When last we left Grit and Valor 1949, I said it left me wanting more and, well, wouldn’t you know it? A just-closed Beta period gave me a little bit more, including some new mechs, a new Scandinavia campaign, and revamped rewards and upgrade systems. Okay, guys, twist my arm to play with giant stompy dieselpunk mechs again.
I won’t completely rehash my preview so let’s say that it feels like they’ve done a lot of work on the game and there’s more stuff going on. The battles feel a lot more dynamic. Some of this is because there are now airdrops with upgrades between waves of enemies. You don’t have to go get them, but it’s advantageous to do so, and it adds to some of the ongoing calculations during a battle: do I maintain my excellent defensive position, work on an optional objective, or go out and grab that potentially sweet upgrade?
It also means your mechs feel a little more useful since they develop during the battle, rather than just after, so your strategy changes on the fly. Overall it feels like there are more things to do between enemy waves, which can be nice, but can also make things more hectic when you hit the later battles and there are airstrikes, supply drops, optional objectives, repairs, and abilities…we are dealing with a lot of shit.
Likewise, there’s a research and upgrade system that serves as a combined “reason to play with things and work on what are basically Achievements” since by doing them you can unlock research points and upgrades, and then the upgrades themselves provide advantages and new functionality like structures around the base, more module slots for your mechs, or useful things in the shop. Think of the research from XCOM but less fiddly.
The two new mechs that caught my interest are the Steelhawk, which is a Ballistic class mech that does sick noscope snipes, and the Vulcano, a mech that fires cluster bombs. I didn’t pay much attention to the other one because it didn’t fit my crew. Sorry, kid, you didn’t make the rotation. With my trusty flamethrower mech, I had a close-in brawler that shot fire, a sniper doing sick noscopes, and artillery raining down death from above on Nazi scum. I was pretty happy with that crew.
The first actual boss fight and new campaign were promising signs of what was to come and gave me more things to throw my squad against until I succeeded. You can tell the game is evolving based on feedback from the first time I played it in July. Frankly, I wish I had a Steam Deck, this would be aces as a portable title.
Look for the full release in 2025. Or another write-up next time I get talked into doing one.
