Bounty Star: A Charming, Cozy Mech Brawler in a Post-Apocalyptic World

Oh boy, so there I was, right in the heat of the action, piloting this clunky Desert Raptor MKII mech through a crazy canyon. Imagine a desert full of these hover bots and bandits with enough firepower to make you rethink your life choices. Anyway, this mech—it’s a cobbled-together contraption, like a project an over-enthusiastic garage dweller would dream up—handled them like a champ. Took me a bit, though. Not gonna lie, I ate dirt a few times before I got the hang of it. But there’s something different about Bounty Star that’s got me itching to jump back in once it lands on Xbox Series X|S.

So, you’re Clem. She’s got a rough backstory—war vet, heavy conscience. And now she’s looking for redemption in a place called the Red Expanse. Picture a post-apocalypse American Southwest. I know, right? Kind of like Mad Max meets, uh, old Westerns? Maybe. I don’t even know why that clicked for me, but it did.

The guy behind this wild ride, Benjamin Ruiz, went on about being in Sedona, Arizona, and how the views there sparked this whole visual idea. —I kinda get it, red rocks and all that, makes sense. Ruiz dreamt of throwing all these landscapes into a game. Started on a whim, like five years back, took its sweet time to really kick off, but hey, good things take time, or whatever they say.

Ruiz, really couldn’t keep the Western out of it; it’s like, imagine mixing a cowboy movie with the heavy metal mech vibes of Armored Core. Yeah, wild, huh? And amidst all this, you’re not just out there being a hero; you’re also, like, cooking meals, sorting your water, raising chickens—chickens! You’d think it’d be boring, but nah, in this universe, it makes sense somehow.

Roaming around Clem’s ragtag garage, it’s like stepping into one of those space westerns with not much to your name but what really matters. It’s got that Firefly charm—makeshift living spaces but with a heart. Yeah, I’m getting sidetracked, and what was I saying? Right, potential. It’s got a lot of that, like finding treasure in a junkyard, if you will.

Now, the mech itself? Oh man, the customization is a treat. You could go heavy with armor and brute force, or light and nimble—like, choose your chaos! And you’ve got all these bits to tweak—a melee weapon here, a cannon there. Even the testers are doing some wild stuff—no healing? Just speedrunning to doom? Bold move.

The game’s world isn’t just about blasting foes. You bump into folks—like the Marshall, an old buddy who doles out your bounties. There’s also, you know, your shady merchant friend with all the good gear. Small but memorable circle of pals, I suppose.

Bounties themselves come with a twist—routine but diverse. As the sun goes up and down, you’ll find yourself chasing bad guys, maybe rushing through tasks or experimenting with loadouts. Ruiz says it’s all about creating a playground that’s challenging yet fun, letting you approach each mission as you see fit.

And there’s something special about a game where you make your home in such a patched-up world. Bounty Star feels like that, all potential and grit. Can’t wait to see how it all wraps together once it finally hits later this year on Xbox Series X|S.