Recent reviews by Artix

While I do wholeheartedly recommend this game, I think my stance requires some qualification. M.A.S.S. Builder is currently in what could be considered very late alpha or very early beta. The fundamental elements of the game are all fully functional (melee and ranged combat, equipment and progression, and the much-lauded aesthetic customization), but the game currently lacks content, doesn't yet have multiplayer, and still has numerous rough edges to smooth out, particularly balance issues among weapons. That being said, what we do have is the foundation for what is easily one of the best mech games I've ever played. The game is already worth buying simply for the fun of creating original mech designs (it's as good as you've heard; you can even place decals literally anywhere on your mech, including all sorts of warning signs and informational markers, to take the detail to the next level), but the gameplay, at least its fundamental design, more than equals the character creator in being a standout feature. At the time of this review, the game's biggest flaws are a lack of meaningful weapon variety (although two more weapon types are on the verge of release as I write this), a lack of content, and enemies that often become very annoying to fight. These are simply issues that stem from the game's early state, but I feel confident in recommending this game due to the constant updates it has received since its launch just shy of a year ago. Multiplayer is now on the horizon, which will alleviate much of the game's content problem, and updates only continue to become more and more exciting, with little, if any, decrease in frequency. I find little reason to think that this will be another early access game that never sees a full release. This is not pump-and-dump Kickstarter crap. M.A.S.S. Builder is on a steady track to a strong release and I fully recommend it to any mecha fans.

Allow me to elaborate on my "do not recommend" rating: I do actually recommend this game, just not yet. As it stands, this game is incredibly sparse, but will undoubtedly grow exponentially over time. When this game is finished, I will not be able to recommend it enough, but don't buy it yet. It'll probably be about a year before you actually want to play it.

-Found rock
-Threw rock at penguin
-Penguin dies
-Threw rock at monster
-Monster dies
-Find gun, leave it behind
-I now trust in the power of Rock
-Throw rock at fishman
-Fishman dies, rock bounces off, I die
-Rock is too powerful for mortals

This may be the sparsest, most boring game I have ever played. This is not a sandbox. It is a sand arena where the only motivation to craft anything, or really to play the game at all, is to be able to stand up to the gankers armed with rifles and shotguns. Do not waste your money on this steaming pile.

Despite what the trailer would have you believe, your enemies do not actually bleed math. 0/10

A lord hired me to collect from another lord who refused to pay unless I lessened the price with my own money, but also hired me to collect taxes on his behalf, the money from which I kept and used to bribe him into handing over the debt money, which I also kept. 10/10 would cheat and steal again

I got a tiger mask that let me take out a building full of armed thugs with just my fists then never used another mask again (there are a lot). 10/10 would fist armies of men to death again

This game is awesome. Really, really awesome. I got trapped by a horde of enemies, aimed at a big guy about fifty feet away, switched places with him, then commenced to shoot and slice my way through the swarm. Also you can cut people in half. This game definitely has the best blend of melee and gun play I've ever seen in a shooter, and it's worth a try just for that fact alone, because the combat feels awesome. Switching seamlessly from dual fire pistols to twin glass swords to finish an enemy off with a horizontal bisection never gets old, and the parkour system is just icing on the cake. Not to mention the amazing weapon variety, ranging from freeze rays to boomerangs. Fair warning, though: it can get repetitive, so, unless you have friends to play with, it may only be fun in small doses at a time, but it is very fun.

A good, classic dungeon crawler. Torchlight clearly drew a great deal of inspiration from this, and I actually consider this game superior in some ways. Something about this game just feels right.

I would give this game an 8, but the Steam Workshop easily bumps that up to a 10. Killing a dragon and eating its soul? Cool. Killing Nyan Cat and eating it's poptart? Beyond cool. The one thing I've always loved most about Bethesda games, and the thing most responsible for bringing me back to them time and time again is the modding community. The core game is fun and addictive, but not nearly to the degree it has become with the 100+ mods I've downloaded in the past week of playing it. I highly recommend not this game, but the mods that you can find for it. Game LEGOs. An endless stream of free DLC. Whatever you want to call them, they're awesome, and they make this game awesome.