Best Indie Mech Games

Mechs have always been a large part of popular culture when it comes to anime, science fiction, and especially video games. Game series such as FromSoftware's Armored Core and Square Enix's Front Mission are great examples of mech games done right.

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With indie games bigger than ever and only growing in popularity, many developers are harnessing their love of retro mech games and/or their love of the genre as a whole to create accessible, unique, and often cheap experiences that are well worth the price tag.

7 Battle Grid

Battle Grid is a Vampire Survivors-style game in which players are tasked with building out a squad of unstoppable mechs by collecting resources and leveling up through defeating hordes of aliens. Similar to other auto battlers such as Teamfight Tactics and Despot's Game, Battle Grid features unit synergies between the different mechs, adding a much-needed level of strategy to the gameplay.

Battle Grid's combination of arcade-action gameplay and the synergies and strategic mechanics commonly found in auto battlers helps it to distinguish itself in an overly saturated market, and the game's low price point makes it accessible.

6 Brigador

This older indie mech game features an abundance of random generation and frantic top-down shooter combat in which players pilot a mech as a freelance mercenary. The game features a grim-dark story and intense combat that fans of top-down-shooters and arcade-style games will love.

Brigador features a lot of customization options both gameplay-wise and settings-wise. Players have a large amount of control over their mech's loadout, and there are a plethora of mech and weapon options to choose from. Although the game features a campaign with over thirty missions, Brigador truly shines in its Freelance Mode.

5 Mainframe Defenders

This turn-based tactics mech strategy game features retro graphics that borderline on an ASCII aesthetic, which won't be for everyone, but for those that can look past (or are fans of) the old-school visuals, Mainframe Defenders is a highly tactical experience with a massive focus on unit customization.

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Mainframe Defenders may look intimidating on the surface with its chunky user interface, but the turn-by-turn gameplay is both simple and easy to learn. The strategy and challenge in Mainframe Defenders boils down to efficiently managing an entire squad of customizable mechs, upgrading and loading them out with the appropriate gear to complete missions and unlock new mechs.

4 Mech Engineer

This highly complex, dark science fiction strategy game features RTS mechanics and resource management wrapped up in a relatively inaccessible, but extremely unique, package. Mech Engineer is a complex mech-building game in which players must worry about heat generation, weight, and energy management, with very little control over their units in real time.

Mech Engineer has a distinct visual style that won't be for everyone, but its graphical choices and UI design are highly immersive, creating a dark and dingy atmosphere that fans of grim-dark science fiction are sure to enjoy. Although players can give their squad of mechs a variety of vague orders, Mech Engineer's gameplay is much more focused on resource management and unit customization.

3 Gearbits

Gearbits is a mech-themed third-person shooter featuring a narrative campaign with twenty missions and a wave survival mode that helps to add replay value to a game that's already worth its low price point. Gearbits plays very similarly to the earlier entries in FromSoftware's Armored Core series and is a great cheap alternative for those looking for third-person mech action.

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Gearbits features several distinct weapons and ten unique mechs to unlock and play throughout its well-designed campaign, and each mech has its strengths and weaknesses that help to make each of them feel different. Although its visuals may be primitive, Gearbits is an impressive indie title that fans of Armored Core and 3D third-person action games are sure to have a blast with.

2 Mechabellum

This mech-themed strategy auto battler has a heavy emphasis on PvP, but it also features AI opponents and a great survival mode that makes it a blast even in single-player. Mechabellum tasks players with building large armies of mechs and countering their opponents through careful unit purchases and positioning.

Mechabellum is heavily focused on positioning units but also features a beacon system that allows players to direct the movement of their army. In PvP especially, Mechabellum tasks players with reading their opponent and countering their moves to create the perfect combination of units. For fans of auto battlers looking for a more strategic, PvP-focused experience, Mechabellum is one of the best choices.

1 Into The Breach

Developed by Subset Games, the developers behind the indie strategy hit FTL: Faster Than Light, Into The Breach is a turn-based tactics rogue-like with puzzle elements that is unique for giving players access to an abundance of information that allows them to make informed decisions about each and every move. The game also allows players to undo moves and even reset their entire turn, further encouraging experimentation to puzzle out the most efficient turn.

Into The Breach is perfect for fans of mechs and turn-based tactics, with a plethora of mech squads to unlock that each have their unique move-sets to encourage different playstyles. Because of the sheer amount of variety in the game's mechs, equipment, and pilots, Into The Breach has an extreme amount of replay value that's hard to find elsewhere.

MORE: Indie Strategy Games For Beginners