Bounty Star Review

Bounty Star is a third-person action game all about mech combat and farming — yeah, that’s definitely a combination. Developed by DINOGOD (who makes both videogames and board games) and published by Annapurna Interactive, you play as an ex-mecha soldier as she starts a new life in the Red Expanse, away from the shame and guilt of her past, and trying to become something resembling a good person.

The story is basically a Western in space with mechs. A tale of revenge, tragedy, and life… that just so happens to feature chainsaw swords and 75mm machine guns. You’ll meet all sorts of characters who will help you on your journey, from the local sheriff to some whacked-out scientist who looks like Roadhog’s brother from Overwatch. I quite liked the narrative. Despite the general chaos of mech-on-mech combat, it contrasts with Clem’s introspection and calmer life moments. The characters were well-acted and did their job in making you either care or hate them.

To be honest, I also really enjoyed the moments of humour scattered throughout, from the dialogue to the animations. It’s a mostly serious affair, with characters swearing like sailors, but there are also moments that seem straight out of a cartoon. I let out a little chuckle every time Clem goes to sleep. She just… flops onto the bed and instantly falls asleep. You’d think she’d at least put her head on a pillow.

As for the graphics, they’re done well enough. Nothing too spectacular but there are some sights to behold, especially at night. It definitely makes you feel like you’re in the Wild Wild West, with a matching soundtrack to boot, despite stomping around in a giant mech that can take care of any gunslinger in one shot. No, seriously, there are human bandits in no robot that think they can take you down.

That’s enough about the presentation, what about the gameplay? The Red Expanse is full of creatures that want to eat your face off and criminals who will rob you of everything you own, which is perfect for an up-and-coming bounty hunter to start their career in, and you have access to the Desert Raptor MKII to help you. This highly customisable robot can be equipped with all sorts of weapons, utility equipment, and paint jobs to truly make the best death machine for a bounty.

Controlling the mech can be described with one word: weighty. It's heavy, with each swing of your weapon or shot from your firearm having an impact. There is a little delay to movements and some functions, but it feels good to mow down whoever is between you and your target. Here’s a tip: for snappier movement, aim down sights. You’ll strafe instead of turning around in a large circle.

Bounties themselves generally task you with either taking out all the enemies in the area or only taking down a specific target, dead or alive (the latter is more profitable). You can also earn extra cash by doing optional objectives, like taking no damage or completing the bounty under a time limit. They’re often fun to do and offer some good challenges. That being said, the main drawback is that there isn’t a randomisation element to it. It's good for completionists, where every bounty is available to be replayed to get all the side objectives, not so great for variety, as you’ll eventually get sick of dealing with the same maps and enemy placements over and over again.

Even so, you just can’t go in guns blazing and expect good results; that’s the easiest way to get killed. Enemies will have different types of armour, with a weakness to one type of weapon but resistant to another. For example, bladed weapons are good against skin, but are ineffective against armour. You’ll need to prepare your mech so that you can deal with these scumbags effectively. Not only that, you don’t want to hunt a target on an empty stomach, so you should eat and get some temporary bonuses before you head out, á la Monster Hunter.

But the most important thing you should pay attention to is your mech’s temperature. Each piece of equipment either heats up or cools down your mech. Get it too hot or too cold, and it will shut down and leave you helpless for a few seconds. However, you do get a buff to either your melee or gun speed if your temperature is close to freezing/overheating, so it might be worth risking a reboot if you’re good enough to pull it off. Mornings don’t have any effects, afternoons are hot, and evenings are cold, so you’ll need to take that into account when you take the bounty.

I found preparing for a bounty just as rewarding as actually completing it. It makes you think hard about the weapons and equipment you bring. You need to be adaptable and constantly figure out what’s for the best. Even if you do find yourself ill-prepared, the game is at least kind enough to allow you to go back to the garage to change out weapons without any consequences.

It isn't all just mechs and murder, though. You're also going to need to build up your dump of a homestead and turn it into a self-sufficient farm. You can grow your own food (using irradiated soil), make your own fuel, raise your own animals (some of whom can be used as weapons), and build some optional buildings to make it more like a home. It’s relaxing to do inbetween bounties, satisfying to build up, and all the money saved on fuel, ammo, and food makes a huge difference in the long run.

That being said, I did have some issues with the game on a few oddities. While Bounty Star rarely ever dropped frames or had a glitch, I got bothered by one or two things, such as how Clem controls. Sure, it’s fine for a mech to have a big turn radius, but why does Clem have one too? I prefer my human characters to have snappy movements. Also, no option to auto-progress dialogue, which breaks the pacing of cutscenes. Speaking of, you will see the same map overview cutscene. Good for a quick check over enemy positions and finding chests, but these play every time you start a bounty. It gets a little tiresome after a while.

Although I did feel the repetition early on, I still found Bounty Star to be quite enjoyable overall. The mech combat is fast and intense, with quite a few systems to worry about as you prep for each mission. Then, once it’s over, you can handle some chores for a change of pace away from the action before doing it all over again. It’s a great time to experience the morose tale of Graveyard Clem.

Bounty Star is available on Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.