that is there. You need to break out WSAD if you're using a HOTAS for these sections.    … Expand
  8. Vortyrion
    Dec 13, 2019
    6
    This is not a MechWarior simulator, this a not well done arcade game for children that want to go pew-pew-pew with giant "robots".
    There isn't enough Mech equipment customization. The "build and maintain your own mercenary Mech company" element is shallow. Diplomacy with the different houses is irrelevant. The game economic is totally unbalanced.. The mission are also poorly done. The    This is not a MechWarior simulator, this a not well done arcade game for children that want to go pew-pew-pew with giant "robots".
    There isn't enough Mech equipment customization. The "build and maintain your own mercenary Mech company" element is shallow. Diplomacy with the different houses is irrelevant. The game economic is totally unbalanced.. The mission are also poorly done. The only challenging think that they came up with is to spawn more enemies around you. Often popping up to existence just several meters behind youq on in some cases just in front of you. The UI looks like was left unchanged from the Alpha version
    Honestly I'm flabbergasted how this game is so unfinished and not well made. The game was in development so much time , with the experience and the assets from the MWO    … Expand
  9. supe
    Jan 1, 2020
    5
    Even as a veteran of the MW series (including the original MW on floppy disk), I can't recommend this mess. The first few hours of the game feels good. But the gameplay is repetitive and the design is frustrating.

    Pros: - Hilariously amateurish intro cutscene, which is a pro for the laughs - Mech variety, piloting, and shooting mechanics are excellent Cons: - Limited mech    Even as a veteran of the MW series (including the original MW on floppy disk), I can't recommend this mess. The first few hours of the game feels good. But the gameplay is repetitive and the design is frustrating.

    Pros:
    - Hilariously amateurish intro cutscene, which is a pro for the laughs
    - Mech variety, piloting, and shooting mechanics are excellent

    Cons:
    - Limited mech customization, since each mech has specific equipment hardpoints
    - Only two mission types: defense, and several variations of blow-something-up-at-waypoint-X
    - Randomly generated maps are so devoid of features they might as well be the same
    - Difficulty spikes towards mid-game because of several flaws:
    --- Enemies spawn out of thin air near you, sometimes right in front of your line of sight
    --- As your reputation (effectively your level) increases, you get access to bigger mechs. But enemies have bigger mechs x greater numbers x greater accuracy. Most mission types become unplayable, and even expertly skilled players will be hard pressed to break even on C-bills factoring in repairs. I think they play tested in god mode.

    There's a foundation for a good game here, as I did enjoy the first few hours. Hopefully the modding community can do something with it.

    If you like MW, revisit in a year.    … Expand
  10. Xolbadur
    Dec 12, 2019
    5
    Overall, this is a pretty mediocre game, which is a suprisingly amount of fun.

    Pros: -Mechs feel great to control -guns feel powerful -nice hit feedback -good sound design -effects look great Cons: -long loading times -enemies spawn often right behind or even inside you -coop in campaign feels like a late edition, since the people joining can't even hear the story NPCs talk,    Overall, this is a pretty mediocre game, which is a suprisingly amount of fun.

    Pros:
    -Mechs feel great to control
    -guns feel powerful
    -nice hit feedback
    -good sound design
    -effects look great

    Cons:
    -long loading times
    -enemies spawn often right behind or even inside you
    -coop in campaign feels like a late edition, since the people joining can't even hear the story NPCs talk, neither can they modify mechs
    -graphical glitches with a weird pixelation ghosting effect    … Expand
  11. SeloJRPG
    Dec 12, 2019
    5
    This game is just Mechwarrior Online with updated graphics.
    ALL the sounds are directly taken from MWO.
    The UI and controls are exactly the same, but looks worse. The story is exactly like Battletech, This game is pretty much the FPS version of the same game. The hangar graphics is laughable and the NPCs looks like they are taken from Half Life 1. I would give this game 5/10 and thats    This game is just Mechwarrior Online with updated graphics.
    ALL the sounds are directly taken from MWO.
    The UI and controls are exactly the same, but looks worse.
    The story is exactly like Battletech, This game is pretty much the FPS version of the same game.
    The hangar graphics is laughable and the NPCs looks like they are taken from Half Life 1.
    I would give this game 5/10 and thats beeing kind tbh.    … Expand
  12. Subtext
    Dec 10, 2019
    6
    What a missed opportunity. the game play and graphics are nearly as good as mechwarrior online, a game by the same company?!? If they had at least used that as a base to build this one on it would have been ok. The story and voice acting is garbage
  13. faijeya
    Dec 14, 2019
    5
    It's a misguided game.

    First of all, it fails to form a narrative. The absolute majority of missions seems procedurally generated and is replicable in instant action. Even the voiceover is the same. Only you don't need to grind for mechs and weapons in instant action or care about repair costs. The story is as generic and basic as a committee-approved fantasy. Even something as    It's a misguided game.

    First of all, it fails to form a narrative.

    The absolute majority of missions seems procedurally generated and is replicable in instant action. Even the voiceover is the same. Only you don't need to grind for mechs and weapons in instant action or care about repair costs.
    The story is as generic and basic as a committee-approved fantasy. Even something as simple and self-contradictory as: "My home city was destroyed by mechwarriors. So I grew to be a mechwarrior myself to kill as many of these bastards as possible." would've given a better narrative hook.
    There is little to no sense of direction on the starmap. The Elite: Dangerous problem, vast as an ocean, deep as a puddle. I guess I should progress through conflict zones, maybe? And they have convenient production hubs nearby to support my business, okay. The quality of equipment offered seems to correspond to the level of the player's outfit, so no shortcuts.

    Isn't that applicable also to widely acclaimed (liked it, but not loved it) Battletech? Or Starsector if you're a connoisseur? Yep. But let's now go to the core.

    The core works almost well, except for two issues.

    First of all, the visibility range for ground units is way too low, more suited for a fast-paced online shooter.
    Second, the map generator likes to spawn tanks very, very much.
    Fast-paced online shooters are great, combined arms are also great, but they don't mix well.
    Yep, even in-battle spawns (isn't it just great when a mech with its tanks posse spawns 250 meters behind you in an already cleared area?) pale in comparison.

    They pale because these conditions force you to play in a perfectly average, jack-of-all-trades way on samey procedurally generated maps.
    You can't realize your speed, because you'll run into a horde of tanks and turrets who'll make your life pretty mizerable. It's pretty hard to realize long-range weaponry because you tend to see ground stuff just about in the range of a medium lazer. The abundance of relatively soft and relatively hard-hitting targets makes you favor high-DPM weapons as opposed to high-alpha.
    You've got to move at an average pace and you'd better have a healthy mix of close and mid and a bit of long range weaponry and a healthy amount of armor to tank the inevitable damage. If you're into micromanaging your AI teammates with specialized builds... maybe modded out Battletech is more suitable for this purpose?

    Hmmm, what does this aversion of things like laser boats or missile boats or flying snipers or speedy glass cannons or anything overpowered (i.e. fun) remind me of?..
    Yeah, that's your F2P MMO balance in the game you paid for, only with the nice premium bits chopped off.

    So it goes.    … Expand
  14. wind79
    Dec 11, 2019
    6
    Game is way too similar to MWO and I don't see much upgrade over MWO.
    Overall, I am disappointed as this game can deliver so much more.
  15. Juberberry
    Jun 30, 2020
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First I am a long time Mechwarrior player. I played the original Battletech Wargame with minis as well as the Mechwarrior bolt-on RPG.

    I have played literally every Mechwarrior game as soon as I could. I've given this game time. 6+ months I have had some fun, but I am sadly disappointed with the overall game. The mod community has been valiantly fixing and rebalancing things. Because of the mod community, the game is far better than it has any right to be.

    Sadly, when you buy this game, money goes to Pihrana Games and they can **** off.

    The story is tired and cliche. You are the son of a MW Merc. Your father is killed when your family compound is attacked during a training session with dad. No setup. No effort to make you care about the characters.

    The base combat without mods is meh. Mech editing without mods is very disappointing. The Mech HUD is very basic without mods. Pretty much anything about this game without mods is sad.

    Bugs in combat are annoying but not game-breaking. The most annoying one I have encountered is that on a frequent basis, during a mission, the lance command system (which is alright) bugs out and you have to just muddle along without giving your lance any orders at all. I've had to restart multiple missions due to this bug and the fact that without ordering my lance we win with a lot of damage.

    With all that said, I was having a fair amount of fun. Maybe even a 7/10 amount of fun, but the killer is the maps. I played 4 defense missions, and all 4 missions had the same map and a very similar enemy makeup. The only real change was weather/biome. This is true for most missions. They re-use the same maps over and over and once you learn a map, the missions get pretty boring.

    The only reason I gave this a rating out of the red is mod support. Without the mod support, it would be a 3/10    … Expand
  16. cyr1ak
    May 9, 2020
    5
    I'm a great fan of everything Mechwarrior and knowing this developers other try on franchise i was cautious approaching this game.
    Don't get me wrong with all its shortcomings combat is the best part of this game (and as its purely PVE balance does not mean much) - but i was expecting this much.
    What i was afraid of was everything else and unfortunately i was right. Campaign is dull and    I'm a great fan of everything Mechwarrior and knowing this developers other try on franchise i was cautious approaching this game.
    Don't get me wrong with all its shortcomings combat is the best part of this game (and as its purely PVE balance does not mean much) - but i was expecting this much.
    What i was afraid of was everything else and unfortunately i was right.
    Campaign is dull and unfinished, insides of a ship are annoying - i don't see a point of running around every time i finish a mission... running 50 times up the same narrow and glitchy stairs is really frustrating... and you know what's really disappointing ? there is nothing that feels finished, even campaign missions often feel auto-generated.
    Basically it feels like smaller uglier MWO with crappy AI as opposed to actual thinking human pilots.

    this game would be ok for 10 dollars but for 50-60? (and a ton of dlc's) WTF?

    What i must say this game is still more entertaining than annoying and when completed (knowing the studio that will be never) could be good...

    its a mobile game for the price of AAA game    … Expand
  17. Chaingun
    May 9, 2020
    6
    The basic combat is fun and once you get a bit into the game, with cash and experienced pilots things become cool as you seek out new mechs. However, two things are horrible about this game. Blowing legs off enemy mechs slows them for 1 second, then they run around at full speed again. And the worst part of the game? Your "friendly" AI. This AI sucks. Your teammates will do almostThe basic combat is fun and once you get a bit into the game, with cash and experienced pilots things become cool as you seek out new mechs. However, two things are horrible about this game. Blowing legs off enemy mechs slows them for 1 second, then they run around at full speed again. And the worst part of the game? Your "friendly" AI. This AI sucks. Your teammates will do almost as much damage to you as the enemy as they shoot your from the rear. They don't listen to commands all the time and they often destroy as much of bases you are tasked to protect as the enemy. Often i find myself just bailing on a mission and killing them out of pure frustration.… Expand
  18. MaChIIInA
    Dec 10, 2019
    5
    If you like Battletech in general you will likely find some fun to be had in this title but overall this game is a poor effort in the MechWarrior franchise.

    Cons - - AI are barely functional at times with VTOLs often killing themselves in my playtime due to collisions with terrain. - Graphics are inconsistent, ranging from PlayStation 2 Era to somewhat decent. - Voice acting is    If you like Battletech in general you will likely find some fun to be had in this title but overall this game is a poor effort in the MechWarrior franchise.

    Cons -

    - AI are barely functional at times with VTOLs often killing themselves in my playtime due to collisions with terrain.

    - Graphics are inconsistent, ranging from PlayStation 2 Era to somewhat decent.

    - Voice acting is also inconsistent, ranging from truly bad to serviceable at times.

    - Cut scenes are fairly embarrassing due to poor direction, voice acting and somehow at times even worse visuals despite still being in-engine.

    Pros -

    - Game play feels familiar to those who have spent time in MechWarrior Online but with a bit more weightiness.

    - A fair bit of destructibility provides a some excitement to the visuals.

    - Salvage, repair and different levels of weapon quality add some depth to your play through in a way very reminiscent of if not directly copied from the recent Battletech title.

    - As with salvage and weapons, this game has mission structure and rewards very reminiscent of the Battletech title as you hop from planet to planet completing contracts in the form of quick skirmishes which inevitably results in perhaps the highest replay ability in the franchise assuming you enjoy the game enough to keep playing.    … Expand
  19. Lucinator
    Dec 12, 2019
    5
    First off if your just reading the first part of the review ill spell it out, The game is playable but has some major flaws. Good news is that they are fixable with patches or mods so there is hope yet.

    Now for the long version. And im not gonna mince words, for a game delayed for a year and a half it is disappointing. I have it a good shot and put some 20+ hours into the game before    First off if your just reading the first part of the review ill spell it out, The game is playable but has some major flaws. Good news is that they are fixable with patches or mods so there is hope yet.

    Now for the long version. And im not gonna mince words, for a game delayed for a year and a half it is disappointing. I have it a good shot and put some 20+ hours into the game before making a judgement. I was really hoping this game would offer more than it did but sadly no. so lets break it down.

    Gameplay: The gameplay is surprisingly solid.from a combat standpoint, if you liked MWO style combat you will feel right at home. Combat feels good though there is some balancing that would be nice. However I dont like the lack of environmental effects on your mech this has been a core of the Mechwarrior franchise and it seems to be lacking. If it does exist its not marked anywhere and I have played on lava and ice planets and not noticed enough to want to make me change my load-out. Lastly there is the issue of the A.I. IT SUCKS, I ream really sucks, enemy units running into each other, and walls and off cliffs, you get the idea. Your allies are not any better, in missions like base defense they usually cause more damage than the enemy. The fact that the lance commands are essentially the same as MW3 from 1997 should be a big clue. I would have loved more detailed commands such as hold position but keep firing or form a battleline. Thankfully the environmental factors is a easy fix, and the A.I. while more tricky should be possible (and it really is needed).

    Campaign:Most of the basics of the campaign are really good they took most of what Battletech PC did and thats a good thing, Open world, reputation and the ability to negotiate contracts are all great. However it is telling that the areas where they differ from Battletech is where the game falls short. The repair system is one big issue given how its implemented. Any battle damage you have to pay for, including armor, this drags the game way down and would have been much better if ti had been just structure/weapons like in Battletech. Also the game has a steep learning curve, you are really dropped to the wolves right from the start. The game hurts you for mistakes(badly) All of this is exacerbated the major flaw; the game has no difficulty settings, at all. For a modern single player game this is a mortal sin. Another problem is the lack of depth in the missions. There are hints of good ideas in some of the story missions that would really have been nice to see in "random" missions (turret generators and mobile field bases im looking at you). the **** AI doesnt help. Lastly the characters themselves are completely one dimensional if that you see no real emotion and develop no bonding with any of the characters (including your own).

    Graphics: While a relatively minor issue the fact that the graphics are the same as MWO which came out in the late 2000's put the graphics 10 years out of date.    … Expand
  20. Mopar63
    Dec 11, 2019
    5
    I am sad that I was proven right. Even with the delays and infusion of cash the game feel uncompleted. The graphics are good but not a massive update over MWO. The mech scaling to world feels off, no melee and the combat while okay feels uninspired.

    The premise of the game is solid but it feels like they took the excellent game, Battletech, and turned it into a shooter. The voice    I am sad that I was proven right. Even with the delays and infusion of cash the game feel uncompleted. The graphics are good but not a massive update over MWO. The mech scaling to world feels off, no melee and the combat while okay feels uninspired.

    The premise of the game is solid but it feels like they took the excellent game, Battletech, and turned it into a shooter. The voice acting is a wild mix of poor acting and poor scripts.

    This is what we have come to expect with Piranha making a Mechwarrior game. For $25 I would consider it a fair buy, for $50 way overpriced and if you kept your pre-order, you got robbed.    … Expand
  21. wiski
    Dec 12, 2019
    6
    I am having fun with the game (more fun when playing with my friends in my lance), but it just feels unfinished in general, and there are a lot of seemingly simple and obvious things that could have been done to make the game better. And as someone else I saw mentioned, they got many of the assets for this game from Mechwarrior Online, so they weren't starting from scratch, which makes howI am having fun with the game (more fun when playing with my friends in my lance), but it just feels unfinished in general, and there are a lot of seemingly simple and obvious things that could have been done to make the game better. And as someone else I saw mentioned, they got many of the assets for this game from Mechwarrior Online, so they weren't starting from scratch, which makes how unfinished the game feels even worse. I can see my score going up easily with some basic improvements that probably should have been in the game from the start (better menus, better mission design, enemies that don't spawn behind you constantly and make missions feel like and endless gunfight, any customization to your character, be it name or portrait, company logo customization, having NPC's actually look at you when they're talking to you, players in your game at least being able to look into menus and loadouts of mechs as opposed to only being able to wander the ship and do nothing else, etc...)

    There is just a lot of basic stuff that needs improvement, but from what I gather from people who have been playing MWO and know PGI (developers), who knows if those improvements will be made. My bottom line is that the game was feeling a bit frustrating to me playing alone, is MUCH more fun with friends, but in the end it does not feel finished despite all the ready made assets PGI had from MWO to lessen their workload.    … Expand
  22. Ming120
    Dec 16, 2019
    5
    The game is a bit of a mixed bag.

    What it does well is implement the formula that made Mechwarrior: Online addictive. The weapon mechanics, the feel of the mechs you pilot, and the destruction are all fairly top notch. Most of the missions in Mechwarrior 5 and procedural generated, which for better or for worst, does create a slightly less predictable gaming experience. The    The game is a bit of a mixed bag.

    What it does well is implement the formula that made Mechwarrior: Online addictive. The weapon mechanics, the feel of the mechs you pilot, and the destruction are all fairly top notch. Most of the missions in Mechwarrior 5 and procedural generated, which for better or for worst, does create a slightly less predictable gaming experience. The progression requires a bit of a grind, but is satisfying once you unlock/purchase better mechs and equipment to take into battle.

    What Mechwarrior 5 does not do so well is pretty much everything else. There is way too much to talk about, so I will just list them: lack of story telling or character development; lack of customization to both mechs and your mercenary company; lack of lore; repetitive grind; always facing massive amounts of enemy AI (almost arcade-like); static NPCs between missions in a 3d-rendered mechbay; enemies just spawn in-front of you; and really just an overall lack of quality.

    On it's own merits, Mechwarrior 5 would probably pass as an addictive arcade game. But compared to all other Mechwarrior/Battletech games, this is pretty mediocre.    … Expand
  23. Mr_Impulsive
    Jan 1, 2020
    7
    Being a fan of the original Mechwarrior series I have to say Mechwarrior 5 is a lot like the originals in many ways. It's pretty much the same game loop with a few added perks, not saying at all this game is bad but it is basically a modern version of the originals. That being said I adore this fact but the game does fall short in some areas.

    The game has a huge galactic map with    Being a fan of the original Mechwarrior series I have to say Mechwarrior 5 is a lot like the originals in many ways. It's pretty much the same game loop with a few added perks, not saying at all this game is bad but it is basically a modern version of the originals. That being said I adore this fact but the game does fall short in some areas.

    The game has a huge galactic map with areas controlled by other factions giving you loads of replay. However the grind is real and starts to get very repetitive after 30 hours or so. The customization of the mechs is on point, quite the assortment of weapons and equip including unique and rare items.

    The game sounds great, I love hearing a ballistic weapon pounding on mech armor and the distant explosions from your fellow lance members destroying mechs and buildings. The ai in the game decent, they recently updated how ai spawns in and acts in combat and I noticed quite a difference in how the ai plays along side of you now. I would say it's improved compared to the initial launch.

    Overall it's a solid mechwarrior with fun combat and great sound, it carries all the mechwarrior universe lore you can handle. To me it feels like it could have more and not feel so empty and grindy and repetitive.    … Expand
  24. Chogokin
    Jan 17, 2020
    6
    A friend of mine is a streamer, and showed off Mechwarrior 5 to me recently. I decided to buy it, because I like the idea of some live-action, coop big stompy robot fun. I've been playing for several days, and I do somewhat regret my decision. I've been scouring the 'net today, looking for other reviews, and I'm kind of surprised by how many largely positive reviews have been showing up onA friend of mine is a streamer, and showed off Mechwarrior 5 to me recently. I decided to buy it, because I like the idea of some live-action, coop big stompy robot fun. I've been playing for several days, and I do somewhat regret my decision. I've been scouring the 'net today, looking for other reviews, and I'm kind of surprised by how many largely positive reviews have been showing up on the some of the major game review sites. That said, even the positive reviews have hit some of the obvious flaws in MW5, so I wanted to bring up some that are less obvious.

    1. Is the entire universe white people? I know this may be a touchy subject, but in Harebrained Scheme's recent Battletech game, they give us a universe where a substantial number of the characters are diverse. In MW5, the main character is a white man, on a ship crewed by white people of various European backgrounds, and every time I've gone on a recruiting drive, I'm pretty sure all the random pilots have been quite... pale. It just strikes me as odd.

    2. What about customization? Most games these days at least offer the option of controlling your gender, as well as offering further options such as skin color, hair style, etc. It really doesn't matter a whole lot, as you never see really see the little blob of meat in your mech other than as a small picture when having important conversations with NPC's, but it does strike me as a pretty retro design decision. This extends to your mercenary team as well. For example, if you want a company color scheme, you have to repeatedly enter the paint scheme and color picker numbers in by hand for every mech. The ability to create a company scheme, or at least save paint jobs, would be great, and I'm surprised the game was released without this option. Likewise, although you are, at least, allowed to pick a name for your mercenary company, you're stuck with one insignia, a horse with a sword superimposed on its head.

    3. A 3D environment of limited usefulness. So, after you're through with the tutorial/introduction and are finally flying free in your Leopard dropship, you constantly find yourself deposited on the floor of your dropship, standing near your engineer, after every mission. This initially annoyed me, because the nearest console in your field of view, from which theoretically you could start repairing your mechs, planning the next mission, etc., is dead. That is to say, it's not an interactive object. I'd keep running to one end of the bay, up the stairs, back to the command room, to get into the command interface. It turns out this was a waste of time; if you go to your engineer, the console near him is active, and you can do everything you need to do from there. The thing is, it's not the closest console to your starting position, nor is it in your immediate field of view, and it looks identical to every other console on the floor of the dropship. Why bother putting in a 3D environment at all if it is largely non-interactive? There are so many cool things you could do in a 3D space: get in a lift and inspect your mechs, check out the inner corridors of the dropship, hang with the other pilots, etc. None of those things are actually possible in MW5.

    4. Artificial Unintelligence. I'm old enough that I started playing Battletech-based video games with Mechwarrior 2. I remember that as being challenging, but I don't recall details. I skipped Mechwarrior 3, but I did play Mechwarrior 4. I seem to recall that the AI had a weird propensity for sniping your left leg, so I developed the response of never putting anything explosive or useful in that leg, always making sure it was fully armored, and trying to keep it facing away from the enemy. I don't remember much else. Playing the recent Battletech game, the enemies are largely dangerous through numbers, and those godsforsaken SRM carriers, but they do take full advantage of the abilities of their mechs, such as using jump jets. In MW5, the only thing in the game that will ever use jump jets is you. You might as well strip 'em out of any mech your NPC pilots use and replace them with armor. Likewise, watch out in defense missions: your own team is more of a threat to the buildings than the enemy. This does go both ways: I remember a demolition mission where the enemy tanks and mechs ripped through more of their own city than I did.

    Summary
    The good: The game is fun, and battles look good, with special effects and lots of detailed carnage on the mechs and destructable buildings.

    The bad: Players who like a diverse universe, or who like greater control over the identity and appearance of the characters and organizations in their games, are going to be disappointed and frustrated. Perhaps more importantly, the AI is really pretty bad.

    The ugly: Save often and hit the Restart button if you feel that things went unfairly during a mission. I recommend installing 1 jump jet, because it is possible to get stuck on pieces of the terrain.    … Expand
  25. Sjalka
    Dec 15, 2019
    7
    What i like:
    - the semi-open world/pick your planet/contract ... generated random mission type (it is also what i do not like)
    - the weight and feeling of the vehicles is very well done. It does feel slow, heavy with a lot of punch and power. - a lot of destructible environment What i do not like: - many missions are just too simple .. missions do NOT offer various approaches (like    What i like:
    - the semi-open world/pick your planet/contract ... generated random mission type (it is also what i do not like)
    - the weight and feeling of the vehicles is very well done. It does feel slow, heavy with a lot of punch and power.
    - a lot of destructible environment

    What i do not like:
    - many missions are just too simple .. missions do NOT offer various approaches (like fast and light vs. heavy and slow) heavy and slow beats fast and light any day.
    - the AI is pitiful; plays light mechs the very same it plays assault mechs. enemies never coordinate strikes or show any hint of playing together in a kid of tactical way.
    - the performance is quite poor on my computer that is somewhere in the middle between recommended and minimum.

    Much of that can be patched. Mission content (i am sure they will add clan war/mechs via DLC) as well as mission types.

    So for now, it is a hopeful 7/10 with great potential to improve...    … Expand
  26. Isolani
    Dec 20, 2019
    7
    The combat kept me interested for a while. But once you hit reputation level 8, this game just gets stupid. The only missions that you can complete without taking millions of c-bills in damage are defense missions because there is a fairly low number of enemies to fight to complete the mission. Roughly 20-25 kills of mechs, copters, and tanks will finish a defense mission.

    Other    The combat kept me interested for a while. But once you hit reputation level 8, this game just gets stupid. The only missions that you can complete without taking millions of c-bills in damage are defense missions because there is a fairly low number of enemies to fight to complete the mission. Roughly 20-25 kills of mechs, copters, and tanks will finish a defense mission.

    Other mission types (Assassinations, Raids, Demolition, etc) you just get swarmed with an unending stream of enemies, often spawning behind you in areas you already cleared. By rep level 8, I finish these missions with 20+ mech kills, and 50+ tank/copters...unfortunately, I only have 4 mechs so by the time I finish these I have millions of c-bills in damage. It makes using nice upgraded weapons pointless because you are going to lose them 100% guaranteed in 1 or 2 missions.

    I am still limited to a drop weight of 230 tons for these rep L8 missions, so something like 2 65 tonners and 2 50 tonners...to fight dozens of mechs and 50+ tanks and copters.

    This game needs some serious balancing, or mods or something to fix the ridiculous amounts of enemies that spawn. And stop them from spawning behind you constantly. I actually enjoyed the combat until rep level 8, now I have no interest in even playing it. The whole rep thing feels pretty grindy for a single player game also.    … Expand
  27. Grimmblut
    Dec 20, 2019
    5
    With outdated graphics and boring, repetetive missions, Mechwarrior 5 would deserve a negative review. The just-so working co-op mode for the campaign makes for a mixed review.
  28. tyr8338
    Dec 17, 2019
    5
    Core elements like graphic, sound, mech customization, shooting mechanics are pretty good but this means nothig because this game gets really boring very quick, there are only a few types of missions you need to do over and over again on barely changing maps and there is rarely any story between this grind to next reputation level which takes hours.
  29. vanojan4
    Jan 16, 2020
    7
    I think people are being a bit harsh. While it's not without a fair share of faults, MW5 is otherwise a decent entry in the long-standing franchise.

    What I really appreciate is that it stays true to its roots and delivers solid, simulation-style gameplay. Loadout mechanics, economy management and strategic play are at the forefront here. They did not put all of the focus in action,    I think people are being a bit harsh. While it's not without a fair share of faults, MW5 is otherwise a decent entry in the long-standing franchise.

    What I really appreciate is that it stays true to its roots and delivers solid, simulation-style gameplay. Loadout mechanics, economy management and strategic play are at the forefront here. They did not put all of the focus in action, which I find pretty fun. The mech combat feels very good as well. You really feel the weight of the mech and the impact of the gigantic weapons as you stomp or blast through an enemy outpost or foliage.

    As I said, it has its fair share of faults. One of the biggest by far is the AI. They're constantly getting stuck, doing friendly fire damage, charging to their deaths or just straight-up stomping through a city we were hired to protect. It's incredibly frustrating! The best way I found to deal with their nonsense is by telling them park their Mech somewhere and shoot down enemies from afar.

    The other major game-breaking issue for me and a lot of others were the enemies constantly spawning right on top of you. From what I heard, this was not an intended mechanic but rather a bug. I circumvented it with a mod but from what I hear, they did release a hotfix for it.

    Given the budget and time constraints I'm sure they had to contend with, they did deliver something that I feel is a worthy entry to the long-standing franchise.    … Expand
  30. Sultanyegah
    Dec 29, 2019
    6
    First things first, game base is great. Combat mechanics and hangar (the feel of the mechs/scale) is nice, graphics are decent, BUT everything else is broken.

    1. Enemy spawns are very bad.. A dropship can unload 3 assault mechs right on top of you, or they can suddenly spawn 300 yards ahead of you on open terrain where you can see miles ahead and start to tear you down. Demolition    First things first, game base is great. Combat mechanics and hangar (the feel of the mechs/scale) is nice, graphics are decent, BUT everything else is broken.

    1. Enemy spawns are very bad..
    A dropship can unload 3 assault mechs right on top of you, or they can suddenly spawn 300 yards ahead of you on open terrain where you can see miles ahead and start to tear you down.
    Demolition missions can spawn endless mechs (based on both time and destruction percentage). So if you destroy the base fast, you get overwhelmed fast. If you go slow, you get overwhelmed by mechs yet again.

    2. AI is totally stupid. They don't obey your orders and are very eager to hit you or each other. They act like friendly mechs don't count as obstacles. They also act like friendly buildings don't exist.

    3. Most necessary AI commands are missing (like "hold position" or "stay ranged").

    4. Hardpoints are very few and fixed, mech customization is very low. No engine / chasis / armor adjustments.

    5. There's no "heat efficiency" gauge on mech customization screen.
    You won't know how a mech's heat efficiency is until you take the mech out and test it (which you need to do a few times to get the right setup, but the load times are very long).

    6. There's no real radar, you need to have visual contact with enemy to see them on radar, yet even when you have visual contact, if the target moves further than 825m (depending on weather I think), your target gets cleared. They can shoot you, but you can't target them.

    7. There're weapons with 1700m range, but your target reticule shows only +1250

    8. LRM locks are lost when your target gets cleared (target moves behind a building, target moves far and target is lost, you change your target, your mech shuts down due to heat). When this happens, previously locked missiles just bombard the ground. I think this even includes missiles sent by your team.

    9. Randomly generated terrains are sometimes pain to play.

    10. Universe is too big, with a lot of randomly generated missions, but feels like devoid of spirit, empty in the inside, built for just grind.

    11. Negotiation Bonus maximum limits are random, which makes some missions totally unprofitable. Worst part is, they can even randomly change between missions during multi-missions, totally killing your bonuses.

    12. Taking a clean mech out of cold storage and installing weapons takes 3 months!

    13. There's no game difficulty. Sometimes, randomly generated missions are so overwhelming that you don't stand a chance.

    14. Repair time and costs are very high in conflict zones, which forces you to travel safe planets to repair and travel back, which takes a lot of game time.

    15. There's no "ironman" mode.

    16. You can't sell mechs from cold storage, so you basically can carry 11 mechs. But there are multi-missions and different tonnage requirements, which a 11 mech hangar can't provide very well.

    All in all, this game would be perfect if it could be combined with BATTLETECH, but in current state it's more of a pain than enjoyment to play. It's like trying to play your much loved ball game with a broken leg.    … Expand
  31. Moojangle
    Dec 15, 2019
    5
    I've been a huge fan of Mechwarrior type games since I saw the opening intros in Mechwarrior 2. Graphically, I enjoy this game and to pilot a mech was great but I found some major issues in this game that can be resolved by the developers.

    1. Load-out. I really miss being able to replace a medium laser with a L Laser but unfortunately, you can't in this game as you are restricted    I've been a huge fan of Mechwarrior type games since I saw the opening intros in Mechwarrior 2. Graphically, I enjoy this game and to pilot a mech was great but I found some major issues in this game that can be resolved by the developers.

    1. Load-out. I really miss being able to replace a medium laser with a L Laser but unfortunately, you can't in this game as you are restricted based upon the 'size' of the weapon and what type of hardpoint. In other mechwarrior type games, you are mostly restricted based upon the type of hardpoint and are mostly limited by the tonnage of your mech. I hope in the future the size will be removed.

    2. Spawning. I had an enemy tank spawn pretty close to me (I'm guessing about 5 miles) while destroying a base.

    3. Graphically. I like the game.

    4. storyline / game content - You're a mercenary, there's going to be a lot of missions that will be similar.    … Expand
  32. LightnaCore
    Dec 16, 2019
    5
    The combat alone nets it a 5 to me as this is what I expect from a MechWarrior game. Solid combat experience and hard hitting weapons when applicable but that's where the good ends for me. The story is horribly generic and the voice actor for your character feels like he didn't even care. There are instances where he should have more emotion but instead says the same two words you've heardThe combat alone nets it a 5 to me as this is what I expect from a MechWarrior game. Solid combat experience and hard hitting weapons when applicable but that's where the good ends for me. The story is horribly generic and the voice actor for your character feels like he didn't even care. There are instances where he should have more emotion but instead says the same two words you've heard since the start of the game in the same exact way instead. Ryana and Spears have more emotion and experience in their respective voice actors although I am half expecting Spears to say "I didn't ask for this" considering it's the same voice actor as Adam Jensen from Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

    Pros:
    -Fine 'Mech combat that makes the game fun although it could be improved

    Cons:
    -Terribad story
    -Fahad's voice lines has more personality than the player character's, never mind the randomly generated pilots you can hire (tl;dr PC's voice actor didn't give a damn)
    -AI tends to cost your more C-bills than what should be expected imo
    -It's on the Epic Game Store    … Expand
  33. Cyph3rPunk
    Dec 16, 2019
    6
    I came in looking for something like that old MW2/MW2 Mercs gameplay. I got that but what I also got was a shallow husk of the original games.

    Where is my mech customization? Why am I locked that all the crit slots are hard locked to exact weapon types? The voice acting is flat as hell, and all the textures for the human models looks like they would be perfectly fine in Half Life    I came in looking for something like that old MW2/MW2 Mercs gameplay. I got that but what I also got was a shallow husk of the original games.

    Where is my mech customization? Why am I locked that all the crit slots are hard locked to exact weapon types?

    The voice acting is flat as hell, and all the textures for the human models looks like they would be perfectly fine in Half Life 2.

    AI is abysmal. Not only do your squad mates rarely listen, they will often go gung ho into random spots to their deaths. This seems to be how they balance the economy in the game because if your teammates weren't out there completely destroying your mechs, you would have zero issues with cash flow.

    I see some people also talking about texture pop-in, but how about those enemy pop ins? You know, when you blast that last tank of a wave and a mech spawns basically inside of you and shunts out out of that position? Happened to me several times so far.

    I guess my tl;dr of this game is that its really close to what most people would have wanted but it falls short on every single front. I'd say lets give it back to Activision to see what they can do, but I think they would destroy it like CoD. 6/10 because I do keep going back to play every now and then, and it scratches that nostalgic itch. If this was a new franchise it would be 3/10.    … Expand
  34. aidan0
    Jan 6, 2020
    6
    It's ok, but gets boring real fast.
    The controls could be a lot better. Radar could be a lot better.
    Endless spawning is just meh....

    After 10 ` 15 hour I couldn't be bother to do the same missions again and again.
  35. windalor
    Nov 14, 2021
    7
    great game but all the missions are pretty similar. For me, it was I run threw beat it once and don't see myself ever opening it agian. (75 ish hrs gameplay maybe)
  36. Bbfe
    Aug 2, 2022
    6
    pretty cool but all the missions are very similar to each other so they need to change things up
  37. Nfrjr
    Oct 4, 2022
    6
    It is only for the fan of the series, for them it's good enough. But I doubt the quality of this release can attract much new fans
  38. Gjtrjk
    Nov 28, 2022
    6
    was good to pass the time at least, i mean the learning curve maybe is too hard tho
  39. gshr
    Dec 14, 2022
    6
    Mechwarrior is a good addition to the long running series to be honest especially for fans
  40. aweg
    Feb 6, 2023
    6
    This was a game for people that's not too picky and just want to play it fast

Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. ZTGD
    Oct 7, 2021
    65
    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.
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  2. Hey Poor Player
    Jun 1, 2021
    70
    Mechwarrior 5 is for the detail-oriented mech fans who are willing to sacrifice immediate excitement and gratification for a more grounded simulation of what it would be like to pilot a massive mechanical monster. The career mode provided with this new expansion might please those who are craving more action from the base game, but there’s no new story to be had or any major gameplay additions to hook in anyone else. For the weighty price tag – Heroes of the Inner Sphere is only worth a purchase for those truly addicted to this more thoughtfully paced mecha-mercenary-em-up.
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  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 28, 2020
    80
    An excellent mech simulation, sophisticated management and a return to the old days in a modern form. Only the graphics could be better. [Issue#301]
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