There are few things as fun as a mech game done well. Flying through the sky taking on countless enemies, nimbly dodging streams of missiles while responding with your own, and slicing any enemy mech that gets too close in half with an impractically large energy sword. It’s a popular fantasy that doesn’t always get the love it deserves in video gaming, and the games that try don’t always do it justice. Project Nimbus: Complete Edition nails the mobility and power of mech combat better then any other game I’ve tried, even if it falls short in other areas.

The most important part of an action game is, well, the action, and that’s where Project Nimbus excels. The controls are easy and intuitive, and your Frames (what Project Nimbus calls mechs) maneuver beautifully in complete 360 degree space. Blade Dash and Boost flesh out your movement system, with boost allowing you to jet across the skies in any direction either for chase or evasion, and Blade Dash allowing you to zoom straight at an enemy and deliver a coup de grâce with your energy blade. Blade Dashes can be chained together freely, allowing you to carve a glorious chain of death through enemy squads. There’s no making you wait to really experience the combat either, the very second story mission tosses you into the one of the game’s most powerful Frames and lines up the enemy mechs and drones to be annihilated in orderly fashion. Project Nimbus understands what it’s best at and what the players want, and thus makes sure to put you in the thick of it as much as possible.

There’s a decent variety of modes available. There’s the surprisingly lengthy four-act story mode, Survival, and the Warfront mode, which includes the game’s only progression and customization systems. The story mode is well done, with a variety of maps, bosses, and mechs from all three of the game’s factions to play around in. Survival mode remixes story mode enemies and bosses and allows you to take any of the game’s Frames for a spin from the start. The Warfront mode aims to add both unlimited replayability through six endless modes, as well as a progression and customization system for your Frames. This is where the game’s flaws become most apparent however, as despite the variety of modes and mechs, it all feels the same. Progression is limited to merely increasing stats, as you can’t even change paint schemes. There may be six unlimited modes, from Base Defense to Assassination, but they all play the same, with merely some tweaked victory conditions. It’s still incredibly fun, don’t get me wrong, and the gameplay will keep you playing, but it’s a lot like Warriors games, in that it’s best enjoyed in short bursts.

The story is pretty much par for the course as far as the genre goes. It takes place after World War III made the surface of the Earth uninhabitable, with the surviving superpowers of the world being forced to build gigantic flying cities to live in. The campaign revolves around a cold war between the US-led Coalition of Free Nations and Russia’s United Continental Nations. There’s also the Children of the Fallen Nations, a terrorist group consisting of survivors of WW3 that were abandoned on the surface and now aim to bring down the flying cities in revenge. It’s trope-heavy, twists can be seen a mile away, but it’s well written, and features decent voice acting, making it somewhat enjoyable. There’s also missions from all three factions’ perspectives, which flesh things out satisfactorily.

Project Nimbus: Complete Edition is almost everything you could want from a mech game: smooth and responsive controls, a decent story with plenty of futuristic sky warfare, and a variety of modes to play through. The lack of cosmetic customization, samey modes, and the generic premise of the campaign are unfortunate, but do nothing to undermine how fun the base gameplay is. The upcoming Daemon X Machina has some strong competition for best mech game on the Nintendo Switch.

Graphics: 6.5 The mech and world designs are fantastic, even if the textures and effects don’t always do them justice.	Gameplay: 7.5 The mech controls take some getting used to, but are fluid and fun. Mechs all feel the same however, and enemies rarely require special strategies to beat.
Sound: 5.5 Unimpressive music and sound effects, with at least acceptable voice acting.	Fun Factor: 7.0 It’s lots of fun in short bursts, as taking on armies of drones in your chosen Frame always feels great. However, it quickly gets repetitive and has little real variety in its modes or gameplay.
Final Verdict: 7.0

Project Nimbus: Complete Edition is available now on Nintendo Switch .

Reviewed on Switch.

A copy of Project Nimbus: Complete Edition was provided by the publisher.