When first stepping foot on the alien planet Kerberos, it is quite astonishing. The game is built in Unreal Engine 4, and even though it is only in an early alpha state, the game looks incredible. The surface of Kerberos is beautiful, dotted by the occasional sci-fi military installation, hill, or murky puddle under a massive, detailed skybox. Light from Kerberos’s sun is diffused through the thick fog of early morning or the dust kicked up by weapons of war on this mostly dry planet. MetalCore is definitely a looker, and that was before any of the action kicked in.

Surprisingly, MetalCore doesn’t instantly dump you into a mech and send you on your way to wreak havoc across the planet. Instead, you’ll first take control of an infantryman and complete objectives across the planet while also participating in multiplayer matches. Both activities earn you experience that is required to level up and earn access to the game’s many vehicles. Except for the Scout vehicle, which can be piloted right away. All other vehicles are available at level 4, along with the PvP Faction Wars portion of the game.

Metal Punks, Gearbreakers, and The Holy Corporation are the three factions you can join. When you join a faction, you get benefits when your faction defeats another faction in combat. Each faction also provides passive bonuses.

The FPS gameplay of MetalCore definitely needs some work. Aiming feels a little sluggish, and looking down the sights resulted in the sight of the rifle waving around the screen, which isn’t really ideal when you’re trying to be as precise as possible with your shots. It’s not as polished as mainstream FPSs like Far Cry or Call of Duty, but the game is still early in its development, so it’s easy to give it a pass for this. Especially since the game's core gameplay is so good.

Aside from the aforementioned Scout vehicle, a nimble little hovercraft with a laser turret, MetalCore also has Fighter Jets, Tanks, and, of course, Mechs. Tanks feel just about how you would expect them to, but slightly faster than in other games, and the Fighter Jet is super maneuverable, able to move in any direction at will while packing plenty of firepower.

But enough about that other stuff, let’s talk about the mechs.

If you’ve played MechWarrior, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect in MetalCore. However, the mech gameplay here is faster and much more responsive than it was in those classic games. Your choices of mech range from small, fast, and agile to massive, hulking, spider-legged monstrosities. Each one has its own powerful abilities that can turn the tide of a Faction War in a few keystrokes and mouse clicks, but they aren’t invincible. To balance out that power, your mechs can be damaged to the point of malfunctioning, especially if the enemy is focusing their fire on you. In these situations, one tends to run back to safety and request repairs, but you could also hop out at any time and run away from the wreckage as a pilot.

In that sense, MetalCore is a lot like Titanfall. There’s no wall running or grappling hooks (yet), but being able to freely hop in and out of vehicles and mechs easily makes the game feel incredibly dynamic and adds a layer of strategy to your survival in MetalCore’s massive battles, which can feature up to 100 units battling it out (50 on each side).