BattleTech Reviews
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GameSpot gives it an 8/10:
Battletech is a game that selfishly takes its time to be meticulous in every respect, and pushing through the density and idiosyncrasies of its many, slow-moving parts can be tough. But if you have the will to decipher it, albeit, at a deliberate and punishingly plodding pace, you can find yourself completely engrossed in its kinetic clashes. Battletech's intricate components ultimately foster a fascinating wealth of nuanced systems that build a uniquely strenuous, detailed, and thoroughly rewarding tactical strategy game.
Ars Technica goes scoreless:
It takes a lot of patience to reach the point where you can see the rhythm of BattleTech’s story missions, roll with the inevitable punches, and twist them into counterattacks. The game’s systems are almost too much to swallow at times, and you don’t get the usual steady flow of upgrades to flatten the difficulty.
GameInformer gives it a 7.5/10:
Despite some gameplay quibbles, the core loop of BattleTech – mech acquisition, customization, and combat – does a great job of adhering to the source material and providing engaging ballistic battles. Crunching an enemy core under your metal boot or scoping out a target for an enormous missile barrage are satisfying as hell, even if the frame of the title could stand for a little extra armor.
Gamereactor gives it a 9/10:
Considering its pedigree, BattleTech the turn-based tactics game is long overdue, but the good thing is it's finally here. The mercenary life and its constant decision making, money issues, and tactical battles kept us nailed to our seat for hours on end; the campaign setting is unexpectedly robust, and there's always something motivating you to expand your garage of death-dealing metal monsters. Some technical aspects still need some work (especially the frame-rate and odd second-long pauses), but there's nothing that'll stop you from enjoying this Xcom-with-mechs from day one.
WorthPlaying gives it an 8.3/10:
Despite the issues, I'm really enjoying BattleTech. Get past its learning curve and get a few missions under your belt, and you begin to feel like a capable commander. The company management gives a backbone to your progression, while the mission gameplay is an enjoyably tangled web of tactical options and trade-offs. It's far from a perfect game, but it's a solidly good title that's a welcome entry in a long-overlooked franchise.
IGN India gives it a 7/10:
BattleTech provides exciting strategic decisions and a compelling story, plus the slow-paced and meticulous fun of building up and customizing a mercenary company but suffers from the frustrating unpredictability of its weapons and procedural missions, and losing a favorite mechwarrior to a random head hit feels like it somewhat undermines the choices I’ve made along the way. Those frustrating moments didn’t ruin my many hours with BattleTech by any means, but they did mean I wasn’t rushing back for more after I beat the campaign.
Paste Magazine gives it an 8.5/10:
But even when I found myself banging my head against a particularly hard mission, I never felt unsatisfied. Battletech shows a cruel and vast universe of empires and kings and queens, and narrows the lens of storytelling to a tight and contained thread of a queen regaining her throne with the help of a mercenary crew. You never feel like an army, and that’s to the game’s benefit. This isn’t a game about a war, even though it is set against the backdrop of one. Battletech is a game about battles, in all their sad and joyous desperation, and the machines that they so lovingly destroy.
Polygon doesn't go with a score:
Going forward with the game, I’m going to continue to explore what it means to quit out of a mission. Maybe there’s a difference to be found when you fail at a critical moment in the storyline. But here’s hoping that, as Harebrained Schemes continues to support the game, they put some more effort into what happens when things go wrong. Losing a mission in BattleTech could be a lot more meaningful, and a lot more fun, than it is right now.
Segment Next doesn't hand out a score, either:
Overall, Battletech feels and plays like a Battletech game that will appeal to its hardcore fans. For new players not familiar with Classic BT, there is definitely a steep learning curve combined with some convoluted systems and poor design choices that can put off some players.
Windows Central gives it a 3.5/5:
BattleTech's actual content is superb, but it's impossible to ignore the fact that trying to make it play well on my high-end PC was an absolute chore. If the game was more polished, I would give BattleTech a full point higher in my score. You may want to wait for some patches to come out before picking it up.
Here Be Geeks is another scoreless one:
Battletech is fundamentally a good game. It takes all the fun of the original game, and applies a coat of high-tech spit and polish. The game handles a lot of the busy-work, keeping track of numbers that got in the way of blowing chunks of metal of giant robots.
And Twinfinite gives it a 3.5/5:
Success in BattleTech is rare but deeply satisfying. But taking into account just how unwelcoming the game’s first few hours are, it’s hard to recommend to new players, or those that only play modern strategy games. For those brave enough to stick it out though, there’s a rich story, a wonderful interplay between simulation and turn-based mechanics, and the exciting feeling of being the Commander of a team of battle-hardened war machines. BattleTech is obtuse, mean, stubborn, but also dynamic, deeply customizable and ambitious. Hopefully future updates make it faster and more accessible, because it’s a shame that such a great experience is hidden behind such a sturdy wall of shortcomings.
