Project Nimbus Early Access Preview - A Mecha Dream

I'm going to freely admit, I'm not the most knowledgeable mecha fan in the world. While I certainly love giant robot combat, my experience really extends to a handful of video games, Gundam, Gurren Lagann, and Evangelion. However, I can safely say that I've experienced enough to know a good mech experience when I see it, and Project Nimbus certainly is one of them

Your mech suit, known as a Battleframe, is outfitted with many unique weapons, such as a sword, a 20mm machine gun, a rail gun, and many more. My personal favorite is the funnel, a weapon which launches a cluster of tiny drones at your command, who you can use to intercept incoming missiles or attack targets you lock on to. Enemies are also different in theory, but Project Nimbus goes so fast you barely have time to notice them outside of boss fights.

Speaking of boss fights, that's where the difficulty peaks in Project Nimbus. On the default setting, Project Nimbus is pathetically easy until you get to a level boss, who will most likely kill you over and over. The worst part is that you can go from fighting a climactic and punishing boss at one moment, right to going back to blasting unidentifiable Battleframes the next.

The story is a fairly predictable and dull, focusing on a war between two factions duking it out in giant robots high above earth's uninhabitable surface. The voice acting reminds me of an average 90s anime dub, which is hardly a compliment. However, part of me believes this was done on purpose, and it certainly adds to some of Project Nimbus' charm.

Aside from the voice acting, the sound design is superb, with some really catchy tracks spiced in between all the cheesy voices and explosive gunfire. The entire presentation is great, especially on the humorously titled Graphics Card Melting settings. However, it is hard to admire some of the enemy mecha models when so many missiles, bullets, and explosions are lighting up the air.

However, campaign mode is only half the fun. Once you finish the eight missions available so far, you can check out Survival Mode, which pits you against hordes of enemy mechs or drones as unique mechs with different weapons. For an early access game, it shows a surprising amount of polish, and I only experienced two crashes in the hour I played of Project Nimbus. It seems all that's left to do is for Project: Nimbus to add in the remaining missions, but it has enough content as is to justify a purchase whenever you see it on sale.

Disclosure: This game was gifted as a key from the devs and previewed on the PC platform