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. aweg
    Feb 6, 2023
    6
    This was a game for people that's not too picky and just want to play it fast
  2. gshr
    Dec 14, 2022
    6
    Mechwarrior is a good addition to the long running series to be honest especially for fans
  3. Gjtrjk
    Nov 28, 2022
    6
    was good to pass the time at least, i mean the learning curve maybe is too hard tho
  4. Vargas78
    Oct 11, 2022
    8
    It's a very solid Mechwarrior game that has improved quite a lot since it first launched back in late 2019.
  5. 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
  6. JuanDeLeon
    Aug 23, 2022
    0
    Trash. Graphics are early PS2 with some fancy lens flare thrown in. Texture pops are atrocious. Zero tutorials (oh they show you how to shoot the gun. They just don't explain the economy, or outfitting the mechs, or anything else.) Music is public domain, phone-on-hold grade. Armored Core 2 looked, played and sounded better than this.
  7. Bbfe
    Aug 2, 2022
    6
    pretty cool but all the missions are very similar to each other so they need to change things up
  8. Urye
    Jun 21, 2022
    6
    the story is only okay and the battle map size isn't very impressive and too small
  9. ay1556
    Jun 4, 2022
    0
    This game is very disappointing. Basically, this game is worse than Mechwarrior 4 in every way besides the graphics. Even the graphics are not stunning only better than the previous game.
  10. Vuld
    Mar 31, 2022
    8
    90h on Steam, DLC included. Love the game. Beyond tired of complaints.

    Main campaign was lackluster (and DLC campaign won't impress), game is grindy here and there and the meta can be exploited to trivialize it. Mechs can limit customization and there is no clan. ... So what. Graphisms are great, sounds are nice, battles are fun and can be intense. As a tactical it's doing a fine    90h on Steam, DLC included. Love the game. Beyond tired of complaints.

    Main campaign was lackluster (and DLC campaign won't impress), game is grindy here and there and the meta can be exploited to trivialize it. Mechs can limit customization and there is no clan.

    ... So what.

    Graphisms are great, sounds are nice, battles are fun and can be intense. As a tactical it's doing a fine job and the only drawback I actually have with it is how in multiplayer only the host can manage the company between missions. For those who complain, pick a bazillion mods and shut up. Base game is $30 and it's worth that price, period.    … Expand
  11. evopop123
    Feb 3, 2022
    10
    игра очень крутая и годная,это самая лучшая игра в 2022 году и жанр про мехов! такие игры про (роботов) и с таким графоном они очень редкие! мисси тут нормальные и самое главное цена) цена такой игры идеальная! советую всем кто любит роботов и битву на них)игра очень крутая и годная,это самая лучшая игра в 2022 году и жанр про мехов! такие игры про (роботов) и с таким графоном они очень редкие! мисси тут нормальные и самое главное цена) цена такой игры идеальная! советую всем кто любит роботов и битву на них)
  12. Vasot
    Jan 1, 2022
    4
    After 2 years with 2 DLC releaed and the game is still a mess the game company that made this title are amateurs i hope another gaming company make a sequel let's start 1) The AI companions are dumb they can't shoot straight and they stuck on environment objects so COOP IS RECOMMENDED for playing because the AI is stupid in this game and you can lose the mission because of theirAfter 2 years with 2 DLC releaed and the game is still a mess the game company that made this title are amateurs i hope another gaming company make a sequel let's start 1) The AI companions are dumb they can't shoot straight and they stuck on environment objects so COOP IS RECOMMENDED for playing because the AI is stupid in this game and you can lose the mission because of their incompetence 2) Game balance is bad most missions don't have any details there is a weight limitation in every mission and as for the missions they are repetitive in nature 3) Main story in poorly written with no imagination feels like a cheap and boring movie lacking immersion 4) Found 2 major breaking bugs in the campaign the game was released in 2019 and they haven't fixed these serious bugs what are they doing all these years!!!… Expand
  13. 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
  14. 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)
  15. Chezidek
    Sep 26, 2021
    4
    Mediocre, cheap craft at the level of 2008!
    In the game about giant robots, you don't feel the scale at all! because of what the impression of the game is like from some children's arcade game about bionicles!
    The landscape, terrain, textures were created for the height of a person and not for huge robots, the detail is disgusting! It's just funny to see the huge grass under the robot's    Mediocre, cheap craft at the level of 2008!
    In the game about giant robots, you don't feel the scale at all! because of what the impression of the game is like from some children's arcade game about bionicles!
    The landscape, terrain, textures were created for the height of a person and not for huge robots, the detail is disgusting! It's just funny to see the huge grass under the robot's feet... The only thing that reminds us of the scale is the terribly detailed, ugly, small cars, trees, buildings and enemy tanks... There is absolutely no immersion in the world and faith in what is happening on the screen!
    Another completely stupid, unnecessary and boring element is a hangar in which you constantly need to run up and down the stairs, probably they wanted to dilute the fights with this, but this is just boring nonsense! it would be better to just have a static interface with dialogs, settings, and tasks!
    The interface is also terrible and generally incomprehensible! it is difficult to navigate, it is difficult to understand and remember what to do and how to do it!

    My wife saw how I was playing and asked why I was playing a children's game about some robots(the game really looks extremely frivolous against the background of modern games!), she had to explain that this is a well-known series of games with a long history, books and a deep plot...    … Expand
  16. MistAndSuch
    Jul 28, 2021
    9
    The game is a fun, stompy BattleTech universe game that delivers on some lore for the dedicated fans as well as being pretty easy to get in to. Let's be honest, the source materials for this universe are immense (there's like 200 books) and it is beloved, but that also makes it somewhat intimating for those new to the series. With the last game having come out in 2001, I think this couldThe game is a fun, stompy BattleTech universe game that delivers on some lore for the dedicated fans as well as being pretty easy to get in to. Let's be honest, the source materials for this universe are immense (there's like 200 books) and it is beloved, but that also makes it somewhat intimating for those new to the series. With the last game having come out in 2001, I think this could use a BIT more lore, but it brings me in for the same reason I got into this IP in the first place: big-robots piloted by knight-mercenaries in future-feudalism.
    I'd love it if I could align more with individual houses for a RP end (like getting a land hold I can upgrade), but that's not what this game promised and I won't knock it for that. I would like to see some more customization (engines, parts, armor, stealth), but that may be coming (some mods already have it). It's a good game that works well for me as a veteran, I would love to see more BattleTech lore.    … Expand
  17. jvanalst
    Jun 15, 2021
    3
    Missions are very repetitive. The AI is also rather atrocious (why am I doing 900+ damage in a light mech and my squad mates doing 300 in a heavy with way better weapons?). The number of turrets and tanks is also pretty ridiculous. Feel like that's just there to pad out the missions because they couldn't get the mech balance correct.
  18. 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
  19. jormungaund
    Jun 2, 2021
    2
    Another case of game designers not having any idea of how to design an actually challenging game, and compensating for it with enemy spam. Save your time and money.
  20. flohzilla
    May 30, 2021
    10
    Moin,
    nun endlich ist MW5 mit samt neuem DLC auf Steam angekommen.
    Uns erwartet ein Missionsbasiertes PvE gestompe, mit der Möglichkeit ein Söldnerteam einschließlich Battlemechs zu verwalten. Mir persönlich gefällt die Aktion ziemlich gut, die Grafik stimmt und die Verwaltung (welche an HBS Battletech angelehnt ist) der Truppe macht auch spaß. Das Spiel ist Modbar und die Tools kann    Moin,
    nun endlich ist MW5 mit samt neuem DLC auf Steam angekommen.
    Uns erwartet ein Missionsbasiertes PvE gestompe, mit der Möglichkeit ein Söldnerteam einschließlich Battlemechs zu verwalten.
    Mir persönlich gefällt die Aktion ziemlich gut, die Grafik stimmt und die Verwaltung (welche an HBS Battletech angelehnt ist) der Truppe macht auch spaß.
    Das Spiel ist Modbar und die Tools kann man sich im Steam Workshop downloaden.
    Gerade die umfassende Modbarkeit sorgt auch mit dafür das dieses Game hier den vollen Score von mir bekommt, Mods können einfach alles rausreißen was die Entwickler verbocken!
    Weniger gefällt die AI und die Performance, habe eine RTX3090, 32GB Ram und nen Ryzen7 3800, bei max Details und allen aktivierten Features!
    Dennoch bin ich auch gnädig mit meinem Score weil man auch so übel lange auf ein neues Mechwarrior warten musste und es mir eben auch super Spaß macht!
    Für mich überwiegt eben der Spielspaß auch bei technischen Unzulänglichkeiten!
    Auch darf man nicht vergessen, Battletech und Mechwarrior war und ist eben auch ein Nischenprodukt und ich bin echt froh das sich diesem Thema endlich mal wieder angenommen wurde.

    Ich wünsche allen, die sich auf MW5 einlassen, sehr viel Spaß     … Expand
  21. Steyraus
    May 28, 2021
    4
    I loved MW 3 and 4 on Pc. Those games were full of interesting loadouts and exciting battles. What was best is that everything made sense and was easy to pick up..Mech Warrior 5 has none of what made the origional games great. It took me ages just to figure out how to start a mission. Menus and loadouts EVERYTHING is convoluded and unnecisarily complex. . The menus are trash just figuringI loved MW 3 and 4 on Pc. Those games were full of interesting loadouts and exciting battles. What was best is that everything made sense and was easy to pick up..Mech Warrior 5 has none of what made the origional games great. It took me ages just to figure out how to start a mission. Menus and loadouts EVERYTHING is convoluded and unnecisarily complex. . The menus are trash just figuring out how to play is a chore, not fun.. When you finally get to combat, its slow and cumbersome in a way Mech games have never felt. Battle are boring and filled with 90% slow mech walking.
    And offcourse the one female side character looks like a boy!!!..    … Expand
  22. Harag
    Apr 30, 2021
    2
    No surprise PGI was unable to pull this off. The core game play, actual mech fighting is fine. The AI is useless in every form. The user interface suffers from the EXACT issues MWO has, in other words its terrible. This game is literally sabotaging itself no one who hasn't already played MW is going to find this game inviting or easy to learn. The terrain pop in is still present evenNo surprise PGI was unable to pull this off. The core game play, actual mech fighting is fine. The AI is useless in every form. The user interface suffers from the EXACT issues MWO has, in other words its terrible. This game is literally sabotaging itself no one who hasn't already played MW is going to find this game inviting or easy to learn. The terrain pop in is still present even though they have changed engines. This is a fundamental failure of the development team and an unwillingness to identify those issues by the management. If this is what they produced after delaying the game a year and taking all of Epic's money i shudder to think what they had planned to release prior to this...

    EDIT: 2 years later, games still buggy and none of the issues were addressed. Someone needs to take over the Mech Warrior license so it can actually be turned into a successful franchise.    … Expand
  23. DangerousDD
    Mar 16, 2021
    1
    Save your money. The story and narrative is weak. The game is repetative and tedious within a day.
    Sadly I feel like this was one of my most wasted purchases
  24. ComandanteCobra
    Jan 6, 2021
    8
    Good!...not awesome...but good enough.
    It fill a void for a Battletech single player simulation game and in that aspect center his objective.
    I recommend it to old players and battletech fans...if your'not in those 2 categories lower the score a little toward "Mixed". I buy it on Sale on Epic , ended it and it keep me entertained for at least 2 months. I hope there will be DLC with    Good!...not awesome...but good enough.
    It fill a void for a Battletech single player simulation game and in that aspect center his objective.
    I recommend it to old players and battletech fans...if your'not in those 2 categories lower the score a little toward "Mixed".
    I buy it on Sale on Epic , ended it and it keep me entertained for at least 2 months.
    I hope there will be DLC with additional contents like iS faction Campaign or Clans addons.
    You can read about some limitation in other review..some of them i agree with (like enemy spawning, general lack of polish and dated npc interactions) but others not at all.
    I didn't have problems with graphics, AI, grinding, bugs, few cut-scenes, tonnage limit, few npcs, difficulty, missions variety...because those things wasn't bad enough to ruin my game.
    My expectation was maybe more realistic than others .
    I was looking for a sci-fi simulation game (a underground genre in this days especially about Mechs) and I find it.
    I wasn't expecting a AAA single player experiences of the calibre of Wing commanders series of 30 years ago...because that games had a different budget and those was different times.
    For a sale price it's a solid game, I buy it and will play this and other battletech game for time to time to support this project...maybe in this way this kind of game (and Battletech in general) will have a revival.... if there are enough interest and less complains.
    Like most buyer of this game i'm and old player and i'm into Battletech franchise...old Mecharrior or Mech Commander games, Fasa manuals, Ral partha miniatures, Mechwarrior online, youtube channels about Battletech lore Like Tex Talks Battletech, Mega mek...ad so on.
    Peace    … Expand
  25. 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.
  26. TheFrog
    Sep 24, 2020
    8
    Playing the game in Sep 2020, so in a very stable state.

    EDIT: Re-evaluated the game after a few days. Much better to play once I realized that raids are meant to be conducted using only a light and fast mech with jump jets. They are hit and miss, it's easy to die, but at least they provide some reputation and minimal pay for a very short mission duration. Demolitions are best avoided    Playing the game in Sep 2020, so in a very stable state.

    EDIT: Re-evaluated the game after a few days.
    Much better to play once I realized that raids are meant to be conducted using only a light and fast mech with jump jets. They are hit and miss, it's easy to die, but at least they provide some reputation and minimal pay for a very short mission duration.
    Demolitions are best avoided as infinite enemy respawn is stupid, and the excuse "You can't expect to level a city with no reaction" is lame: there are no reinforcements when YOU defend a city!
    Assassinations are possibly the missions I like best. Warzones are ok, just camp far from the beacon and you'll have some time to snipe enemies as they converge on you.
    Maximize armor and tinker with weapons. For example, an Archer is MUCH better if you ditch LRM20s in favor of lighter LRM15s, using the extra load for heat sinks (just don't expect the AI to be able to use them effectively).
    Try different mech configurations. For example, the Hero Thunderbolt is super powerful and can take down heavier mechs thanks to its barrage of medium lasers.
    Some 'mechs play well in your hands but fail miserably when the AI pilots them, and vice versa. Experiment.
    Getting more and more assault mechs, level 9 missions are currently paying well. Yes, the game has serious flaws, but it's also fun as hell.

    Original review:
    I played most Mechwarrior games, with MW2 being my favourite in terms of gameplay. MW5 goes back to the roots with randomized missions, very little room for 'mech customization and a merciless, dog eat dog economy. Graphics are good, destructible buildings are a pleasure to blow up and there are moments where it's pure joy. Aiming your lasers at the main weapon of an enemy 'mech and firing them all at once, declawing it, then turning to face another enemy, leaving the finishing blow for later, while your squad mates provide cover.
    Unfortunately, everything people complain about is true. Maps are small, the AI is abysmal, radar is a joke, enemies spawn right next to you and, after a certain notoriety level, the game becomes stupidly unplayable. Let me fast forward to notoriety level 8, where playing the game became really a chore for me. I signed up for a raid mission, for a pay of about 500K. Being a hero to the faction, I got some extra haggling points, which I invested mainly in salvage shares and secondly in damage insurance. Along this mission I and my three squadmates destroyed 13 medium and heavy enemy 'mechs, along with 82 miscellaneous enemy units. Yes, NINETY-FIVE enemies total, not to mention the ones I couldn't destroy because I was barely able to make it to the extraction point alive. Only much later I realized that I had lost one of my best pilots, who couldn't eject in time, ad at that point it was too late to reload without losing a lot of progress. Maximizing a pilot's abilities takes ages, and the ones you recruit start pretty low.
    So, I have damage for more than two million bucks, without counting the pilot, but insurance and pay, combined, go barely over one million. If I repair my mechs in a combat zone, I'll also pay 50% extra, otherwise I have to spend several hundred thousand buck to go to the nearest industrial hub and come back. My saving grace is the 'mech I can salvage using my shares. A nice Thunderbolt, worth a hefty price - except, if I sell it, I get just 50% of its value. So I did end up gaining something (except it doesn't even begin to compensate the loss of the pilot), but this was after several attempts and with continuous super ultra careful managing of my squadmates' positions, to prevent them from getting butchered due to their stupidity. Now, consider this: the faction that contracted me walks away with several salvaged mechs, worth millions each, for a total that is several times as much what they are paying me. They don't pay you, *you* are paying *them* for the privilege of fighting their war! If you were a privateer, with no payout but keeping all salvage for yourself, you'd earn several times as much.
    Having to face several times the strength of your team is stupid, when your squadmates have the same AI that animates the enemy. With four human players you could probably maximize specific role for 'mechs, using long range weapons to soften up targets from a distance, before moving in for the kill (or at least it would be if your radar worked a little more often), but with three AI morons that zero in on enemies when they have weapons perfectly suited for long range engagement, it becomes ultra frustrating.
    It appears that the designers have not listened to player feedback in the least, hence the Metacritic rating. It's such a pity because there would be so much to like in this game, if only they fixed at least the broken economy and reduced the enemy spawn a bit. They would get a bonus for avoiding to have enemies spawn right next to you and fixing the horrible radar.    … Expand
  27. btimbit
    Aug 30, 2020
    4
    Scratches the itch long time MW fans have had, but it falls quite short. The combat feels too fast and arcadey, AI is terrible, and the overall gameplay can be described as repetitive and boring.
  28. Szmittu
    Aug 24, 2020
    0
    Super bad experience overall. Combat feels clunky as heck, graphics are dated, HUD is unreadable, even considering that I've got this game for free does not convince me to waste time on it.
    Shame, wasted potential.
  29. pleblah
    Aug 15, 2020
    9
    I had a lot of fun with this. It could have done with more hand crafted missions but overall the random missions are pretty decent and the combat feels great. The game definitely had some short comings (most notably the ai) but thanks to mods most of these have been addressed.
  30. Ludewich
    Jul 22, 2020
    9
    I have just finished my second campaign play-through and the Epic Store reports a play time of "9 d" (which includes little to no AFK time).

    What I really like about the game is * excellently implemented combat * lots of ways to customize mechs (Reloaded mod, see below!) * high level of immersion * it feels good to be part of a team, even if it just consists of the AI lance mates *    I have just finished my second campaign play-through and the Epic Store reports a play time of "9 d" (which includes little to no AFK time).

    What I really like about the game is
    * excellently implemented combat
    * lots of ways to customize mechs (Reloaded mod, see below!)
    * high level of immersion
    * it feels good to be part of a team, even if it just consists of the AI lance mates
    * weather system and bioms works well
    * lots of "kaboom".
    * good visuals
    * great support for modding + great modding community

    It is the first game where I actually _use_ lots of mods: mods are such a big improvement over the base game which appears to be lacking in many aspects. Interestingly, much of which has been added by mods appears to be already hidden somewhere in the base game (like customizable engines, armor upgrades etc)... maybe it will eventually become part of the base game.

    What I do not like is
    * Something about the scaling is off. I am pretty sure that this is due to the scaling of the grass: it is too large. It makes mechs look... small. This might be fixed by mods, I do not know.
    * dull characters. The great mech hangar is essentially dead; I never felt any kind of relation to the characters (including the own figure and the lancemates).
    * the mission loading times are ... obscene. On my (mediocre) system, it takes about 2 minutes (!) to load a mission. This applies to every mission. It must be CPU bound since a friend of mine has a slower graphics card and a slower hard drive, yet it loads much faster on his intel CPU.

    My review is based on the following set of mods:
    * reloaded mod (mandatory!)
    * tabletoprules lance mate aI mod (mandatory!)
    * tabletoprules AI mod (mandatory!)
    * hellfire and brimstone (missile trails, smoke)
    * realistic weapon velocities 128
    * Kh0rns Sound mod
    * paint style savings
    * Weather fix mod
    * better spawns

    If you like mechs, destroying things, PvE combat, custom weapon loadouts then I strongly recommend this game!    … Expand
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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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
  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]
See all critic reviews »