War Robots: Frontiers Review

Mech Mayhem or Server Meltdown?

There is yet another free-to-play, online shooter that has heaved itself over the horizon, and this one goes by the name of War Robots: Frontiers. 

It’s been put together by the team at MY.GAMES, playing out as a team based mech shooter that promises tactical shooting action and the chance to go piloting giant mechs. Being free to play, as you’d expect there are also a plethora of ways to spend money on the game, but I had a clear mission: could I compete without spending a penny?

Well, come with me to Tortuga (no, not the one in Pirates of the Caribbean) and we’ll find out!

Threadbare Story, Detailed Arenas

Normally I’d spend a few minutes talking about the story of any game that I review, but here there isn’t a lot of point! Basically, we go to Tortuga, there are some mechs to drive and some other mechs that need to be reduced to their component parts, and that is about your lot. 

Even for an online shooter, the story in War Robots: Frontiers is a little threadbare, but it is what it is. 

I can talk with more confidence about the presentation of the game, however. 

And I’ll start by chatting about the arenas that we fight in, as they are quite well designed. There is an impressive amount of verticality in these areas, and jumping about and finding a vantage point is never a bad idea, if only to get the lay of the land. Of course, if you can see the enemies, they can see you, so this isn’t without its dangers. 

The landscape is also quite destructible, with things being crushed as giant stompy robots tread on things. The robots that we can pilot are all a mixed bunch, with different looks depending on the role that we choose to perform. I’ll go into the design and roles of the robots a bit later on, but the overall design of the mechs is pretty cool. As is the pyrotechnics when we inevitably fire at enemies; a special mention has to go to the flamethrowers that some robots use, which look really cool as they spew fire at the other mechs. 

Sound of the game is also pretty good; all stompy noises and gunfire mixing to good effect. There are various shout outs from your team mates, telling you to “attack here”, and whilst communication with team mates is also possible, the people I’ve met online haven’t been the chattiest bunch. Loud music and heavy breathing seems to be the preferred medium of communication these days…

Mech Roles and Customisation

Now, on to the gameplay, and here the story is a mixed bag. 

All through the tutorial, the action feels pretty good, and the tutorial does a decent job of introducing us to not only the way that War Robots: Frontiers plays, but also the three modes that we can take part in. These are, in no particular order, Team Deathmatch, that old staple of any online shooter, Last Robot Standing where we have a set number of respawns and the first team run out of robots loses, and finally my favourite, Warp Rush, which is basically Conquest from the Battlefield games, played out in a much larger scale. Once you level up far enough, there are also Leagues to get involved in, but these are the basic ways to play. 

The actual shooting action is okay, and the weapons that we can unleash do seem to have a real heft to them. That is when you are firing, but when you get hit, it doesn’t register as much as you would hope – it isn’t until the screen starts flashing red that you get a hint that not all is well in your mech. 

Using boosters to gain height as well as dodging incoming fire works nicely, and while you never feel like a ninja flitting about, these giant mechs can certainly pick their skirts up and move when they need to!

And further to that, the way the mechs move depends on their role, as there are many different ways they can be deployed. There are large, defensive type robots that can take some punishment, there are recon mechs that are fast and fragile, assault mechs that are a mixture of both, and so on. Finding a model and style of play that suits you is therefore quite good fun. The mechs can also be upgraded and have bits replaced as you level up, so there is a good amount of customisation to play with. 

Server Struggles and Player Base

But, for the good, the main thing that an online game needs is a strong and stable set of servers, and here the news is less positive. In fact, I’d go so far as to say the majority of the games I have played online have ended with some kind of server disconnect. 

Obviously, when you have fought your way through an entire match and connection is lost, so too is the EXP that has been earned in the match, so you’ve basically wasted your time. This in turn has had a knock on effect on the player base, as despite messages that appear upon firing up the game that proclaim the launch has been a success, I think the largest amount of actual players I got into a match was two on either side. Obviously, the remaining slots are filled by bots, but to be honest, their AI is very dumb and so the matches are pretty poor. 

A Mech Shooter with Potential, Hindered by Server Issues

War Robots: Frontiers does make a decent fist of most of the requirements of the online shooter genre, but fails on perhaps the most important – the actual online bit. The servers are flakier than a croissant factory, and as a result the whole game experience is affected, as it is impossible to rank yourself up when the game thinks that you have never finished a match. 

As a result, I’d say War Robots: Frontiers is worth exactly what you will pay for access – basically zero. Once the servers are fixed up, it may well be worth putting some time into this game, as the fighting is fun when it works. But at the moment, I cannot recommend War Robots: Frontiers to anyone.

Your Free Links

Mech Warfare Evolved: War Robots: Frontiers Launches for Free on PC and Consoles – https://www.thexboxhub.com/mech-warfare-evolved-war-robots-frontiers-launches-for-free-on-pc-and-consoles/

War Robots: Frontiers Brings Mech Mayhem to Consoles with Playtest – https://www.thexboxhub.com/war-robots-frontiers-brings-mech-mayhem-to-consoles-with-playtest/

Download War Robots: Frontiers for free on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/war-robots-frontiers/9nkz0rbtnb9b