Focus Home Interactive announced today that a new expansion is coming to Hairebrained Studios’ adaptation of the legendary board game, BattleTech. The game features mechs in turn-based strategy gameplay, and while the base game and previous updates focused on big, wide open spaces, Urban Warfare will take you to the city streets.

The expansion will, just as the name implies, put you and your warring machines in the heart of an urban center filled with destructible buildings and various hazards to use in combat, like abandoned fuel trucks or broken down electrical transformers. It will include two brand new BattleMechs, (the Raven 1X and the Javelin), new Flashpoints with branching paths, new enemy vehicles, and Attack and Defend- a new mission type where your mercenaries must destroy an enemy’s base to stop a steady stream of attackers before they can overcome your forces. You can read more about it at the expansion’s Steam page, and watch the announce trailer below.

BattleTech is available now exclusively for PC, which you can read our take on through here. Urban Warfare will be available to purchase on June 4^th.

Harebrained Schemes’ turn-based tactical strategy title BattleTech launched in April 2018 to fairly positive reviews. If you’ve been on the fence about it ever since though, then now might be a good time to try it out. BattleTech is free this weekend on Steam, starting from today until February 24th. So don’t delay and keep Dekker alive today.

BattleTech takes the classic MechWarrior combat of old and offers a tactical approach. Set in 3025, players become involved in a war between noble houses and must manage their own mercenary unit to survive. Taking up contracts, maintaining a number of BattleMechs – including upgrading and changing their parts – and extensive combat are all required.

A number of updates have been released for the game since launch, including the recent Flashpoint expansion. It brings Flashpoints – which are branching stories that link missions, events, and choices together – and new BattleMechs like the Hatchetman. If you enjoyed the base game, then it’s currently 40 percent off until February 25th, while Flashpoint is 10 percent off until then.

BATTLETECH Free Weekend starts NOW! That means that you can play BATTLETECH for free between now and monday! Go check it out: https://t.co/pnOx435qn4 pic.twitter.com/a4TGuc5AxI

— BATTLETECH Game (@BATTLETECH_Game) February 21, 2019

BattleTech: Flashpoint, Harebrained Schemes’ first expansion for its turn-based tactical strategy title, is now available. Retailing for $19.99, the expansion is currently $17.99 on Steam until December 2nd. Check out the launch trailer below for a brief look at the expansion’s 30-plus hours of new content.

The biggest feature of Flashpoint is the titular Flashpoints. These are branching short stories that will connect different mercenary missions with conversations, choices, and special events. You can unlock “rare bonus rewards” for completing them, which should inject more life into the end-game and Campaign. Flashpoint also introduces three new Mechs, including the beloved Hatchetman, Crab, and Cyclops.

A new tropical biome and new stories will also await the player. The new stories include Criminal Minds, where players must escort civilians to safety when a battle breaks out between political rivals. A new Encounter has also been added with Target Acquisition, where players must control three locations to fire on an enemy base.

To me, the term “indie” developer is equal parts counter-culture and unfettered creative vision. However, they are not on a different level from triple-A studios – really, the only things that separate them are bigger budgets and more marketing. Just like indie games are not by virtue worse than triple-A titles because of the lack of money, so too are they not superior because of their unique ideas (which come down to proper execution at the end of the day). I’m not a fan of the “triple-A” or “indie” moniker when it comes down to great games. Because great games, at the end of the day, are great games. And 2018, for all its typical franchises, has seen a lot of great games.

"Developed by Matt Thorson and friends aka Matt Makes Games that brought us the wildly entertaining multiplayer-centric Towerfall: Ascension, Celeste turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the year."

Let’s start with January. It was a cold, dark month, punctuated by the impending release of Monster Hunter World. For me, the month was important for two reasons – Cellar Door Games’ Full Metal Furies and Konjak’s Iconoclasts. The former, obviously, is due to the developer’s amazing Rogue Legacy. Full Metal Furies has been in development for a long time and while its beat ’em up mechanics were decent, the overall gameplay and structure felt a bit wanting. It came and went but thankfully, the same didn’t apply to Iconoclasts. This years-in-development action platformer from Joakim Sandberg culminated in a colourful adventure with a deep story, lovable characters and excellent boss fights. It’s coming to Nintendo Switch as well, making it the perfect title to have on the go.

However, between these titles and Unknown Worlds’ Subnautica finally leaving Steam Early Access amid much fanfare (rightly so given how excellently the development was handled), there was Celeste. Developed by Matt Thorson and friends aka Matt Makes Games that brought us the wildly entertaining multiplayer-centric Towerfall: Ascension, Celeste turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the year. It overtook a number of other indie titles by coming to the Nintendo Switch at launch but otherwise, it was a great game in every aspect regardless of the platform.

Mechanically, the platforming and variety in level design was compelling, fresh and organically challenging at every turn. The music and visuals were suitably retro but embodied a surrealistic flavour that felt unmistakably contemporary. I would give the most credit to composer Lena Raine for the sheer perfection that her soundtrack serves in setting the mood but everyone who worked on the game, from the artists and programmers to Thorson as designer and director, deserves the highest praise.

Even as Monster Hunter World was setting records and stealing many players’ hearts, Celeste was already my personal Game of the Year.

"Even though there wasn’t a ton of competition, the best new indie game of February was undoubtedly Into The Breach."

Surprisingly, February felt uneventful in comparison. Aegis Defenders from GUTS Department had a certain appeal to its gameplay with the mix of tower defense and 2D platforming but ultimately remained a niche title. February was mostly the month that numerous titles like SteamWorld Dig, Owlboy, Night in the Woods, Layers of Fear: Legacy, Outlast and much more released on the Nintendo Switch. The Nindies program was starting to pick up momentum.

Meanwhile, EA’s Fe was probably the biggest new indie release of the month simply based on the EA Originals label. Was it really exceptional? Did it push any boundaries, especially after January’s cavalcade of great releases? Not really but it was a solid title from the studio behind Stick It To The Man and the upcoming Ghost Giant. Moss was the other big title, simply due to the pedigree of its developer Polyarc (whose team had worked on titles like Guild Wars 2, Halo: Reach, Red Dead Redemption and Dragon Age).

Whether it was the instantly recognizable protagonist Quill or simply being one of the best VR titles ever made, Moss ably established its presence. There was also Where The Water Tastes Like Wine that sadly was proclaimed as a commercial disaster by the developer. Nevertheless, its gorgeous art-direction and strong cast, intermixed with interactive stories, was a welcome offering. An offering that will hopefully receive more appreciation down the line.

Even though there wasn’t a ton of competition, the best new indie game of February was undoubtedly Into The Breach. FTL: Faster Than Light developer Subset Games took a semi-rogue-like approach into the turn-based strategy genre, evoking an aesthetic similar to Advance Wars with intriguing gameplay and squad possibilities. The procedurally generated nature of maps, scaling difficulty and challenge completion required for new units ensured multiple playthroughs. But it was the deceptively simple yet complex gameplay that cemented it as one of the year’s best. There was just something so sweet about knocking an enemy unit into another while their attack kills a third. The ripple effect that this would have on surrounding buildings and other enemies was also worth watching out for at all times.

"Though ultimately falling back on the “one big twist” style of story-telling and having no single-player option, A Way Out’s characterization and strong mechanics allowed it to sell exceptionally well."

The scene started picking up again with all kinds of releases in March. Evoland developer Shiro Games returned with a completely different offering in Northgard. The strategy title focused on settlement building and exploration, as players managed resources and set out to conquer the immense campaign. Despite the strong critical acclaim, Northgard didn’t get too much appreciation but saw a number of updates to extend its life.

Other standout releases that didn’t get too much attention include Ghost of A Tale, a stealth fantasy game focused on a mouse named Tilo as he explores the history of a strange, anthropomorphic inhabitated kingdom; Q.U.B.E. 2, a puzzler in first person that involves the manipulation of cubes while one navigates an immense maze to survive; and of course, Hazelight Games’ A Way Out. Published under the EA Originals label and hyped up thanks to the antics of creator Josef Fares, A Way Out imbibed the couch co-op experience with a compelling story and gameplay situations. Though ultimately falling back on the “one big twist” style of story-telling and having no single-player option, A Way Out’s characterization and strong mechanics allowed it to sell exceptionally well. It crossed 1 million units sold in just two weeks.

April started earnestly enough with Minit. The game focuses on a mystery but much like Half-Minute Hero, a limited time period is provided to accomplish solve it. In between these sixty-second lives, players gather items that are shared across different lifetimes and advance forward (ideally). Though Minit handled its concept well, it was ultimately overshadowed by Harebrained Schemes’ BattleTech and 11 bit Studios’ Frostpunk, not to mention Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice finally coming to Xbox One.

In terms of heavyweights, that’s a pretty solid list. BattleTech became quite successful and Harebrained was acquired by Paradox Interactive. The developer announced future updates and more content (the recently revealed Flashpoint is the first paid expansion). Frostpunk, meanwhile, has been releasing free updates and quality of life changes besides prepping a new scenario for release later this year. Whether it was a tactical turn-based strategy with mech-building and customization or city-management with survival elements and an aspect of humanity, PC players weren’t wanting for unique experiences in April.

"Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, despite having a budget that could dwarf other indie titles, presented an old-school approach to computer role-playing games in the vein of Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale."

Of course, there was also Pizza Titan Ultra, an action platformer which featured giant mechs rampaging through cities to deliver pizzas. Why? Because of course, the mech owners ran a pizzeria! It’s crazy and bizarre but combines the over-top style of Crazy Taxi with the destructible landscape of Blast Corps. It’s nuts and yet extremely endearing.

In May, the flow of indies picked up. Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, despite having a budget that could dwarf other indie titles, presented an old-school approach to computer role-playing games in the vein of Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale. The addition of piracy, ship combat and exploration made it a fun romp even if, like the first game, the writing could be less than quaint. Titles like Omensight and Wizard of Legend also rose to prominence. The former was developed by Spearhead Games of Stories: The Path of Destinies fame. It saw players reliving the same day in Urralia, attempting to solve a murder to reverse the land’s destruction. Time manipulation, hack and slash combat and the ability to influence key characters all created a unique experience (plus the art-style was pretty good looking).

Wizard of Legend took a more straightforward rogue-like approach. Players explored a fixed number of dungeons with procedurally generated elements but the real hook was developing and combining magical spells together. Combat was fast, and the number of spells and items helped provide enough variety for a few repeat playthroughs.

Then there was Moonlighter, a much-anticipated pixel-art dungeon crawler that combined the combat of Zelda with the item shop management of Recettear. While its shopkeeping elements didn’t feel as dynamic, Moonlighter still had an enjoyable loop of combat, upgrading, dungeon looting and selling that was insanely addictive. Did we also mention the art looks simply gorgeous? It’s since been updated with over a hundred new rooms, various quality of life improvements and more interesting twists to the item store.

"July belonged to two major releases – The Banner Saga 3, the climactic conclusion to Stoic’s excellent trilogy, and No Man’s Sky NEXT."

Other titles that stood out in May include City of Brass, a first person rogue-like themed on Arabian Nights where players must venture into a dangerous city for the promise of treasure; FAR: Lone Sails, a linear adventure game where players embark on a sea-faring adventure of mystery, braving hazards and attempting to keep their ship going; and Yoku’s Island Express, a charming side-scrolling platformer that incorporates pinball into its core gameplay. Seriously though, if nothing else, try out Yoku’s Island Express. It’s a ball (I know, I’m sorry).

June and July were relatively quiet, though E3 2018 saw a number of titles either announced or outright released. Unravel Two debuted at EA Play 2018 and while it wasn’t as intriguing as Sea of Solitude (which is out in 2019), the sheer charm of the first game was unique. Plus, there was co-op this time. EA further surprised us by releasing the game as soon as it was announced because…well, why not? Nintendo followed suit. It released the Switch port of Team Cherry’s acclaimed Hollow Knight during its Direct presentation. Hollow Knight has since gone on to fame and fortune, selling over 1 million copies since first launching for PC last year.

Dontnod’s Vampyr was the other big indie release for June. While it seemingly flew under the radar, only slightly buoyed by reviews that praised the story but criticized for its combat, it managed to sell 450,000 units in a manner of weeks. July’s releases were pretty straightforward – This is the Police 2 released and alienated a few fans, though its shift towards a more XCOM-style tactical game wasn’t terrible. Chasm finally released after years in development and while it wasn’t bad, it did average slightly higher than “okay”. At least its 2D art maintained its appeal after so many years.

Honestly, though, July belonged to two major releases – The Banner Saga 3, the climactic conclusion to Stoic’s excellent trilogy, and No Man’s Sky NEXT. The latter technically wasn’t a new game but a large update, overhauling a number of features, adding new ones like co-op multiplayer (and PvP for the more violent-minded folk), and significantly improving the visuals. It did mark the game’s debut for Xbox One but perhaps the most significant development was Hello Games co-founder Sean Murray finally speaking out and admitting to the numerous problems at launch. The commitment to keep improving the game, especially with weekly events, continues.

"Perhaps what impresses me most about this year thus far is how many indie titles seemingly came out of left field and proved to be compelling experiences."

We hence come to August which saw the incredible Dead Cells finally leave Steam Early Access and become a fairly big hit with critics. I’ve waxed eloquent about how brilliant the game is, nailing its core gameplay loop thanks to a striking yet organic aesthetic. And really, it’s tons of fun to kill stuff in that game. No joke.

Guacamelee! 2 wasn’t a revolutionary leap over the sequel but it’s still an excellent follow-up, celebrating Mexican culture and folklore while embodying the very best of Metroidvania gameplay. Death’s Gambit, a 2D Souls-like, also released after numerous years in development. While I personally had a few qualms with it, the combat is fun and challenging to engage with as are the boss battles. Overcooked! 2 brought a whole new meaning to hating your friends with its cooking-based missions (and that odd design choice of only the hosting player receiving progress should be fixed by now). Even Donut County, a game where you control a whole that’s swallowing things up and increasing in size, looks bizarrely fun.

Perhaps what impresses me most about this year thus far is how many indie titles seemingly came out of left field and proved to be compelling experiences. For as much hype as there was for Iconoclasts, Celeste simply came out of nowhere and became known as one of the very best games ever made. Likewise, with August coming to an end (as of this time of writing), Sabotage Studio’s The Messenger has released and proven itself to be an excellent homage to the old-school Ninja Gaiden.

Even without the direct comparison, it’s still proven to be a fantastic 2D action platformer. For The King, IronOak Games’ tabletop roguelike RPG, was also pretty good and despite leaving Early Access with very little fanfare, it’s been well-received by both critics and regular fans. The same goes for Event Horizon’s Tower of Time, a more story-centric RPG dungeon crawler with some compelling combat and decent story-telling.

"Not everyone may find success but each title has earned its place in the hearts and minds of its fans, no matter their number."

Though the Fall and Holiday seasons are known for their triple-A releases, there are a few awesome indie games to look forward to. InExile’s The Bard’s Tale 4: Barrows Deep will arrive on September 18th, introducing a new generation to the dungeon crawling, RPG excitement that permeated old-school titles. Secret of Mana-style action RPG CrossCode will also finally release, exiting Steam Early Access on September 20th, and I couldn’t be more excited about finally playing the game through from start to finish. A number of titles like This War of Mine, Hyper Light Drifter, Everspace, Beat Cop, Moonlighter and much more will also be making their way to the Nintendo Switch, which has proven to be a premier destination for indie titles. Just ask anyone still addicted to Dead Cells on the go.

Frozen Synapse 2 is also probably still coming this year. It’s really hard to say at this point.

The industry has seen its ups and downs throughout the years. Whether it’s last year’s hefty push for loot boxes and reinforcing essential gameplay elements with loot boxes, or the constant nagging about the Battle Royale genre this year, there will always be some kind of pervasive cynicism. That doesn’t mean that some great games – even those seemingly “ruined” by microtransactions – aren’t available to indulge in but that’s beside the point. Through all the twists we’ve seen the industry take, the indie development scene continues to push forward. It may not always be easy or lead to returns as exemplified by Zeboyd Games (Cosmic Star Heroine) or Infinite Fall (Night in the Woods). Some developers like Hello Games may be forever marred by their past failures. Others may be defined more by their explosive personalities than their actual work like Josef Fares.

At the end of the day, the market has proven receptive to indie games and fresh experiences in general. Not everyone may find success but each title has earned its place in the hearts and minds of its fans, no matter their number.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

After being acquired by Paradox Interactive, Harebrained Schemes promised more content for its turn-based tactical strategy title BattleTech. That plan has finally materialized in the form of Flashpoint, an expansion which brings unique new features to the fray. Check out the announcement trailer below.

The major selling point of the expansion are the titular Flashpoints. These are defined as a series of “action-packed short stories” where players will embark on extended contracts to reap huge rewards. Along with offering procedural mercenary missions, you can look forward to special events, critical choices and new conversations opening up. Some Flashpoints may even require you to deploy on the next mission without repairing your Mechs.

Along with Flashpoints, the expansion brings a new encounter called Target Acquisition, which tasks players with controlling three territories on a map; three new Mechs – the Hatchetman, the Crab, and Cyclops – and a new tropical beach biome are also featured. No price or release date (aside from “Fall 2018”) has been revealed for the expansion yet, but more information can be found here.

Xenoblade Chronicles X

No, it’s not quite the same as XenoGears. But Xenoblade Chronicles X does throw customizable Skells at you for navigating the enormous world. With three different types, customizable weapons and the ability to transform into vehicles, Skells can help turn the tide in some battles. Also, they look incredibly cool, which is an essential part of owning a giant mech.

BattleTech is the new game from Harebrained Schemes, the same team behind the Shadowrun games. While the BattleTech franchise is a huge one, even consisting of previous video game adaptations, this is probably the biggest game we’ve seen that is based on the franchise. The game features a complex story that draws upon real world history for inspiration and the gameplay is one that is deep and tactical. You start off as a Mech Pilot and soon you’re in charge of your very own Mech Lance unit.

This is a game in which every action has a consequence and you’ll constantly have to prioritize one thing over another due to your limited pool of resources. Combat is also tactical and requires a lot of strategy to emerge victorious. This is a game that is perfect for fans of deep and complex tactical games and the following video walkthrough will be of use to any who are looking for help in completing the game.

Harebrained Schemes, developer of the Shadowrun series and the recent BattleTech, has been acquired by Paradox Interactive. The deal cost $7.5 million with a percentage of the studio’s earnings for the next five years. Paradox is the same company that recently published BattleTech for Harebrained.

For the coming days, Paradox will be in charge of finances, marketing, public relations and distribution. The developer will “continue to operate with its own internal management and creative teams,” along with “designing and developing the games that have earned them their outstanding reputation” said the publisher in a recent statement. It described the partnership for BattleTech as a “fantastic collaboration.”

Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester further noted that. “Harebrained Schemes have proven themselves as a world-class studio with a very talented team within a genre where Paradox wants to be present. In addition, we really like the studio, the people who run it, and their games; these are all absolute hard criteria for us in any acquisition.”

It is worth noting that though Harebrained has “the freedom to creative direct our games and build our player experiences,” future projects will need to be approved by the publisher’s practices.

Harebrained CEO Jordan Weisman said that the studio’s growth and marketplace “noise” prompted the search for a publisher, “that could provide us the financial stability and marketing expertise that would allow us focus on what we love doing—making great games and stories.” President Mitch Gitelman added that the Paradox fan base following the release of BattleTech was a factor. “The fit just works.”

BattleTech will continue to receive updates and Paradox further affirmed that more content would be coming to the game. For now, Harebrained is in “concept development” for a new project. What are your thoughts on Harebrained being acquired by Paradox? Let us know in the comments.

Harebrained Schemes’ BattleTech has had a fairly good reception since launching with critics praising the story and the freedom offered. There have been a number of issues as well but with the game’s success, the developer states that “many things are now possible.” Although it’s released a patch to deal with issues, a general bugfix patch will be coming by late May.

The various “hardware/system compatibility and performance issues” that are being experienced by a “subset of players” is also being investigated. “Solutions for critical issues are always our top priority, and will be released as soon as they’re available and tested. Typically, we will release patches to our public_beta branch on Steam for a few days for testing before we push them to the default branch.”

After the bugfix patch, a larger patch is due in May that will bring a number of new features. These include Accelerated Combat Options to accelerate the overall pace of combat missions; MechWarrior customization to allow for customizing other pilots’ appearances, callsigns, names and voices; some “discrete” options to increase the game’s challenge in certain areas; the ability to skip the prologue missions’ tutorials (for those that have already played them); and the addressing of difficulty spikes.

To make things even sweeter, the developer will release more free updates after this, and would “also love to release a larger paid content Expansion or two.” The focus is currently on fixing bugs and reacting to launch feedback so don’t count on expansions arriving any time soon. If you haven’t already, check out our official review of BattleTech here.

Harebrained Schemes’ BattleTech is out now for PC and you can pick it up on the Steam Store. Based on FASA’s classic board game/role-playing series, BattleTech follows a mercenary Mech Lance unit as they take on various contracts. Meanwhile, Lady Kamea Amano seeks to take back her throne after being unceremoniously ousted by her treacherous uncle.

As a turn based strategy game, BattleTech allows players to customize over 30 different mechs for combat. You can change weapons, mix up unit types, have pilots learn new abilities and much more. Furthermore, combat is often determined by factors such as elevation, accuracy, heat management and managing your squad.

There are a number of contracts that can be taken alongside the story missions as the player earns reputation from various Houses. Along with the campaign is the multiplayer and Skirmish mode, the latter being especially useful for fighting the AI without any major stakes on the line.