Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly referenced Steam reviews alluding to purchasable revives for Mecha Break's Mashmak extraction mode and achievement cosmetics that must be purchased after being unlocked. Amazing Seasun Games has confirmed that players cannot pay to revive in Mashmak and can receive cosmetics for free by completing achievements.
Mecha Break launched in the wee hours this morning for those of us in the US, attracting more than 50,000 players in its first 10 minutes through the undeniable allure of cool robots. At time of writing, it's ranked number 12 on Steam's concurrent player charts. But not all that launch day attention has been positive, as early Steam reviewers say the free-to-play mech battler is a bit less free than they'd been led to believe.
13 hours after launch, Mecha Break's Steam review rating is currently sitting at Mixed, with only 65% positive reviews. As is often the case with new free-to-play launches, the most common complaints from negative Mecha Break reviewers center on its monetization scheme, with players reporting that cosmetic customization options that were freely available during beta playtests and prerelease demos have been gated behind microtransactions in the full release.
"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 customization that was in the beta being either removed entirely, or added behind a paywall and user marketplace," said Steam user Vellie. "Don't even get me started on the 50 dollar bundle of skins that cannot be customized."
"I have low expectations for any live service free-to-play game. This one, somehow, went lower," said reviewer trans diaochan truther. "They massacred the customization options from the demo, both of mechs and pilots, to sell back to you for $5 a pop. Hairstyles, makeup colors, *eyelash sets*. The battlepass doesn't even give premium currency."
On inspecting the in-game store, it looks like most of those makeup colors and eyelash sets are, in fact, less than $2. Make of that what you will.
Other reviewers say that other gameplay-affecting transactions veer into what you could reasonably call pay-to-win territory with loot boxes for high-tier mech mods and item-saving consumables for Mecha Break's "Mashmak" extraction mode.
My favorite summary of the initial state of Mecha Break's monetization strategy comes from one Cloud90802, who writes: "Bro this ♥♥♥♥ make csgo lotto look ethical."
In response, developer and publisher Amazing Seasun Games has replied to a number of negative reviews to let players know that they are both listening and learning.
"Please know that our team is actively reviewing feedback like yours for opportunities to improve the in-game experience for all pilots. We hear your concerns relating to in-game purchases and want to note that the core content of the game is fully available for free," Amazing Seasun said in one response. "Pilots can choose to purchase optional premium content (such as certain cosmetics) based on their own preferences.
"Additionally, currency and item rewards can be obtained through in-game activities and the completion of tasks—there’s no requirement to spend money to obtain them."
While you might not technically be required to spend money on Mecha Break's microtransactions, it's worth asking yourself whether having to battle other pilots who've dumped money into gambling for primo mech mods amounts to the same thing.
Mecha Break is available now on Steam.
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