Theoretically, there is a lot of fun to be had in Mechajammer. Mechajammer also doesn’t try to limit you when it comes to dice rolls, so cut to me just standing by the door I want to lockpick spamming the action key until the game tires of me and lets me have my way. In contrast, playing Mechajammer is like taking a trip to your local casino and just throwing down some dice on a random table, hoping for the best. It’s a deep and intricate system that keeps the game entertaining no matter how many hours you’ve spent in it. In Disco Elysium, all your choices also come down to a dice roll, and likewise, choices you make while creating your character can aid those rolls. When thinking about a recent game that utilized a very similar system, Disco Elysium jumps to mind. However, because Mechajammer lacks any feedback whatsoever, you can never really make an informed decision about initiating combat or developing strategies. For example, if I know I need to roll a 12 and my dice with my modifiers make my max roll a 16, I know my chance of success is slim, and I should decide if I want to take the risk. The standard and accepted way for a dice roll system to be implemented in modern games is by having prompts that let you know your current chance of success. Still, it somehow fails on the most basic of levels. This system closely mirrors the pen and paper roleplaying games from my childhood. Certain choices during character creation will allow for modifiers to be added to your rolls to aid or hinder you along your way.

Do you want to attack an enemy? Dice roll.

Roll of a diceĪs a fan of tabletop games, one of the biggest draws to Mechajammer was its integrated dice roll system. Because of the fast pace and the dice rolls, there is constantly the chance you will repeatedly shoot yourself and your allies instead of a single bullet hitting the intended target, no matter how many skill points you’ve thrown at your character. In theory, this concept could be fun and make for some dynamic fights. The same principle applies to your squad. Combat consists of you right-clicking on a target and then relying on a hidden dice roll system to tell you if you hit said target or not. The moment combat is initiated, which is pretty much all the time, the in-game timer will freeze and only resume when the combat phase is over. Mechajammer went for a uniquely hybrid battle system where you, your squad, and the opponents share turns. After you’ve recruited an NPC whose pixels called out to you, they become a member of your squad, ready to do anything and everything other than actually be helpful. It’s like you’re a cult member, and these poor unsuspecting NPCs have no idea you’re about to lace their Kool-Aid. Instead of starting with a pre-decided party, you can recruit the NPCs you find along the way to join you.

One of the more exciting aspects of Mechajammer is putting together the party you want to die alongside. You play as a soldier who is part of a ragtag crew who must try to survive after crash-landing on said new home planet. So obviously, humans looked at this and went: yes! Our new home.

The planet where the story takes place is called Calitana it’s derelict, overrun by hostile mutants and rotten with pollution. It takes place in the far off future, where humankind didn’t all perish to a never-ending pandemic and instead decided earth is a trash planet and began shopping around and colonizing other planets. The story of Mechajammer is pretty straightforward.

Mechajammer reviews