MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries Reviews

The original release was decent, but the continued play after running through the main story line started to seem kind of pointless (which is a huge problem for a sandbox game), there just wasn't enough there management and goal wise. However, with a couple DLC and/or a few modds added, the game has really filled out and you can run a through a really in depth and pretty intense career. Mercs has always been a bit higher learning curve than say MechWarrior Clans, so now that there is a Mechwarrior 5 Clans (with a really superb DLC, Flash Storm) you could start with Clans before MW5 Mercs, but from a story perspective, maybe do Mercs first. Anyhow, for the current state of Mechwarrior 5 Mercs and with the DLC, highly recommend.

The open world approach to the game and gameplay makes it a game that does not finish. There is a career mode where you use the mechs weapons and money of the campaign and replay an already enormous game. It has a great amount of mechs to configure and I believe it is the best mechwarrior game ever made. Better than mechwarrior clans , that's for certain.

If you like big stompy mechs, this is the game for you! It's not the easiest game, but it tries to stay true to the tabletop. The only thing missing is allowing different engine sizes and the way hardpoints are done is kind of bogus, but that can mostly be fixed with mods, and really doesn't hurt the game.

This game keeps getting better with time. I have over 1400 hours in it now and that's only topped by L4D2 and SnowRunner.

It's the best mech game I've played on steam. Nothing else scratches the itch for stompy stompy quite like mechwarrior. Maybe one day in the future we will get a true challenger to the stompy stompy throne but that day hasn't come.

It is clear that PGI is learning. Each time I return to the series, many prior issues have been resolved or improved. I felt Clans built on the earlier installment in nearly every respect, applying lessons learned while making further improvements. For me, the tactical aspects remain the most engaging element, and Clans advanced these as well. Larger maps, easier lance management, better opportunities for crossfire, and improved angles for selecting engagements all contributed to a stronger experience. While not every mission made these changes relevant, enough did that I took note. In this installment the system is less refined, but still workable. PGI’s ongoing support, aimed at combining the strengths of this game and Clans in the upcoming expansion, is promising. I hope the next step will be a hybrid grand-strategy system spanning all factions. Ideally, this would merge the current gameplay with the ability to resolve battles automatically or fight them directly, much like Total War, but without sacrificing the depth and quality of the battlefield experience.

I had high hopes for MW but Piranha Games does the bare minimum with the Mechwarrior license. They in no way elevate the franchise. This was not made by fans of MW it was made by "its good enough" people. These games should be jaw dropping, instead its a mild upgrade over MWO. (13 year old game). Multi-player that has to use mods in order to make it viable. PGI wants to prey on your nostalgia and take your money, not make the definitive Mechwarrior experience. If you are a fan of the MW games, this is a $30 game at best with DLC included.

[h2]Overview[/h2] Mechwarrior, a game about you piloting a great big giant Mech in the year 3030, shooting other Mechs and decimating everything around you. The story is cliche at best but hey we ain't here for the plot. We are a band of mercenaries fighting in a divided universe for money and glory. [b]Is it worth it?[/b] I think it is, however if you are strap for cash it does come with discount every now and then so wish list it and wait for the sale notification. [h2]Some food for thought [/h2] First, to address the elephant in the room. Graphics. GO TO OPTIONS AND TURN OFF DLSS. For unknown reasons it will lag your game to rage quitting levels of FPS if you leave DLSS turned on, so turn it off. It doesn't care how powerful your graphics card is. The base game in it self is fun and all but the brilliant part of it is the available mods and its community workshop that adds soo much more gameplay, longevity and life to this game. I dare say modding your game a few mission in is a good way to up the difficulty level since the base game itself is soo easy, there is practically no challenge . Speaking about mods, the base game Ai has an IQ lower than a potato. It makes the game very blunt but if you want more intelligent Ai, there is a mod for it. This game can be a grind as you scruffle around universe looking for the perfect parts to build the perfect Mech, or at least that is how I felt until i realise that as the game progress, new weapons and new Mechs are made available and that cycle refresh itself into a state of perpetual grind. Well thats it from me. Time for me to grind more equipment.

[url=https://critical1mess.com/2025/08/24/mechwarrior-5-mercenaries-video-game-pc-x-box-ps/] Critical Mess Review [/url] I started playing MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries after I learned it was actually part of the larger BattleTech universe. Something I’d only recently gotten into after seeing it in person at the 2024 PAX Unplugged live show “Black Remnant” for MechWarrior Destiny and Alpha Strike. That event lit a fire in me to explore the franchise. At first, I wasn’t sure which game to dive into. I spent weeks debating between MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries and MechWarrior 5: Clans, weighing the pros and cons. After chatting with fans at my FLGS and doing plenty of research, I realized I wanted a sandbox more than a linear, story-driven experience. Honestly, I just wanted to pilot some big stompy robots, dang it! And between us, the Clans have always felt a little icky anyway. Before I hit “purchase,” my partner suggested I try it on Xbox Game Pass since it was free there without the DLC. That trial run sealed it. A few hours of stomping around in my first BattleMech had me hooked. Not long after, I saw a Steam sale and caved. I ended up buying the game outright with all the DLC, and I even got a stack of mods too! No regrets! The greatest strength of MW5: Mercenaries is how it makes you feel the weight of your machine. Every step rattles the ground, every missile volley lights up the sky, and every PPC blast cracks with thunder. These aren’t sleek anime mechs or agile Gundams. They’re lumbering, heavily armored war machines that demand patience, positioning, and resource management. The game nails that grace. Piloting feels like wrangling a beast, where overheating, ammo depletion, and armor decay are just as dangerous as the enemy in front of you. But being a mercenary is more than firing cannons; it’s keeping the lights on. You’ll spend as much time in menus as on the battlefield: negotiating contracts, deciding if salvage is worth more than cash, and repairing battered mechs after every job. It’s a loop that can feel repetitive, but also incredibly rewarding if you enjoy the logistics side of running a mercenary company. Which I very much do! Missions can blur together. “raid this base,” “defend this,” “destroy that target”, but the context of juggling your finances, mechs, and pilots makes each decision matter. For some players like me, this grind is the appeal; for others, it might wear thin. The real magic happens in co-op. Dropping into battle with friends, coordinating firepower, and laughing as someone overheats mid-fight turns MW5 from a decent single-player sim into a chaotic, glorious sandbox. The AI companions do the job, but nothing compares to four humans piloting in sync (or hilariously out of sync). MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a game of trade-offs: thrilling combat tempered by repetitive mission structures, immersive mech piloting weighed down by menus, and bursts of co-op brilliance. But taken as a whole, it delivers something rare: the authentic feeling of piloting a giant war machine in the BattleTech universe. For me, it was worth every penny I spent after that Game Pass trial. The DLC and mods only deepen the sandbox, offering more mechs, more biomes, and more chaos. If you’re looking for sleek storytelling, Clans might scratch that itch. But if you want to run your own merc company, juggle contracts, and stomp across the galaxy in 20 to 100 tons of steel, Mercenaries is the way to go.

Is everything the MechWarrior universe should be. been playing these since the 90's. 100% recommend.