I'm sure that my score will go against the grains but let me start off by saying clearly: this is not a bad game and nor is it a perfect one.
To begin with the pros, this game's style and aesthetics are (pun slightly intended) out-of-this-world. The design of the ACs, the color palette used and the music all coalesce into a profoundly great feeling world. The way the camera also pans and the particle and blur effects hit with the slowing of the game when you defeat an enemy creates some awesome looking screenshots (my finger was also hovering over my screenshot button during most cutscenes as well).
Now then, let's get to the less-good. The controls are... mostly good. I feel like the AC responds fairly well to most inputs and the majority of controls are are intuitive and easy to perform (in other words, it's a FromSoft game). My repair kits did not always go off when I thought they should (yes, I know they have a cooldown, and yes, I noticed you can't use them while attacking) and I felt like sometimes I could fire both shoulder cannons at the same time, and other times I couldn't for reasons I did not fully understand. I also usually felt like the under-dog in most combat encounters. There were a number of other frustrations with staggering or boosting that also left me feeling like the later-game bosses got to play with a different rule-set than I did. AC build viability also seemed to not be nearly as varied as other FromSoft games. A light and fast AC is probably a great choice if you're the guy beating Elden Ring on a saxophone but for someone a bit older, with not the best reflexes anymore, I cannot keep up with dodging every laser beam meaning the twin songbird and Gatling gun on a slightly heavier bipedal AC was about the only play-style I could perform.
I also just can't help but shake the fact that this feels like a B-tier game. The mission based structure where the majority of exposition is laid out in mission briefs. The missions, themselves, frequently feel like excuses to go do some video gaming instead of tell an intricate narrative. That's not to say that there is no narrative or the only exposition occurs during the briefings, but it could have been expanded upon better through gameplay. Maybe spend less time designing reasons to put in sneaking missions in my mech game and put in more stuff to help understand the factions in the world? Speaking of factions, while it's great we're introduced to some interesting personalities within them, I have no idea what the intention of Arquebus or Balam are other than "they want Coral." I don't really know anything about RaD or the PCA. Why is Balam always giving me stuff on behalf of Dafeng? Maybe this is my own fault for jumping into a game labeled "VI" without playing the previous five, but I feel like some further exposition wouldn't have hurt.
Final point regarding missions and menu decisions I'd question: While the arena is a cool concept, it really dampens the mood if I fight an enemy in the Arena, beat them there, and then you try and set them up as a big boss fight in the main game itself.
Again, this is not a bad game. In fact, it's a good palette cleanser and something very different; it's probably also the best mech game out there. However, I would not call this a masterpiece which everyone must play. Would be a great grab if you find it on sale, but as it stands, I'd only recommend for more avid fans and not a must-play for all gamers.
To begin with the pros, this game's style and aesthetics are (pun slightly intended) out-of-this-world. The design of the ACs, the color palette used and the music all coalesce into a profoundly great feeling world. The way the camera also pans and the particle and blur effects hit with the slowing of the game when you defeat an enemy creates some awesome looking screenshots (my finger was also hovering over my screenshot button during most cutscenes as well).
Now then, let's get to the less-good. The controls are... mostly good. I feel like the AC responds fairly well to most inputs and the majority of controls are are intuitive and easy to perform (in other words, it's a FromSoft game). My repair kits did not always go off when I thought they should (yes, I know they have a cooldown, and yes, I noticed you can't use them while attacking) and I felt like sometimes I could fire both shoulder cannons at the same time, and other times I couldn't for reasons I did not fully understand. I also usually felt like the under-dog in most combat encounters. There were a number of other frustrations with staggering or boosting that also left me feeling like the later-game bosses got to play with a different rule-set than I did. AC build viability also seemed to not be nearly as varied as other FromSoft games. A light and fast AC is probably a great choice if you're the guy beating Elden Ring on a saxophone but for someone a bit older, with not the best reflexes anymore, I cannot keep up with dodging every laser beam meaning the twin songbird and Gatling gun on a slightly heavier bipedal AC was about the only play-style I could perform.
I also just can't help but shake the fact that this feels like a B-tier game. The mission based structure where the majority of exposition is laid out in mission briefs. The missions, themselves, frequently feel like excuses to go do some video gaming instead of tell an intricate narrative. That's not to say that there is no narrative or the only exposition occurs during the briefings, but it could have been expanded upon better through gameplay. Maybe spend less time designing reasons to put in sneaking missions in my mech game and put in more stuff to help understand the factions in the world? Speaking of factions, while it's great we're introduced to some interesting personalities within them, I have no idea what the intention of Arquebus or Balam are other than "they want Coral." I don't really know anything about RaD or the PCA. Why is Balam always giving me stuff on behalf of Dafeng? Maybe this is my own fault for jumping into a game labeled "VI" without playing the previous five, but I feel like some further exposition wouldn't have hurt.
Final point regarding missions and menu decisions I'd question: While the arena is a cool concept, it really dampens the mood if I fight an enemy in the Arena, beat them there, and then you try and set them up as a big boss fight in the main game itself.
Again, this is not a bad game. In fact, it's a good palette cleanser and something very different; it's probably also the best mech game out there. However, I would not call this a masterpiece which everyone must play. Would be a great grab if you find it on sale, but as it stands, I'd only recommend for more avid fans and not a must-play for all gamers.