برچسب: mech

  • Iron Core: Mech Warrior – it’s Vampire Survivors with mechs – but is it any good?

    Iron Core: Mech Warrior – it’s Vampire Survivors with mechs – but is it any good?


    Iron Core

    Okay, so you may already know I am slightly obsessed with Survivor-type games. Vampire Survivors, especially on Steam Deck, is still a go-to of mine, especially when traveling, but initially, I turned my nose up at it when it first came out and completely ignored it.

    It was only by getting into the genre by accident, by stumbling across Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, that I revisited Vampire Survivors, and the rest is history.

    Now I find myself trying to keep abreast of the genre and having a dabble at any such game that comes along, and boy oh boy, there are a lot of them.

    This weekend, I discovered Iron Core: Mech Warrior, which was released a day or so ago on Steam and seems to tick a lot of boxes that dorks like me might be interested in. Survivor mechanics. Check. Mechs. Check – did you say mechs? I certainly did. Iron Core is Vampire Survivors with big, hulking mechs. Baby. I’m all in.

    Iron Core: Mech Warrior is more graphically intense than Vampires and more akin to the flashiness of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, and it’s probably fair to say it borrows from a few of that games’ more esoteric mechanics, too.

    There are some differences, certainly at the start. This is a twin-stick shooter from the off, where the left trigger fires and the right stick spins you round. My terrible coordination doesn’t help here, but once you start levelling up your mech and get add-ons such as drones and the like, things start getting more familiar.

    Nice new territory as well comes in the way of a game mechanic stolen from Battle Royales such as Fortnite, where the gameplay area continues to close in “the Storm” style. You can keep this at bay, but it offers something else to think about.

    You can also change the perspective from the usual Survivor games, making things more third-person. It’s a real box of tricks this one.

    Some people on Steam seem to be complaining about crashes and performance, but I had no such issues, even playing on a mid-rig. I haven’t tried on Steam Deck yet, but there’s enough here to make me think I will enjoy it if I do.

    Don’t think of this as a review because it is not, but it is definitely a recommendation of something to pass the rest of the weekend and beyond with.

    I am looking forward to seeing where this ends up as the updates roll in. The genre probably needed to see some fresh ideas, so Iron Core is a welcome addition, and one I wasn’t expecting.


    The Escapist is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy



    Source link

  • Grimdark survival game The Forever Winter adds its most upsetting enemy mech yet

    Grimdark survival game The Forever Winter adds its most upsetting enemy mech yet


    As terrifying as they can be when things go wrong, survival games such as Valheim, Once Human, and Sons of the Forest have an underlying goofiness to them that keeps things light. Project Zomboid is more oppressive, at times relentless in its pressure, while Escape From Tarkov threatens you with the ever-present fear of a bullet from the shadows. Of late, however, I’ve had a particular penchant for The Forever Winter. Its grimdark, future sci-fi world is an unforgiving, hostile place as you claw for scraps in the shadow of giant mechs tearing the landscape apart for their respective megacorporations. Now, Fun Dog’s July update delivers a new broken cityscape to explore, along with its most horrifying foe to date.

    The Forever Winter July update adds a lot of new features to the table, as developer Fun Dog continues to hone its promising-but-flawed creation into what could become one of our best survival games. The impressive worldbuilding and atmosphere was hampered at its early-access launch by bugs, clunkiness, balance issues, and a general feeling that it was a little undercooked. As we near the one-year mark, however, regular updates have continued to hone and refine it, and this new patch includes further, fundamental changes to movement and game feel.

    YouTube Thumbnail

    Fun Dog has improved the sense of character, rig, and gear weight, fine-tuned movement and acceleration/deceleration speeds, and tweaked jumping to feel more natural. Adjustments to reload rates will “allow for much smoother ‘fire, reload, fire’ gameplay,” and small arms such as pistols now equip far faster than their larger counterparts, allowing you to respond to situations quickly. Gaz would be proud. Target marking has been made more precise, and there’s also the new ability to mash buttons to speed up mantling, climbing, or getting back up when knocked down.

    The ruined city of Lost Angels is now available to explore, along with a fresh crop of region-specific quests. It promises to be a valuable source of supplies, but you’ll need to watch your corners, as you aren’t the only one roaming the streets. What has me most afraid, however, is the arrival of Stiltwalker 1.0, Europa’s “multi-legged destruction machine.” Perhaps it’s the spider-like movements, or maybe it’s the combination of direct-fire missiles, guided ATGM munitions that can home in to obliterate any foe, and a point-defense system that keeps it safe from incoming explosives, but the mere sight of this thing strikes fear into my heart.

    Alongside this comes some additional weapon customization options, with several guns being equipped with new hardguards and the ability to attach the likes of flashlights. Among the smaller but still significant tweaks, enemy soldiers will no longer take random ‘pot shots’ at targets they shouldn’t be aware of; squads will better spread out in an attempt to surround suspected threats; recruits have been made more responsive to your commands; and larger enemies can now be briefly stunned if you manage to hit them hard enough. Fun Dog has also continued to work on performance improvements and optimization.

    The Forever Winter July update - The ruined streets of Lost Angels.

    The Forever Winter July update is out now. You can read through the full patch notes courtesy of Fun Dog Studios. “Note the file size on this update is fairly large,” it warns, “thanks for tolerating that and we are working on cutting this down in future updates.”

    Looking for more of the best co-op games for you and your friends to enjoy together? We’ve rounded up our top picks for 2025, along with a guide to the best gaming headset for PC to make sure your communication sounds crystal clear.

    You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.



    Source link