"For mechas, this will be a breakthrough": Mecha Break impresses across its chaotic 6v6 action and revamped Mashmak extraction mode

It's hard to watch something like Mobile Suit Gundam or Pacific Rim, and not immediately dream about piloting your own skyscraper-sized mech in breakneck-paced combat. It's a fantasy that, according to Amazing Seasun CEO and executive producer Kris Kwok, drives his work on Mecha Break. "Just like a child, looking out, you see an airplane flying by, you wanna play that," Kwok tells us. "You see a supercar drive by, [you want to] drive that, and people have experienced that before. But for mechas, this will be a breakthrough."

Mecha Break is, generally, a mecha battling game where teams of pilots fight each other, across various different game modes. The 3v3 deathmatch is what it sounds like, and the 6v6 objective-based mode dubbed "Operation VERGE" mixes together point-capture, payload, and other familiar match types you'll recognize from the likes of Overwatch 2. Going hands-on with Mecha Break, we're introduced to a revamped version of Mashmak – a solo or three-person squad extraction mode.

Get in the mech

Though it's my first time playing Mecha Break, a tutorial quickly brings me up to speed. After a chaotic hangar escape, ending in a cinematic fight as my created pilot hurtles towards Earth along an imploding space elevator, I get my first taste of combat. The initial mech I start with, Alysnes, can boost, fly, and swap between an arsenal of large weaponry – from a ranged energy to a great big halberd, or whip out a shield for good measure.

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Everything feels like a pastiche of the mecha genre at its best, and it doesn't stop there. Getting a good look at the other mech designs once I'm able to peruse the hangar rekindles sparks from Saturday morning anime marathons. Falcon, one of the faster mechs, can transform into a jet a la Macross; another hulking defender, Tricera, immediately brings to mind the Heavyarms from Gundam Wing with its multiple gatling cannons.

If the goal is to capture the fantasy of piloting a powerful, devastating mecha in battle though, Mecha Break is on the right track. Swings of big weapons feel heavy and impactful. Picking up the Welkin in one match, I throw out a forcefield that traps smaller, faster mechs inside with me, and then start swinging my axe around, slamming them into the ground. In another match, I pick up the Aquila and go airborne, sniping and dodging quick Panthers and Skyraiders with my mobility add-on.

Every mech in Mecha Break has the tools to do their job, and a way they fit into the broader meta – just like in hero shooters. One sniper unit can grapple to walls, and several healer units act as the de facto support options. My mech's skills ensure I always know what my role in combat is, leading to exciting, fun moments of clashing archetypes and quick reactions.

The 6v6 mode is where these scraps shine the most, so it doesn't surprise me too much when Kwok tells me that Amazing Seasun Games sees the 6v6 mode as the "core gameplay experience." It's where the game's esports prospects will primarily play, and it's the easiest to pick up. Deathmatch is what the label says. But Mashmak, the extraction mode, felt like a slightly different – and more complicated – beast.

Where are the mecha dropping?

For Mashmak, you either drop solo or with a squad of three onto an absolutely massive map. NPC foes litter the space, ranging from patrolling squads of basic, easy-to-wipe mechs to massive foes and named bosses. The idea is to go in, kill things, get loot, and extract with what you can. A ticking timer at the top of the screen counts down for each of the five potential extraction sites, and giant Corite storm swells build up and push through the map, creating zones of danger that will eventually swallow the entire play area.

You still pilot one of the normal mechs, but in Mashmak, you have a litany of new options to airdrop in. Service depot beacons to repair, cargo rockets to extract specific cargo you don't want to lose, and even a modular weapon drop so you can add a second set of weapons to balance out the base mech's arsenal. Alongside all this, there are enemy teams, who you can either try to stay clear of or take on in a fight – after all, to the victor go the loot.

It's a novel idea and fresh change of pace, and one high point is how Mashmak makes the graphics shine. Mecha look fantastic in Mecha Break, and in Mashmak, you get to see them fight across different biomes and scenery. At one point, flying my Falcon unit between two storm surges, I'm struck at just how incredible it looks as I cleave through the environment.

While 6v6 still feels like the beating heart of Mecha Break, Mashmak offers something different and an alternate progression path for people disinterested in more head-to-head competitive multiplayer. Kwok says the team does plan to add more over time, including new big bads to fight in the zone. But Mashmak also has tons of loot, ranging from extra paint options to helpful stat boosts, which Kwok reassures me would have no implications for the 6v6 option. "Whatever you get in Mashmak is what you use in Mashmak and in terms of stats and performance enhancement, those are never for sale," Kwok says. "Whatever we monetize are only skins, versions of the mechas, cosmetics or textures, and also the battle pass."

There aren't any immediate plans for a campaign mode either, despite the story-driven tutorial I experienced, though Amazing Seasun Games will opt for some "fragmentary storytelling" through world updates in the hangar. Your pilot can walk around and talk to NPCs to learn more about the world conflict and "why" of everything. That, plus the extremely extensive cosmetic options for mechs, will definitely appeal to the mecha aficionados.

Kwok and Amazing Seasun lean into this a bit at times too, with plenty of cosmetic options for pilots alongside their giant death machines, and cuts to the pilot boarding their mech before battle or ejecting when downed mid-match. One scene even shows a silhouette mid-shower before a battle alarm sends the player running to the hangar. The fan service can feel a bit cheesy at times, though I think it's easy for mecha fans to say it's par for the course in the genre.

At its core, Mecha Break seems determined to play to the fans, and it certainly seems to be working. Even as I type this, the game's in a new round of open beta and charting fairly outrageous numbers on Steam. It can feel like Mecha Break is taking on a lot, with its three game modes, or like its free-to-play structure elicits some degree of skepticism over long-term monetization.

But at its center, in the 6v6 arena, Amazing Seasun Games seems to know exactly what it wants to provide: giant, skyscraper-sized, jet-powered steel machines slamming into each other with high-powered weaponry. We even joke about it during the interview, as I can't resist bringing up one of my personal favorite piloted robots in mecha history, the Guntank. In that light, I ask Kwok what he's eager for players to see in the final game.

"My dream is for all of my target audience to find that one niche, that particular arrangement of speed, mobility, defense, HP, damage, whatever that completely fits their style," Kwok says. "And that will be my most exciting moment."

Finding specific, classic archetypes and piloting them into Mecha Break's battles feels really good, and getting a special execution after a hard-fought duel between pilots always felt like a little burst of mecha goodness. In those moments, Mecha Break really does work, and it's the experience I'll want to return to whenever we see a full launch.

Mecha Break is currently targeting a Q2 2025 launch for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

What else is coming up? Check out our new games 2025 list for more!