It's the best moment in gundam and kaiju movies, when the two opposing monsters or mechs finally come face-to-face with one another. Towering over the city, they lock eyes, initiate weapons systems, and charge their boosters. And then boom, the entire downtown area suddenly becomes a boxing ring, the gigantic 'bots turning the skyscrapers into turnbuckles. Armored Core 6 has some of the best mech combat in the world. You mix that with an art style and base building mechanics reminiscent of old-school Command and Conquer and you get Arc Seed, a new turn-based battler out now.
Interstellar invaders known only as the Angels are trying to invade Earth. As a veteran mech pilot, you need to upgrade your machine, create the perfect deck combining attacks and defensive maneuvers, and then screech over to the city to throw down with the enemy. One of my favorite little conceits in Arc Seed is the fact that you have to wait until all the buildings have been safely evacuated until you can start using them as weapons. Hide behind a tower block. Crush an Angel between two office complexes. This is a strategy game designed around that classic Toho-style showdown.
And it looks gorgeous. Crisp pixels and a sci-fi, quasi cyberpunk aesthetic mean Arc Seed leaps off the screen. You can also throw resources into base building and static defenses - invest in artillery guns, tank armies, and even other mech troopers to help combat the Angelic threat. If you squint your eyes, it's like an anime-inflected version of Command and Conquer Red Alert 2.
Created by Massive Galaxy Studios, Arc Seed is out now in Steam Early Access. If you want to try it, you can get it right now, right here.
Otherwise, you might want to try some of the best cyberpunk games, or maybe the best RTS games if you want something else with that classic C&C flair. Oh and if you love stomping robots see our list of the best mech games.
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