izigame.me

This is one of those games where I wish Steam had a middle option between recommend and not recommend but as it stands I can't entirely recommend but leave it at "if its your jam" because the game has some quirks that most people aren't likely to enjoy.
The game is, as advertised, a full loot Extraction PvP(vE) shooter and it is brutal.
You can lose just about every single thing and enter a downward spiral of failure at any moment if things go wrong. This 'going wrong' can be anything from the game crashing and leaving you defenseless even if you rejoin, to running into a PvP player. There is no PvP toggle. Its always on.
The game is beautiful, and when you're matched up purely with the friendlier PvE enjoying side of the fanbase its actually pretty relaxing with enough danger still to keep you on your toes and make any journey rewarding. Your Magus Companions are quite fun and lively as companions. The mechs look great too. The world is actually pretty interesting as you work to uncover parts of it and learn more (that you probably know a little about from the sequel anime they released). Its a wonderful idea of a game, but the problems with the game both fixable and inherent will very much limit your enjoyment depending on the type of person you are.
The opening theme is also wonderful and some of the music you can (earn) is pretty good too though some of the tracks are from the anime.
As stated before the PvE side of the community are pretty friendly. Not entirely trustworthy as killing you is a good quick way to become a Black Market (PvP'er) but for the vast majority of them they'll wave and leave.
Performance is a bit shoddy with crashes being more common than I'd like, but also various net code issues that will see heavy lag, hit issues (that can and will get you killed), get stuck (with a very slow unstick button), and even feels like it delays your Magus's feedback which is incredibly important for your survival.
Item collection is really annoying even with the wishlist feature. AO Crystal scanning is good but personally I wish there was an item scanner instead of waiting for your Magus to point out items which itself can be a bit finicky.
A lot of the stuff in shop is very expensive. Just hideously so and it can wipe the smile off your face as fast as any sudden death.
There is a limit to the amount of times you can repair items. Why? Because the devs kinda hate people.
The wait times....don't have a reason to exist other than to incentivize you to spend more money. Its not unafforable to speed up the loadtimes but it is a cost and the whole system sucks.
PvP doesn't feel entirely balanced at the moment (which is pretty much on purpose) especially with PvEers not having access to ballistics (PvP machines are specifically designed against the weapons PvE players are given) either forcing you to go the PvP route or just get lucky with a grab somewhere. They are effectively trying to force your hand.
Its stupid...insanely stupid and seems like they are trying to punish PvE players by giving them weaker equipment but its what they went with. If you are a PvE focus just be aware that you are inherently at a disadvantage equipment wise until you get ballistics of your own.
Losing your stuff feels brutal. The maps are filled with blindspots to the point where your best friend is gonna be your magus and paranoia. It can feel a little unfun at times.
The game does seemingly attempt to separate PvP players from PvE players a little but PvP players can appear on your map at random. They are marked at least initially but once they move they're invisible until they're spotted again. This can make a run feel more frustrating especially if / when they decide to camp out specifically someplace you need to be if you aren't prepared. It might even kill your plans if you don't wanna fight them, or can't spare the battery to wait for them to take their butts someplace else.
And you're never safe cause while the game prefers to stick PvEers with PvEers, hopping servers is pretty easy and pretty quick.
There are various frustration-lowering strategies you can observe and employ like;
- Never using a good mech unless you're very confident in your ability to fight or run...at least until you can craft them.
- Insurance. Always insurance.
- Willingness to scuttle your mech as a final middle finger to your killers or potential corpse discoverers.
- Always have insurance.
- Do not run good mechs until you can make them again.
----- Seriously if you have anything to do there is little reason to not run the shop mechs so don't feel ashamed or anything. You'll be squishier and have a lighter load than the people running Rabbit GTs and Daisys but if you die...you won't really have lost anything but your replaceable weapons and cargo. There is actually no incentive to run your most impressive gear other than set bonuses which you can function just fine without.
There is a solo mode in the game and its the devs "future proofing" the game but its very much the most "Here jerk" mode attached to a game I think I've ever seen if the story is pretty good. Its a pretty badly gimped version of the main game which is the PvP(vE) so obviously its not a place of much effort.
You can't even use the machine you want in it for...no real reason tbh.
The game is also heavily monetized of course which doesn't bother me but might bother you especially when on the pass are early weapons that provide a huge leg up (Looking at you Bolt Action +2) you might not be prepared for.
Its a fun game when everything is going well.
But when it doesn't (and sometimes unfairly so) its one of the most frustrating games I think I've ever played to the point where it feels better to just quite and do something else and frankly if you aren't hardcore into these types of games or just a complete wanton harlot for mech games (Like I am. I will literally play any and every game with a mech in it) then you might not want to continue and I couldn't blame you.
Depends on who you are.
I do like the game, but its not perfect and not for most people.