Best Mecha Simulators Both Classic And New

Earthsiege (series)

Metaltech. HERCs. Cybrids. Do these names ring any bells? They all should, especially if you’re a 90s gamer. After all, the Earthsiege games are some of the best mecha simulations ever released.

And so in 1994 we got Metaltech: Earthsiege, a great mecha sim pitting the players against Cybrids, AI-controlled robots who took over the Earth following a botched scientific experiment.

Or maybe it was super successful, after all? Human resistance forces built their own powerful war machines known as HERCULANs (HERCs for short) and you get to pilot one of them.

You get to use a wide variety of weapons, including missiles, cannons, and lasers, issue simple commands to your squad mates, and gather salvage to build better HERCs and weapons.

Earthsiege 2 cranked all that up to 11, once again posing a major threat to the MechWarrior franchise. The Earthsiege franchise is now somewhat forgotten, but it gave rise to a more well-known title and series: Tribes.

Cyberstorm (series)

If you love mecha, but are more into tactics and strategy, you might want to check out MissionForce: CyberStorm and its 1998 sequel, CyberStorm 2: Corporate Wars.

CyberStorm is a turn-based strategy where you, as a subject of the Unitech Corporation, get to manage your own merry little warband of synthetic mech pilots, known as BioDerms.

Your task? Fight back against the onslaught of the Cybrids known from Earthsiege. Each mission and enemy unit layout is randomized, which means you’ll never encounter the same situation twice. Just don’t count on dynamic campaigns, as whether you succeed or fail does not really have any impact on the following scenarios, just the strength of your force.

CyberStorm 2 took things even further, making you manage much more, including building your base, research, and constructing mines to ensure a steady flow of necessary resources. In addition to HERCs you can also employ tanks and grav tanks, new types of units with their own strengths and weaknesses.

With random missions to complete and a nice selection of corporations (once again, each with their respective advantages and disadvantages), you can be sure that this one offers countless hours of fun, just like its revered predecessor.

MechWarrior (series, pre-2018)

Alright, now it’s time for the series that has become synonymous with mecha simulators. Dating as far back as to 1989, MechWarrior pretty much single-handedly defined the genre and shaped it for the years to come.

A couple years later we got MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat, which quickly became a major hit and for a reason. One of the greatest things about the game is how much you can tailor your gameplay experience to your liking.

Want to make things more arcade? Sure, no problem! Would like to engage in all the intricacies of a mech sim? Go ahead!

MechWarrior 3 introduced even more mech customization and Mobile Field Bases, which can get your combat walker fixed and restocked on the go, but you need to protect them from destruction.

Sometimes relying on their help is necessary to complete a particular mission. And then we had MechWarrior 4, which made the whole hardpoint thing somewhat more difficult, as not every weapon fits every hardpoint. MW4 received numerous expansion packs, including the stand-alone MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries. Does that title sound familiar? Yup, that’s also the sub-title of MechWarrior 5, which we’ll talk about later on.

MechCommander 1 & 2

Earthsiege has CyberStorm, and MechWarrior has MechCommander. The difference? It’s a real-time tactics series as opposed to Cyberstorm’s turn-based gameplay.

Released in 1998, MechCommander puts you in the shoes of the commander of Zulu company. Your task is to retake the planet of Port Arthur from Clan Smoke Jaguar.

The campaign consists of 6 operations, 5 missions each. Objectives are varied, but they’re usually based around destroying enemy units and bases or protecting your allies. Each mission has certain tonnage and unit number limitations, so you have to choose your mechs and their loadouts wisely.

MechCommander 2 was released three years later, in 2001. The game offers three campaigns for you to complete and 29 BattleMechs to choose from, each with different role and characteristics.

Some are better for scouting, others are more suited for combat. Another fantastic addition to the BattleTech universe in general.

BattleTech

After long years of drought, the BattleTech franchise returned in 2018. And what a glorious return that was! To this day, BattleTech remains a fantastic pick for all fans of turn-based strategies.

Image credit: Harebrained Schemes

You play as a mercenary commander in charge of your own mech pilot squad, AKA lance. Before each mission, you get to customize your mechs, their loadouts, even the abilities of your pilots.

All this will help you complete your objectives and face the challenges you will encounter throughout the course of the campaign and in other available modes.

The game received a number of DLCs with new mechs, missions, environment types, and modes. These fresh features include procedurally-generated Flashpoint missions with unique gameplay rules, separate from the campaigns.

BattleTech definitely shines as one of the best modern mech games available on the market right now. And it’s been made by a whole lot of the original creators responsible for the previous titles in the franchise, which is also a plus.

BattleTech

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MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries

And, just like that, we received another mech sim in 2019, after a very long break. So, if you love bipedal war machines, but would like to take matters into your own hands instead of just issuing orders to your lance, this one’s a great pick.

Image credit: Piranha Games

BattleTech sure loves them mercenaries! It’s basically the third game in the MechWarrior series with this title, following two stand-alone expansions to previous installments, MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries and MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries.

You play as Commander Mason, the only son of Nik’s Cavaliers’ CEO, Nikolai Mason. A treacherous attack during a training session leaves your father dead and your unit ravaged.

You will need to get back on track by rebuilding your force and gaining more reputation, all to avenge your pops and vanquish your foes.

MechWarrior 5 received a whole bunch of DLCs, further expanding the content available in the game. If you want a good mech sim, but don’t really care for the good, old classics, this one’s just the right pick.

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries

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Heavy Gear (series)

Alright, back to classics. Heavy Gear is what Activision made after they lost the rights to MechWarrior & BattleTech. Naturally, the games are based on a pre-existing universe launched in 1994, consisting of an RPG, a wargame, and a card game, among others.

The in-universe mechs are known as the titular Heavy Gear: humanoid battle robots, somewhat similar to the ones in the Gundam franchise.

The first game, released in 1997, pits the crew of a gigantic hovercraft carrier known as the Vigilance against a rival landship in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. As reviewers noted, the game shows a lot of creativity here and there, but feels somewhat unpolished and unfinished. No, it definitely didn’t beat MechWarrior.

The sequel, released in 1999, fared a lot better, improving upon the predecessor in pretty much every aspect. With upgraded, atmospheric graphics, a fine blend of action, simulation, and tactics, as well as a wide range of Heavy Gears to choose from, it’s definitely a goodie from the late 90s that’s worth checking out.

Armored Core (series)

Let’s try something made by a Japanese studio for a change. You may know FromSoftware as the makers of Dark Souls, those who pretty much single-handedly spawned the Soulslike genre, but did you know that one of their flagship franchises is all about blowing stuff up in massive mecha?

Image credit: FromSoftware

Set in a distant future, the Armored Core series puts you in the shoes of a silent mercenary pilot who operates the titular Armored Cores and completes missions for all sorts of clients.

These tasks usually involve dispatching a whole lot of enemy mechs and vehicles.

The first game in the series, released in 1997, impressed the reviewers with the amount of customization it offers and its multiplayer mode. The entire franchise consists of 13 main games, a whole bunch of spin-offs, and a couple of remasters. The latest main release in the series is the 2023 game, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon.

ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON

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Front Mission (series)

Another major Japanese mecha franchise, Front Mission surely made an impact with its complex storytelling and a wide variety of genres the games within the series represent.

Image credit: Double Helix Games

After all, you’ll get tactical RPGs, third-person and side-scrolling shooters, real-time strategy, heck, even an MMO here, courtesy of a selection of spin-offs. Still, the core genre of the franchise are tactical RPGs.

The first game in the series, released for the Super Famicom, dates back to 1995. It introduced the “walking tanks”, AKA wanzers, and established the franchise which now counts 15 games, including non-numbered spin-offs.

Gameplay-wise, the main games are based around you battling all sorts of enemy units: primarily wanzers, but also aircraft, military vehicles, and mobile weapons platforms.

Each wanzer you command has four modular parts, each performing a specific function and having its own health bar. This means that even if your wanzer’s legs get taken out, for example, it can still function, even though it’s going to be severely crippled. Naturally, if you’re looking for a change of pace, you can always try one of the spin-offs and play Front Mission as a shooter, for example.

Front Mission (series)

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Shattered Steel

Let’s finish our list with another gem from the 90s, even if it’s a little bit rough around the edges. Shattered Steel is known for being the first game made by BioWare and its deformable terrain feature.

Set in a distant future, Shattered Steel puts you in the shoes of a mech pilot who works towards stopping an alien invasion. Mechs here are known as Planet Runners and they come in various models.

You get to fight biomechanical arthropods across 5 planets (20 missions in total), customize your loadouts to help you better handle the challenges, and complete a wide variety of objectives.

While you might consider deformable terrain a gimmick and not much of an actual feature, you can use it to your advantage for sure.

And the nukes – oh my, they’re one heck of a weapon. Obliterating the battlefield with these is surely fun. All in all, it’s a great mech game which you might want to check out if you’re into oldies and stuff.