At first glance, if you look at a screenshot, for example, Mechabellum may seem like a classic real-time strategy game. But you can say goodbye to this thought right away. Of course, it picks up on strategic elements, but you only actively control the preparation phase. The battles themselves in this auto battler, as the name of this genre suggests, take place automatically.
Don’t let that fool you, it’s by no means boring or undemanding. It requires equal strategic skill, bold ideas and, in the end, probably a bit of luck. Already in Early Access this is a lot of fun!
In Mechabellum, your army fights independently
Fighting takes place over several rounds. Beforehand, you place your army on your side of the battlefield. You can recruit additional units, upgrade existing ones (if possible), unlock special abilities or additional unit types. All of this is not always possible due to the limited resource budget, so it is important to think carefully about what you end up doing.
As I said, the fights are then carried out fully automatically. You can sit back and see if your build was effective or if it’s going to the dogs. The winner of a round is whoever can eliminate all of the enemy’s units. The loser of the round loses points from his life bar for each remaining opponent. If this reaches zero at some point, the respective side has lost the match. Incidentally, units destroyed in battle are not permanently lost. Your army is preserved, it grows from round to round, so that real mass battles can develop over time in a longer game.
All this does not mean that there are no tactical considerations. The rock-paper-scissors principle applies here, so the 16 unit types have their own special areas – and their own weaknesses. Artillery, for example, is of little use if the enemy only has flight units left. I had to find that out painfully towards the end of a battle. The enemy only had two or three flying units, I only had artillery. My troops then calmly dismantled them. Bad luck.
Apart from that, there are long-range snipers, long-range and melee mechs, small and larger flying companions, and giant mechs that can dish out a lot of damage. At least when they can play to their strengths and are not countered by the opponent. In other words, you have a lot of toys, and therefore options, at your disposal.
Mechabellum is anything but undemanding
This is exactly what makes Mechabellum so appealing. You have to think and analyze. The course of a round tells you whether you are already on the right track or whether you should rather recruit certain units to counter the enemy. Given the limited resources, this is not always easy, so you should think twice after each round. Of course, you can not only react, but also act proactively. Think about what your enemy’s roster has and try to field units they have no defense against. Or place troops on the left or right flank to flank him.
Ultimately, many considerations are required, not only in terms of placement, composition and improvement. Between rounds, you have the option to choose one of four randomly selected upgrades – or skip this step for a small resource bonus. The upgrades include bonuses, special skills, items and other things. That gives the whole thing a new level and can ultimately tip the scales.
The fact that you don’t know what your enemy is planning next keeps it exciting from round to round. Just because you got the upper hand in one battle doesn’t automatically mean that you’ll have the upper hand in the next. Each can pursue their own unique tactics and composition, and that makes it somewhat unpredictable. Incidentally, Mechabellum is primarily designed for you to play against other players. There is also a solo survival mode and matches against the AI.
At first I was also skeptical that this was an interesting concept for me. But after a few matches I was hooked. I got to know the intricacies and details behind it and you can really spend a few minutes thinking before jumping into the next lap. The circumstances are constantly changing, new unit types, upgrades and special attacks bring dynamism and a degree of unpredictability to the individual rounds. This keeps it exciting. And even if the automatic battles might tempt you to stare at your cell phone from time to time, you shouldn’t do that. Even here, analysis plays an important role. You can see which flank you might want to reinforce or where your enemy’s weak points are and act accordingly.
Which brings us back to the real question of this article: will Mechabellum be the strategy hit of the year? Possible. At least those of you who are not averse to auto battlers and the primarily competitive game design should take a closer look at Mechabellum.
Mechabellum is in Early Access and you get the game Steam.
