Did you watch Pacific Rim and think, “it’d be really cool to pilot a mech like that”? Or did you perhaps find yourself wanting to battle kaiju from the safety of your own home? While we can’t get you a fancy mech suit to jump into, we can introduce you to MECHBORN, an upcoming roguelike deckbuilder where your mech is your deck.
To those who enjoy mech anime or kaiju stories, perhaps this premise will sound a bit familiar. Earth is under attack from kaiju and now brave pilots will save the day in their mech suits. While the premise of the story may be farmiliar the game play is where MECHBORN comes into its own. Despite calling itself a deckbuilder, players won’t be using a traditional hand of cards. In fact, you won’t even start with a set deck for each mecha.
Instead, you’ll build your mecha by choosing from four parts, the head, torso, arms, and legs. Each of these areas will add cards to your starting deck. This means you’ll be able to craft a different starting deck for each run if you choose to. Once you build your starting deck, you’ll want to make sure you choose a pilot who works with your deck. Each pilot will come with their own four skills that can change your play style. Be sure to find a good synergy between pilot and mecha if you want to save the world.
Your deck synergy and your pilot look to be extremely important decisions as this deckbuilder doesn’t quite play the same as you may be used to. In MECHBORN this isn’t a hand that you’ll be playing and discarding at the end of each turn. Instead, you’ll have seven cards on a conveyor belt for you to play through. When one card gets played the next card enters. This will shift the positioning of your cards, the cost of your cards, and how strong your cards are.
As you build your deck, be mindful of what combinations you may have. In your deck you may have cards that will be stronger when adjacent to other specific cards. This will add on to the tactical challenge in MECHBORN. Is this a card you need to hold onto for a while to make it stronger? Do you need to align your cards in a row together for a better defense? If you’re lucky (or chosen a specific pilot) perhaps you’ll be able to change your card order for a better outcome. Try out quite a bit of variety to find your best build.
Another shift in MECHBORN is the mapping. Instead of following a specific path, you can move across the map choosing your next direction. Continue taking the enemy head on or will you take some time to regroup? As with many roguelikes there are other encounters, vendors, and events waiting for you to make your runs feel quite different than the last.
The developers at Turtle Juice have poured quite a bit of themselves into this upcoming release. For those who can’t wait to get their hands on MECHBORN, there is a pre-alpha version of the game available on itch.io. While the pre-alpha allows you try out one mecha and one pilot, the full version of the game is boasting 12 pilots each with their own skills and 3 different playable mechs. There will be hundreds of cards and plenty combinations to choose from for those willing to take the plunge. Get in the robot gamer! Also kudos to you if you get the reference.
MECHBORN is releasing late 2026 on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2. Will you be checking out this title when it releases? Let us know in the comments down below or on the Gamer Social Club Discord, where you can chat about your favorite games, join in community game nights, take part in giveaways, and more!
