Ironcast (2015)

My initial hour with the game was a blast. Ironcast is sort of like a mix of Puzzle Quest and FTL. It's set in a fictional version of the Victorian era where there is an endless war between England and France. To end the stalemate rich nobles decide to invest their resources and invent bipedal mechs.

It doesn't look like it at first, but this is a Rogue-lite through and through. The gist is once your mech falls in combat you have to start the game all over again. Any experience points earned in that run increases the Global Unlock Progress which grants you passive bonuses on every run. IMO a Rogue-lite should be beatable on the first run as long as you have sufficient skill and knowledge of what to expect. The problem is that even with impeccable skillful play there is too much RNG. It is common to suddenly find yourself without any ammo or coolant nodes. And late game enemies hit way too hard. They can demolish your mech in about 5 turns unless you lucked out on boosting your shields and evasion.

The only way it seems to beat the final boss is to grind away at the Global Unlock Progress. Grinding in this game loses its luster quickly because there aren't many unique events and on my third playthrough, I started seeing the same encounters. Sure the Global Unlock Progress rewards you with new mechs and characters, but I lost interest and gave up after my sixth run. The best thing I can say is that Ironcast has at least a bit more depth than a Bejeweled or a Candy Crush.

Intro

This is a match 3 game in which you pilot a mech fighting against other mechs and tanks. You power various systems (weapons, shields, drive) by matching 3+ nodes of the same colour. The game has a set duration of 8 turns during each of which you can pick from three different missions. Afterwards you fight the boss battle. During the game you find new mech parts to buy and gain new skills/part upgrades by levelling up.

The Good

• It's simple and amusing.
• There's some strategising when it comes to nodes and upgrades to pick.
• You can skip all dialogue.
• The game is turn-based so you don't have to rush.

The Bad

• Some Mech parts are too expensive compared to others (all parts cost either 750 or 1025 scrap).
• Mech upgrades are too expensive.
• Permanent HP bonuses are a joke (2,5% extra starting HP after a few level ups).
• It makes you unlock starting classes.
• Only 4 classes and 4 mechs (from what i saw).
• No variation in dialogue. You always get the same dialogue at the start and during missions.
• Very little variation in enemies. Mostly it's mechs with roughly the same weapons.

The Ugly

• The matching board is really random and can easily screw you over with no shuffling or whatever possible.
• Same with levelling upgrades. You pick from three randomly generated ones instead of a set skill/upgrade tree.
• The final boss is impossible to beat. He starts with 5600 HP plus all level 5 equipment. You have 600 HP and maybe level 3 equipment. His HP is reduced by manpower you gain from missions, in my case to 3300 and 3600 respectively. I managed to get him down to 2200 and 2300. Wtf.

Conclusion

Ironcast is entertaining for a couple of hours but gets frustrating after that. If you want a Steampunky match 3 vehicle combat game i'd recommend Bret Airborne instead.