Command a Galactic Mech War from the Front Lines in Drop Command

I love mech games. The bigger the stompy robots, the better. But until now, the rule has been that the more simulationist the game, the smaller the scale. That changes with the release of Drop Command, a game I've been excited for ever since trying the demo earlier this year - it takes retro mech combat (very similar to the classic MechWarrior 2) and pairs it with an ambitious 4X space strategy layer, where you build an empire, design your units, and then pilot them on the front lines, and it's out today.

Drop Command may not OFFICIALLY be a game set in the same universe as BattleTech and MechWarrior, but it's obviously very heavily inspired, right down to the chunky egg-shaped dropships, and some of the mech designs being eerily similar. And during those early demo missions, I felt immediately at home too, especially once I had the option to poke and prod at my mech's loadouts. But there's more than just mechs. Drop Command covers the whole nine yards, from power-suited infantry to tanks, VTOL aircraft, and mechs of every scale from high-mobility scouts up to towering behemoths.

So if you want to be the kind of person who flies a regular helicopter gunship in the middle of a colossal mech-war, you can. Or if you're really unhinged, you can just go walking around on the front lines with a squad of regular human grunts in tow. And for your first few missions, it's going to feel pretty limited as you feel your way around basic piloting. In old-school MechWarrior style, making sure your mech doesn't overheat or run out of ammo is important. As is protecting any damaged components, as losing a limb can seriously defang you. If you've ever played one of the earlier MechWarrior games, it's immediately familiar stuff, albeit a little more streamlined.

It's streamlined for a good reason though. It isn't just you and your 3-4 NPC buddies rolling through a mission here, but often entire armies on both sides. Battles can be huge, messy throwdowns between the contents of a dozen dropships on each side, all tying into the game's strategic layer. While not quite on the same scale as games like Stellaris, there's a whole galactic map to conquer, each planet with its own resources, strengths, and strategic value. But everything comes down to conflict, and you always get to lead from the front, switching perspective between your units as you see fit.

Obviously, all of this ambition comes with visual fidelity as a trade-off. This is an indie production from a small studio, and looks (and I say this with only affection in my heart) like a game from the late '90s polished up to run nicely on modern machines. The UI can be a bit dry and threadbare, and the music isn't much to write home about. And yet, the appeal of rising from a solitary mech pilot to head of a galactic empire, my factories churning out the units that'll be dropping alongside me to capture my next strategic target? Undeniable. I can't wait to see how things escalate beyond where the demo ends.

Drop Command is out now for £20.70/$23, with a 15% launch discount running until October 11th. The demo is also still available if you want to take your mech for a spin around the block before picking what color you want the lasers to be.