Alexis Kestler
Mechs, or giant piloted robots, have long captured the imagination of sci-fi fans. These hulking mechanical beasts offer an experience unlike any other in gaming – the feeling of sitting in the cockpit and directly controlling a weaponized titan. Mech games come in many forms, from gritty and realistic military simulators to over-the-top anime-inspired fare. However, they all deliver nerve-wracking duels, customization depth, and triumphant moments.
In this post, we highlight the 10 best mech games that prove this enduring genre still has legs. Whether you are a devout mech aficionado or a newcomer, strap in and get ready for stunning visuals and explosive gameplay.
What Are Mech Games?
Mech games are video games where the player controls large robotic vehicles called mechs. These bipedal or quadrupedal machines typically stand 15-20 meters tall and resemble humanoid figures. Mechs first rose to popularity in 1980s Japan with shows like Mobile Suit Gundam. The mix of militaristic realism and sci-fi escapism captured gamers‘ imaginations worldwide.
Now mech games come in many flavors across various genres:
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Simulation – These aim for realism in controlling mechs. Players must master numerous complex systems to move and fight. Ex: MechWarrior series.
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Action – Fast-paced shooters focused on mech combat. Offer customization and emphasis on weapons/abilities. Ex: Daemon X Machina.
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Strategy – Control teams of mechs from a top-down view. Tactical gameplay about positioning and squad composition. Ex: BattleTech.
For fans, piloting mechs delivers a unique thrill. The combination of lumbering size, overwhelming firepower, and meticulous customization scratches a certain gaming itch. Mech games also allow you to live out popular sci-fi fantasies.
Balancing Offense & Defense in Mech Games
Successfully piloting a mech requires balancing its offensive and defensive capabilities. Here are some tips on how to maximize your combat effectiveness:
Know Your Role
Understand your mech‘s strengths/weaknesses and role on the team. Are you a damage-dealer, tank, support, scout? This informs how you balance offense vs defense.
For example, scouts can spec for speed and evasion over armor to stay alive. Snipers need enough defenses to safely get in position. Brawlers must heavily reinforce their armor at the cost of firepower.
Use Cover Intelligently
Use terrain, buildings, and objects to break line of sight. But don‘t solely rely on cover – it can limit mobility and vision. Peek out to take shots rather than camping.
Equip Complementary Weapons
Bring a mix of short and long-range weapons to adapt to changing combat ranges. Having options like a shotgun up close and missiles at a distance provides flexibility.
Work With Your Team
In team modes, coordinate strategies with allies. Try combined arms tactics like drawing fire so artillery can hit safely. Cover each other‘s weaknesses through positioning.
Remain Mobile
Avoid staying still for too long. Keep relocating to present a harder target and open up new lines of fire. Use jump jets/dashes to quickly reflank enemies.
Balancing mech offense and defense requires strategy, coordination and adaptability. Master these tips to improve your survivability and damage output on the battlefield.
Now let‘s get into the main event – the best mech games available right now!
1. Battletech
Battletech is a turn-based tactics game based on the classic tabletop franchise. The year is 3025, and you play a mercenary commander trying to build a mech company. Customize salvaged mechs and lead your lance in tactical combat across sprawling solar systems.
The campaign delivers a 30+ hour story driven by meaningful choices like who to ally with. In-depth mech customization allows swapping weapons, armor, engines, heat sinks and more. The combat captures tabletop BattleTech‘s spirit with an XCOM-like turn system. Carefully manage each mech‘s positioning, firing arcs and heat while trying to outmaneuver enemies.
Overall this modern take on BattleTech fantastically adapts its lore and tactical gameplay. A must-play for mech fans.
Developer: Harebrained Schemes
Release Date: April 24, 2018
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
2. MechWarrior Online
MechWarrior Online is a free-to-play multiplayer shooter set in the BattleTech universe. Engage in team-based 12v12 skirmishes with over 100 mechs to choose from. Standing at up to 20 meters tall, these hulking beasts of future warfare require true skill to master.
Each weight class of mech – light, medium, heavy, assault – handles differently. Light mechs rely on speed and maneuverability, while assaults bring overwhelming firepower. Equip ballistic, energy, missile and support weapons tailored for your preferred range and damage type.
MechWarrior Online really shines in faction warfare, where players fight to conquer planets in an ongoing meta campaign. If you want competitive, large-scale online BattleMech combat then this is the king.
Developer: Piranha Games
Release Date: September 22, 2013
Platforms: PC
3. Daemon X Machina
In Daemon X Machina, you play a freelance mech pilot accepting jobs from corporations vying for dominance. With the moon destroyed, artificial intelligence has gone rogue and mechanical lifeforms called Immortals ravage the planet.
This fast-paced third-person shooter excels in making you feel like a one-person army. Zip around locations to gather resources, defeat enemies, and complete objectives. Swap out mech arms, weapons and armor between missions to optimize your loadout. Bosses tower over players and provide intense duels.
The local 4-player co-op adds replayability and ramps up the high-octane action. With its flexible customization and non-stop combat, Daemon X Machina sets a new bar for mech action games.
Developer: Marvelous
Release Date: September 13, 2019
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC
4. Strike Suit Zero
In space combat game Strike Suit Zero, Earth is embroiled in an interplanetary civil war. You control a cutting-edge Strike Suit fighter craft capable of transforming into a mech. Switch between flight and combat modes to adapt to the battle.
Face massive capital ships and swarms of fighters as you fight your way through a 13 mission story campaign. Assault frigates bristling with turrets put your evasive flying skills to the test. Then get up close and switch to Strike Suit mode, launching barrages of lock-on missiles.
With an anime-inspired art style and fast-paced, frenetic dogfighting action reminiscent of Macross, Strike Suit Zero delivers stylistic mech thrills.
Developer: Born Ready Games
Release Date: January 23, 2014
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
5. Supreme Commander 2
Supreme Commander 2 is a real-time strategy game focused on gargantuan robotic armies clashing. Wage war with land, sea and air units from an omnipotent top-down view. Research upgrades, manage production queues and expand your base to outproduce opponents.
The star of the show is the Armored Command Unit (ACU) – a 100+ foot mech bristling with weapons. Directly pilot your ACU on the battlefield, leading charges and staving off defeat with its firepower. Combat revolves around managing huge forces, but the ACU provides an ace up your sleeve.
Overall Supreme Commander 2 delivers large-scale robot wars with just enough strategic depth. Mech lovers will get a kick out of piloting their massive ACUs.
Developer: Gas Powered Games
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Platforms: Xbox 360, PC
6. MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries lets you live the life of BattleTech mercenaries seeking fortune and glory. The year is 3015 and all-out war rages across the Inner Sphere. Take contracts from the Great Houses and independent factions then complete missions how you see fit.
Step into the cockpit of numerous BattleMechs ranging from light saboteurs to lumbering assaults. Kit out your lance with autocannons, lasers, SRMs and more. Cooperative play lets you and 3 friends take on missions together. Between contracts, manage your merc company from the dropship Leopard by purchasing mechs and gear.
MechWarrior 5 captures the magic of previous series entries while modernizing with stunning Unreal Engine 4 visuals. Jump in for the definitive mech simulator experience.
Developer: Piranha Games
Release Date: December 10, 2019
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
7. Override: Mech City Brawl
If you want over-the-top mech brawler action, check out Override: Mech City Brawl. Go head-to-head in versus fighting across sprawling cityscapes. Punch, grab and shoot your way to victory with a roster of 12 distinct mechs.
Lay down cover fire with a gatling gun arm before rocket punching your opponent. Fire entire buildings at enemies using a mech‘s construction arm. Leap between rooftops to outmaneuver rivals. Combos and super moves let you unleash devastating attacks like aMacross missile barrage.
Up to 4 players, either locally or online, can duke it out in colorful arenas. Overall Override: Mech City Brawl‘s mechanized fisticuffs and spectacle provide accessible, frantic fun.
Developer: The Balance
Release Date: December 4, 2018
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
8. War Tech Fighters
The mech combat game War Tech Fighters is set on a flooded 22nd century Earth. Scavenge old technology and duke it out across submerged cities in a fully customizable mech suit.
Missions range from retrieving rare artifacts to defending bases. Find blueprints for new parts like flamethrowers, rail guns and tesla blades during your underwater escapades. Swap armor pieces, weaponry, and support gear like the grappling hook on the fly to match the situation.
Built using the Unreal Engine, War Tech Fighters showcases maritime environments with crumbling architecture and vibrant ocean life. Effortlessly jet through the sinking city or walk along the seafloor while engaging amphibious enemies and mechanized hostiles.
Developer: Drakkar Dev
Release Date: March 31, 2020
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC
9. Titanfall 2
Respawn Entertainment hit a home run blending first-person shooting with mech combat in Titanfall 2. Its refined mechanics – especially the smooth parkour – make you feel like a cybernetic supersoldier.
As infantry, dash across battlefields using grappling hooks and wall running to flank enemies. When your Titan drops, climb inside to rain down destruction – whether unloading XO-16 chaingun rounds or swatting foes with extended punches.
The campaign‘s time-traveling adventure is a treat, with unique gameplay moments like taking control of different Titans. And there‘s a staggering amount of multiplayer modes, maps and customization. Titanfall 2 is one of the most well-rounded shooters out there.
Developer: Respawn Entertainment
Release Date: October 28, 2016
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
10. Armored Core V
The mech action game Armored Core V comes from Dark Souls developer FromSoftware. As mercenaries in a post-apocalyptic future, players take contracts from corporations to undermine rivals. Succeed and you‘ll earn money to customize your mechanized war machine.
Armored Core shines in its mech customization. Swap out components like arms, back weapons, shoulder weapons, and boosters. Components fall under categories like mobility, offense, defense, and support. Balancing stats like energy consumption, heat capacity, and radar range is key.
Combat is fast and technical with abilities like overboosting and quick boost dodging. Overall Armored Core V is a mechanically dense customization-focused mech game.
Developer: FromSoftware
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360
Conclusion
Piloting giant robots and delivering mech-fueled destruction never gets old. Mech games continue maturing across various genres and styles. Whether you prefer realistic military simulations or over-the-top anime combat, there‘s a mech game for you.
If you‘re craving more suggestions, other great options include Metal Wolf Chaos XD, Zone of the Enders: 2nd Runner, Hawken, and Heavy Gear Assault.
We hope this list helps you get your mech fix. Now grab some joysticks and start stomping. See you on the virtual battlefields!
