Mecha Break is out at last and its initial reception on Steam has been strong. The game has shot past 132,000 concurrent users as of writing, which isn’t too shabby by any means. However, while plenty of people are playing it, initial reviews are mixed.
The reason is thanks to one thing: Microtransactions. Hordes of players eager to hop into the multiplayer mecha action shooter have found themselves shocked at how much customisation options are locked behind various currencies.
This has hit some especially hard. During the very popular demo released earlier this year which reached a peak of 317,522 concurrent players, many of these options were free. Customising your mecha pilot is a substantial part of the charm for many, who now find themselves burned a little.
The developers of Mecha Break – Amazing Seasun Games – were steadfast in keeping monetisation models for the full release a secret in the run up to the launch earlier today. Players were cautiously optimistic about how the developer was intending to make money, but it’s clear what’s turned up in the launch version of the game isn’t what many expected.
“Was a huge fan of both the betas that came out, but instantly lost all desire to even start up a game after seeing how much of the customisation that was in the beta being either removed entirely, or added behind a paywall and user marketplace,” wrote Steam user Vellie. “Don’t even get me started on the 50 dollar bundle of skins that cannot be customised.”
The $50 bundle they mention refers to the custom Falcon and accompanying pilot Leonie Fevre, which is currently for sale for £47.99 in-game for a limited time. In addition, seasonal sets can be bought for Corite (premium currency) which also rotate out of the shop in a month. Many of the hairstyles and pilot customisation options can only be bought with this currency.
There is a counter argument though. There’s an in-game marketplace which allows players to sell items they acquire for Corite. So theoretically you can grab stuff without having to pay real money for it. However, this aforementioned bundle has a minimum market value attached. You can sell it on the marketplace for a minimum of 5,200 corite. It comes to roughly £45. Whichever way you slice it, pricey!
There are other problems people aren’t happy about. One could argue Amazing Seasun Games has to make money somehow, that’s just the reality of free-to-play games, but a change to its extraction battle royale mode Mashmak has some especially annoyed. In the demo, you were given cargo rockets allowing you to extract resources from the battle royale without leaving yourself, essentially ensuring some loot from each run.
These rockets are now no longer free, but somewhat rare consumables. As such, the Mashmak mode has become significantly more daunting for the casual player. It’s now harder to get good loot out consistently, and it takes longer to accrue a stockpile of good stuff.
Even with all these valid concerns Mecha Break is at a mixed rating rather than negative, in large part due to the core gameplay still being fast-paced and enjoyable. Amazing Seasun Games have adjusted its game in the past following community feedback. Perhaps they will again.