A NewType of Hero Shooter has arrived
If you’re like me and are a fan of the hugely popular Japanese anime mecha franchise Gundam; then you know we are eating GOOD right now. That’s right, not only has there been another video game in SD Gundam Battle Alliance, but there is also a new anime in the form of The Witch from Mercury but to top it all off we get a hero shooter of sorts video game called Gundam Evolution, and after my time with it I can safely say that if you are a Gundam fan, you NEED to play this game; oh did I mention it was free to play as well?
Gundam Evolution features suits encompassing the original RX-78-2 design, Char Aznable’s later Szabi model and even the Unicorn Gundam. There is a suit for everyone, and due to the free to play nature of the game, Gundam Evolution comes with a store and a… you guessed it a battle pass. Everything feels standard fare as far as these two things, there are lots of customization options for each Gundam suit. The purist in me hates the idea of changing the iconic colors and paint jobs of these mobile suits but a lot of the higher tiered skins are extremely cool. Paint jobs that resemble a neon nightclub, and even glow in the dark like effects will really tug at you to open your wallet; but nothing feels overpriced, and it all is purely cosmetic.
MSRP: Free-to-Play
Platforms: PC (reviewed), Consoles later this Fall
Price I’d Pay (if it wasn’t F2P with microtransactions) $49.99
Where the game starts to feel like a pay to win is by way of the locked mobile suits. There are 12 suits available to everyone at the outset of the game, with the last 5 suits being locked behind a pay wall but players can choose to grind the in-game currency to purchase these if they want to remain free to play. The issue is more than one of those suits can be pure game changers even if used with a modicum of skill. The Unicorn Gundam has a passive that can continuously heal friendly units and an active skill that will give any comrades in the area armor. Not to mention it’s a fairly easy suit to use, and that’s just one example. But matches were quickly decided based on which side had one of these extra suits unlocked and this was in the Quickplay arenas. This is an issue of balancing more than anything else, and I am sure that with time this issue will be addressed. Plus, this is a game in which the developers want to see last a long time, there is already a Esports tournament set up and the console version hasn’t even launched yet. (Console launch is in Nov 2022)
All the available suits serve a purpose and have a specialization of sorts. The Szabi is a big mobile suit equipped with a shield and can take a lot of damage which of course makes him more a tank. Mobile suits like the Pale Rider can handle multiple roles with their repair pod which can heal friendly units and it’s equipped with a machine gun and grenades. Whereas the Methuss mobile suit is a dedicated healer with its repair cable that latches on and constantly heals the player its attached too. While none of the suits are locked into a specific class or style, its easy to see where each of them could fall in the usual hierarchy of classes. But because they aren’t locked players are free to play around and experiment. The only downside is that currently there is only one suit that has a sniper rifle, so if long range is your game your choice is gonna be pretty easy.
One of the areas where I give the development team so much credit is for how each of the mobile suits ‘feel’. That is to say that even though players are controlling giant mech suits, when in combat it doesn’t feel like it. Even with the thundering footsteps, and unique sounds of boosters firing everything handles just as smoothly as you’d expect from a modern first-person shooter. There will be lots of comparisons to Overwatch now Overwatch 2 and that won’t be without merit; especially with the new game taking a free to play approach. But while Gundam Evolution is a “hero” shooter, its game modes are more akin to Call of Duty than the payloads of Overwatch. Players will pilot their mobile suits Destruction, Point Capture and Domination matches. Some rounds can get long, and if another team is being dominated it’s common to see players just quit. Thankfully there is a leaver penalty in place to stop abusers from jumping in and out of matches just because of losing.
As a massive fan of the Gundam franchise, Gundam Evolution is off to a fantastic start. Each of the initial batch of mobile suits all fill different roles on the battlefield; and none of felt like it didn’t have a sufficient counter to it. Sadly, some of the best counter picks are locked behind the pay wall, but players can grind out the currency if they want to save some money. I do wish the grind to unlock new suits and the in game currency wasn’t so slow, and the game is in desperate need of some new maps but even with those issues surprisingly the best Gundam game out right now is the free to play Gundam Evolution, and while I am waiting on the console version to REALLY dig in. Those who play on PC should absolutely check it out, especially if you are a fan of games like Overwatch or Paladins. (Does anyone still play Paladins, for that matter does anyone even REMEMBER Paladins?!)
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
