Review code provided by the publisher
When I first heard about Override 2: Super Mech League, I was instantly intrigued. I’ve personally never had played a brawler game that was set in the third-person so I was hoping that this would be a bombastic and fun experience. While I can say that it actually is a pretty fun game, it isn’t without its laundry list of issues. The end result is a beautifully cartoonish game that’s not optimized to its full potential.
Story
Override 2’s story doesn’t take too much of the forefront. You’re an up-and-coming mech brawler who wants to go pro. Your manager guides you through your tasks and what you’ll need to do to win competitions and earn money to buy more mechs. It’s a pretty clear directive.
Gameplay
Override 2 offers many different things to play around within its world. There’s quickplay, League mode, your mech garage, and so on. I mostly played the League mode during my time with the game and found that I had a few caveats, instantly. Getting into the story of the game was very difficult to figure out as there are no indicators that League mode is the campaign itself. The other odd thing is that even when you start it, there aren’t still weren’t any indicators until I finished several matches.
There’s the choice to play the campaign solo or with other players and while it’s a cool idea, the servers are a wasteland. I was unfortunately never able to connect to any other players and it really bummed me out because every event that you load into asks you if you want to play online. I wish that this wasn’t an online at all times type of game because it heightens the fact that no one else is playing.
As far as the actual matches go, there are a plethora of different event types that you can take part in. There’s 1v1, 2v2, free-for-all, and such that you’d see in other games of the genre. Winning means more money as well as sponsors who will help that cash flow even more. Each game is bombastic with mechs having their own attacks and abilities that can be harnessed over time and released to severely weaken their enemies. Picking up another mech and throwing it across the arena is always a satisfying thing to do. Not only are you able to pick up mechs but you can also pick up weapons and structures that are usable during the fights.
I will say that the combat at times can feel extremely clunky. It also doesn’t help that the framerate is dropping 90% of the time. I never had issues with the game fully breaking down on me but it always made it feel like it was slowly making its way along instead of being an adrenaline rush. I’d also like to point out that the camera is atrocious, especially when you lock onto an enemy. Luckily, you don’t really have to lock onto them to do real damage, it’s just a nuisance really.
The arenas themselves are beautifully done with dynamic moving parts to most of them. You can’t fall off of them like in a Smash Bros. game but they each offer different vantage points to turn a fight on its head. Some of them are larger with a lot going on but sometimes you’ll come across smaller ones that really get you and your opponent in a more intimate fight. It breaks up the gameplay style slightly but didn’t really change how I would fight.
The mechs are easily the stars of the show and besides their differing move sets, they do have a different feel to them which helped me figure out which fit me best. Unlocking them is pretty easy to do with in-game currency which is rewarded to you as you win battles. Besides buying them, you can actually customize them slightly with cosmetics. I will say that I would’ve liked to have seen more upgrades to the mechs themselves instead of just cosmetics though.
Visuals
I’m pretty impressed with the overall look and tone of Override 2. It’s just as cartoony and whimsical as I would have hoped for. The mechs are awesome of course but it’s the arenas that look the coolest. There’s a dessert-themed arena that really brought a smile to my face because of how crazy it was.
Audio
The audio is done well and the voice actors did a great job in their department as well. Again, it’s a Saturday morning cartoon type of vibe that goes on throughout.
Replayability
With all of its different modes, mechs, and ways to play, Override 2 is a great time to be had when it’s on full speed. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to be said for its online battles but at least with friends, this could be a fun little party game. It’s not a game that demands too much out of its players and serves well as a destresser more than anything.
What It Could Have Done Better
The optimization issues are by far the worst aspect of this title and really ruined certain playthroughs for me. I can only hope that the devs don’t leave this game hanging and put out more patches until this issue is gone. The combat can be clunky at times and the camera too has its faults but nothing came close to those frames.
Verdict
Override 2: Super Mech League while having some fun parts to it will most likely never get a chance to be the game that it’s trying to be. It has chugging framerates issues constantly and an empty player-base that doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon. I’d urge folks who are interested in this title to give it a chance but do not expect a real competitor to the leading brawler games. This is better suited for family game nights or get-togethers with friends.
