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video games Those mechanical features — drivable robots dedicated to battle — have always been rare. Most of them, from 2023’s Armored Core 6 to 2016’s Titanfall 2 to the older Mechwarrior games, are fast-paced combat simulators. Bounty Stara new mech game available now on PC and consoles, slows down the action with a story about starting life over on the frontier.
Developed by Studio Dinogod, Bounty Star still has its share of real-time combat encounters that make up the bulk of the gameplay. But filling the time between it all are quieter moments, maintaining a desert farm, from gardening and tending livestock to tuning mechanical machinery. In these otherworldly expanses, the game’s settings sing, with the guitar soundtrack echoing around a dusty barn located in the middle of nowhere and nowhere under a seemingly endless sky.
During combat, quests and optional quests appear at the top left and support abilities appear at the top right.
It’s the perfect setting for Clementine, a tough former sheriff seeking to escape the mistakes of her past. Covered in tattoos and burn scars, she is a brilliant pilot of machines (called Raptors) that protect the settlements of a world piecing itself back together after a few apocalypses. Clem is a salty survivor who gets back on her feet, repairing the dilapidated way station her bounty wizard gave her while clearing the desert of bandits and dinosaurs gnawing away at the edges of civilized life in the frontier.
Cowboys and mechanics, what could be better? There’s a lot of emotion in Bounty Star, which has earned its place on small publisher Annapurna Games’ release calendar. The cartoonish style softens the game’s bleak themes of people seeking to live on the edge of society, but its combat is well-tuned. Clem embarks on rewarding missions in her trusty Raptor, which can be modified to suit the mission. Most of the time, you’ll be killing or arresting bandits on foot or with their own vehicles.
Over time, you’ll acquire an arsenal of weapons, explosive launchers, swords, and hammers to clear the sand and valleys surrounding your farm. You’ll have to be careful about what you put in your collection, as weapons can raise or lower the temperature of your machine. Swing too wide one way or another, and the shutdown will be forced, leaving you vulnerable. However, you can swap the standard systems in and out, such as a cooling coil that keeps your mechanics at a cooler baseline, which is great for going out on a hot afternoon but not on a cold evening. Part of the balancing act of switching things up is juggling the pieces of play equipment and the time of day for the task.
I spent about 10 hours in the game and unlocked a few farm items: a set of plant beds, two mechanical fuel electrolysis tanks, and a hive for an insect friend that I can bring on missions. Everyone needs care in the morning, and then I can cook a meal to get extra stats for today’s fight. Then I get the rewards, some of which can only be attempted at certain times — like the one in the evening that had me clearing a lighted baseball field.
Your farm can provide resources to sell or eat.
While the days are spent banging the heads of bandits amid the desert rocks and sand, the night landscape is lit up with phosphorescent purple trees – likely the result of the devastating wars over the years, but a beautiful environmental effect regardless. The stars rise above the neon violets, and as anywhere unspoiled by city light pollution, patches of white blanket the night.
I’m not far into the game, and I haven’t hit many of the story beats. But whenever I complete enough bounties to pass a stage, I watch a scene of Clem sitting atop her Raptor, filling out a journal, talking about her slow progress in gaining trust from the strange people she has met and the guild that assigns bounties to her that aims to enforce the law on Earth.
Although few in number, most of the other mech games are action-packed bonuses set against the backdrop of global politics (Armored Core 6) or galactic politics (Battletech). Bounty Star downsizes to an exhausted woman and the Earth helps restore order and productivity, one way or another. Helping others helps bring her peace. As anyone who knows the desert can tell you, look beyond the barren void long enough and you will find wonder at the natural beauty and purpose of making a living in the harsh frontier.
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Bounty Star is now available on PC (via steam
and epic), Xbox Seriesand PlayStation 5for $22.49.
