I’m always looking for the next multiplayer mech battler, a genre that doesn’t seem to get as much love as I’d like it to. Adhesive Games’ Hawken filled that gap for a while until its PC servers were shut down in 2018. Armored Core 6 has a multiplayer aspect that works fine, but it’s clear From Software was more focused on its meaty single-player campaign. Now that Mecha Break has arrived, it seems we’ve finally got a PvP mech shooter that people are actually paying attention to. I’ve spent some time checking out its demo, and while the actual mech-battling gameplay is fine, Mecha Break won’t hesitate to remind you that it’s a live-service game every chance it gets.The Mecha Break demo begins with a character creation screen, allowing you to choose between several presets before tweaking any aspect of them you’d like. Naturally, I picked the pilot that looks the closest to Evangelion’s Asuka Langley. On the next screen, I’m given a wealth of options to customize everything from her hair and face to virtually every feature of her body. I found it kind of weird to devote this much focus to my pilot since, after all, this is a game about mechs. But, whatever. Then, under the “body” options screen, I notice at least five different sliders for both her chest and butt and how comically jiggly they are when I rotate my character. Ah, okay, now I know exactly what kind of game Mecha Break is.After a draining intro, ‘Mecha Break’ finally gets its engines runningThe game begins with a few single-player tutorial missions that last a little longer than I’d like before sending me to the hangar. Now, I’m able to walk around with my character, talking to NPCs who spout some laughably dull story exposition. During these cutscenes, I can’t help but notice how devoid of life these characters (and my own) are. All this effort to sculpt the perfect pilot, only for everyone to have this constant, blank stare at all times. After some dialogue, I’m treated to a foggy shower scene of my character, for some reason. Finally, I’m able to start queueing up for multiplayer matches.Screenshot: Amazing Seasun GamesShortly after, I’m tossed into a 6v6 conquest-style match. Both teams fight to control three different points along a large map. It’s clear that most of the mechs in the game are actually bots. Which I’ve heard is normal as the game assesses your skill level and continues its onboarding process. The moment-to-moment combat is thrilling, and the satisfaction of besting an opponent and watching their mech explode can’t be overstated. We win that game, and I’m sent back to the lobby.and then, the usual suspects arriveA handful of progress bars are flooding my screen now, ranking up my player level, battle pass progress, random achievements I’m fulfilling, and more. It’s a lot to take in and something I’ve long grown tired of trying to keep track of in these live service games. Oh, look, there’s loot boxes with varying rarities in the game, too. Great.Opening my loot boxes, I’m met with something that immediately kills almost all my enthusiasm for Mecha Break. It’s a mod, complete with its own random rarity, meant to boost my mechs with additional stat bonuses. That’s right, Mecha Break has randomized loot boxes, which you can purchase with real money, that offer gameplay advantages. The mods include both an increase in one stat and a less impactful decrease in another. Which, I guess is their way of balancing the mechanic. Yet, it paints an incredibly ugly picture for me as far as the future of this game goes. Are the more common mods marginal stat increases at best? Sure. Does Mecha Break now have an incentive to sell you rarer mods with bigger benefits? Absolutely.On the main lobby screen, Mecha Break bombards you with the usual live-service bloat you’d expect from a mobile game. Multiple currencies, battle passes, a myriad of daily and weekly challenges, and persistent milestones to hit in every which way. It’s a massive eye-sore at best. But, a sea of red flags if it’s any indication of Amazing Seasun Games’ design philosophy.Hopefully, the launch of ‘Mecha Break’ will be as generous as the demoMecha Break gives you a couple of mechs to start with and a handful of others to unlock with in-game currency. For some reason, these mechs get more expensive as you scroll down the list, which naturally leads one to believe that the more expensive, the better. But, taking a look at their stats, they all seem marginally similar to one another, so I’m not sure why they have exponentially increasing costs.Screenshot: Amazing Seasun GamesAfter a few more matches, I have more than enough in-game currency to purchase a few more mechs. While Mecha Break has been quite generous with its rewards, there’s no telling if that frequency will remain once the game officially launches. It’s just a demo, after all. From what I’ve read from others, their progression and monetization systems have changed quite a bit since the first closed beta test.Ultimately, Mecha Break is a lot of fun once you dive into its meat and potatoes. With various game modes and an assortment of unique mechs to play, it works great as a PvP mech battler. It’s a shame, though, that it’s all buried under layers of uninspired, live-service overload.The post ‘Mecha Break’ Is Pretty Fun Once You Sift Through Its Layers of Live Service Hell (Demo Impressions) appeared first on VICE.