Hawken Reborn launches into F2P early access on Wednesday
Hawken Reborn will pop us into the cockpits of stompy little mechs to blast through story missions (six available at first, with more to follow) and patrol zones (one at first). Along the way, we’ll upgrade mechs with weapons and power-ups and such. In those patrol zones, the blurb says, we’ll get to take on Radio Missions to earn resources, though the zone will get harder the longer we’re out, and we risk losing goodies if we die.
It sounds like Hawken Reborn will be singleplayer-only at first, with cooperative multiplayer arriving by the time it leaves early access. The devs expect early access to last 18 months, with the first phase “focusing on polishing the game and optimizing the gameplay and combat experience while improving critical elements like the UI, enemy interactions, and more.” Then they’ll move more into new content, including new missions and mechs.
Hawken Reborn launchesonto Steam Early Accesson Wednesday the 17th of May. It’ll be free-to-play, both in early access and at full launch. No word yet on how friendly/generous/frustrating/obtrusive/loathsome that F2P monetisation might be.
“Hawken’s lumbering god machines move like kung-fu ballerinas. Holding any direction and shift prompts a dodge so rapid that it may as well be teleportation. But, at the same time, each massive footfall is accompanied by parts whirring and meticulously detailed cockpits wobbling atop tenuous metal legs. The end result is a mixture of lithe grace and the knowledge that - yes - you’re still inside a ground-stomping, sky-scraping goliath. One moment, I might feel utterly invincible - bullets pinging off my armored shell as I charge unflinchingly forward - while, in the next, I’ll flit and flutter about like a frightened mocking bird.”
