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[NSW/PC/PS4] Hardcore Mecha

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    [NSW/PC/PS4] Hardcore Mecha

    I have already written a full review of Hardcore Mecha, but that was based on the original PC build, so I thought to open a thread with impressions on the recently published Switch version. I'm currently playing the physical Asian release, which includes English and all the 6 DLCs (extra pilots and MECHAs for the multiplayer); a patch dropped yesterday, and aside a new title screen, I don't really know what it does in detail.

    Performance-wise, the Switch version mirrors the original PC version 99% of the time. The remaining 1% is due to longer loading times (though that's compared to an SSD) and some dropped frames in one particularly convoluted scene; the rest of the game runs a rock-solid 60fps and plays exactly like the PC version. All art assets are exactly the same, in fact I think the developers added a few more illustrations between the first iteration I completed on PC and this one.
    I didn't experience any differencies in performance between the "vanilla" version on the cartridge and the patched version.

    Hardcore Mecha plays remarkably well in handheld mode too, with two minor exceptions: using the d-buttons on the left stick to manage items is more cumbersome than on a standard pad; the interface doesn't scale, so text that might have been a point or two too small on a full screen is hardly readable on the Switch's screen.

    I also thought that multiplayer would have had all Kickstarter pilots and MECHAs already unlocked, instead you still have to redeem them through codes in the options screen. I'm saying this because developers, about 6 months after the game came out, asked to Kickstarter backers if it was OK to have their characters and MECHAs available to everyone, and I was totally cool with the idea. Oh well. If you really want to use me in multiplayer, I'll add the codes once I get home They work on PC and Switch versions, so I guess the PS4 conversion (which came out a months earlier) accepts them too.

    Anyway, if you haven't played Hardcore Mecha...do so immediately.

    #2
    Red Art Games version isn't shipping until Q1 next year. Sigh.

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      #3
      Demo was awesome, opening theme by Kageyama Hironobu = SOLD.

      ...or rather, I'm waiting for a discount on the Switch version.

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        #4

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          #5
          Finished the single player campaign yesterday. Sadly in the opening segment of chapter six slows down a bit, but after that the game remains smooth, even in very crowded situations.
          Clearing the single-player campaign unlocks an extra special attack, bullet time, and simulation mode. Both these features weren't present in the PC release when I played.

          Upon reading simulation mode's description I dismissed it but gave it a quick go...and I got glued to it. Simulation mode is a three-minutes long stage in which you have to repel enemy waves of ever-increasing strenght. Each kill increases the timer, and after ten waves you get a repair item to keep going. Destroyed enemies drop credits with which you can improve your MECHA in various areas, like firepower, HPs, resistance to attacks, ammo carried, boost potential, and so on. The great thing is that you can pilot any non-boss MECHA present in the game: you start off with the standard grunt from the good guys' side and as you upgrade it, you unlock more and more MECHAs. Enemies drop items and extra weapons, and all MECHAs are very different from each other and from Thunderbolt (the MECHA you use in the 1P campaign). Simulation mode starts off rather slow because the first MECHA is not that great, but once you unlock more powerful rides and weapons, the mode is enthralling. And now, excuse me as I try to get past 100 waves to unlock the Round Hammer.

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