Mechstermination Force (Nintendo Switch) Review

All is well with Earth, until one day, when the MegaMechs appeared, and tore down the governments across the planet. Beaten and oppressed, a human group of rebel survivors vows to fight back, retake its home planet, and destroy all of these MegaMechs, while also uncovering where they came from. This is the simple premise that grants the context to allow this title to exist - and the story isn't that important.

What is important is that there are 14 MegaMechs to take down, in what is a boss-rush experience. With four different heroes to choose from, and a plethora of weapons and upgrades to unlock in the shop, Mechstermination Force is all about trying to earn three-stars by bringing down these mechanical titans in the quickest way possible. Each of these MegaMechs has a unique cool design, and their own attack patterns that must be learned.

The MegaMechs aren't that simple to take down. These behemoths have plenty of armour plating that needs to be destroyed before their weak spots are uncovered, in the form of a bright red button. Most of these buttons require climbing the MegaMech, while trying to avoid the robot's attacks. To get the best picture of what Mechstermination Force is about, think of Shadow of the Colossus, with the gameplay and display of Mega Man or Contra.

The art design here is splendid, as each stage renders a colourful backdrop of visual appeal. The MegaMechs that take up each stage are also uniquely designed, and that reflects their personalities. There is the Transformers-esque mech, a centipede-style monstrosity, a crab-based robot, a snail-robot and more. Each of these mechs have been designed with their own attack patterns, something that makes each fight a unique boss battle.

For those not familiar with boss rush titles, this genre strips back the 2D-platforming elements, and removes the usual level that precedes a boss fight. Mechstermination Force just consists of boss fight after boss fight, with opportunities to replay previous battles with the latter game upgrades and new weapons.

The only gripe with this title is that the 14 MegaMechs can be blown through quite quickly. Taking into account retries and a few deaths, Mechstermination Force can be completed in under four hours. It's possible that having too many bosses may have diluted down the fights themselves, so instead you get 14 bosses that each bring new strategies to the table, without any of them feeling like "fillers."

The controls are simple: the hero can shoot in any direction while running, or can prop on the ground to get a more focused shot without moving. Climbing up the mechs is easy, and comes naturally, and the fast-paced battles work well, without there being any confusion as with how to proceed. Boss patterns are easy to work out, but also harder to act out. None of the action feels out of place, nor does the hero suffer from the usual drawbacks that plague other 2D platformers. There's hardly any noticeable 'slide,' and the hitboxes are so tight that any deaths are caused simply because the hero just wasn't good enough at dodging the bullets, or other mech attacks.

This leads into the fact that Mechstermination Force is a tough experience; beating bosses on the first go is a rarity, and there'll be a few retries to ensure that the pattern has been worked out. However, being bosses in typical boss-like fashion, expect some of these MegaMechs to have a "second life" beyond their first death.

New weapons and upgrades can be purchased in between boss fights, and these add new dimensions to each fight. While they're not always necessary to down a boss, they are heaps of fun to use. From turning the single-file gun into a tri-blaster, or the laser gun that rebounds off walls and the mech's interior, to the bomb blaster that explodes on impact right down to the flamethrower. Switching between these weapons mid-fight requires no thinking, as the hero seamlessly switches between the desired weapon on-the-go.

There is the ability to play with a second hero in a couch co-op setting, and this make the chaotic boss battles even better to experience. However, it's not a mandatory requirement, and the single-player outing still showcases the best aspects of Mechstermination Force.