“Bandits are hostile. I repeat; bandits are hostile.”
I’ve been keeping an eye on MechWarrior 5: Clans ever since it was first announced. I’ve always had a bit of a thing for the MechWarrior series, particularly since playing MechWarrior 2 all the way back in the mid 90’s. I remember being amazed by the games opening FMV with the screams of “It’s got a lock on me, it’s got a lock on –!”
You look at it now, and well, good lord, video games have come a long way. It’s worth noting that the key art for MechWarrior 5: Clans, and as seen in the initial teaser with its inclusion of the iconic ‘Timberwolf’ Mech seems very deliberate. “Remember MechWarrior 2?”, it whispers – “We’re going to be giving you more of that.”
Smoke Jaguar Clan
I got to sit down virtually with Piranha Games to get a first hand look at their latest stab at this venerable Battletech franchise, in the form of the recently announced MechWarrior 5: Clans. This is a direct follow up to MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, (which, by the way, is available on Xbox Game Pass, if you wanted to check it out).
Despite keeping the “Mechwarrior 5” labelling, Mechwarrior 5: Clans is very much a new thing, and is aiming to tell a linear, gripping story. We follow the events surrounding the Clan Smoke Jaguar, as they work through a pivotal conflict in Battletech lore known as the Clan Invasion and Operation Revival, a full-scale invasion of the Inner Sphere.
It’s the first time we’ve ever seen Clan Smoke Jaguar depicted in a game, in addition to being the first time we’ve gone back to Clans since MechWarrior 2 in 1995. From what I’ve seen thus far, the developers at Piranha are really looking to add some serious gravitas to proceedings.
The preview opens up on our five protagonists, all of them young, cocky rookies, led by Star Commander Jayden. The cutscene on display shows, to my eyes at least, a massive improvement to Pirahna’s visual efforts, from texture work, detail and lighting. There’s also some genuinely great voicework from the cast, particularly the surly, battle-scarred instructor, who is not particularly impressed with the recruits he’s been given.
All Systems Nominal
The mission shown in our first glimpse at MechWarrior 5: Clans moves across to a barren, desert like world, as your Star is deployed to investigate the area by a massive dropship. The game is being developed on Unreal Engine, though it’s not specified if it’s Unreal Engine 5 at this point.
Regardless, visuals in this early look are very crisp and clean, with great draw distances on display. I loved the eye-searing vibrancy of the lasers as they stretch out across the landscape towards the various targets as they were lit up by the Star firing in unison. Players can switch from either a 1st person cockpit view (where it’s at, for the hardcore) or a 3rd person perspective.
Destructible environments are also a given, and we see some conflict at a small outpost as light aircraft are shot out of the sky, decimating the structures below. It’s also great to see, depending on the size of the structure involved, that your Mech can just plough through things too, if the need arises.
It’s also here where we get a look at the BattleGrid system, where you can command the AI piloted Mechs in your star to move to a specific location, focus fire on an enemy, or via quick commands, ask them to form up on you as needed.
Star Power
The really good news here is you’re not stuck with the AI if you’d prefer some more human companionship. The campaign supports 5 player co-operative play, allowing for genuinely tactical play as you can form your Star with real, human players. And even better – the game plans to launch with full cross-play across all platforms. Good stuff.
According to Piranha, the Mechs you will pilot will be fully customisable in the Mech Lab, and in addition, your pilots can develop affinities with certain specialisations, meaning even more for those of us who would look to get very tactical when deployed on the ground.
While we didn’t get to see it in action, the Mech Lab promises an expanded collection of advanced Clan weapon systems, equipment and upgrades for a deep level of advanced customisation and adjustable functionality before deployment, meaning players will be able to plan ahead depending on the type of terrain or environment they’re heading to. There are a variety of biomes in store for us from “precisely designed confined cityscapes to bogs spanning incredible distances”.
There were some great set-pieces on display, even in this early footage, where 3 Union Class dropships are detonated in a surprise attack on some of Smoke Jaguar’s forces. The shockwave hits in real time, as a surly enemy who (outside of desperately needing to clear his throat) taunts at the Star over comms to avenge their comrades as they’re “cooked alive in their mechs”.
This early look has certainly got me excited to see more, and we can look forward to Mechwarrior 5: Clans releasing on Xbox and PC at some point later in 2024. In the meantime, if you’re intrigued by what’s been shown so far, you can go check out MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries which is currently available on Xbox Game Pass for PC, cloud, and console for your mech-on-mech action.
