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Piranha Games delivers a fun shooter with big stompy robots and a shockingly good narrative that makes one of the most fascist factions within the BattleTech universe seem sympathetic, almost. Therein lies the beauty of the story woven in MechWarrior 5: Clans - the PoV characters are naive and idealistic, possibly not even aware of how privileged they are. As the war develops, they see brutality and jealousy of their peers and superiors and even start to wonder if their way is correct; though, they are still trapped within the system themselves, which laces it all with an undercurrent of sorrow.
The story for MechWarrior 5: Clans draws upon decades of game lore. This is on full display, but is at once both a strength and a weakness for the game. The game assumes that you know what the BattleTech universe is basically about, so it just drops you into the story. If you are unfamiliar with BattleTech, you may very easily be lost. Some of what you need to know gets taught through conversations as you go, and told rather well, showcasing society rather than monologuing, but it doesn't tell you everything. On the other hand, if you are a long time BattleTech fan, such as myself, it is a positive delight to see and play through some of these key events. On the other other hand, as a long time BattleTech fan, I see so many little flaws, like the deployment of certain Steiner Mechs by the DCMS just for a bit of fan service or like how melee is totally a thing for Clanners now or how Clanners just default to focus fire. I don't think the average fan or player will be too put off by that, but it is cause for a double take.
Along with the greater story focus of MW5:C over its immediate predecessor, comes an excellent focus on characters, not just your own, but most everyone in and around your unit. Most of them have quirks of personality. Although these sometimes go against established lore, they are done to help demonstrate that lore and juxtapose the naivete of youth that embodies those characters against the harsh truth of their society. If there is a letdown in terms of characters it is that you are not allowed to design your own. There is no narrative reason why you must play a handsome blue eyed Caucasian savior, but that's what you're stuck as. As a brief aside, where some lip movements are a bit odd at times, the voice acting itself is great.
In terms of gameplay, MW5:C is good, but... OK it needs some help. I'm sure if you are playing it straight out of the box it would be great, except for the exasperatingly low mouse sensitivity if you try the "modernized" controls. I regularly go off my mouse pad just trying to turn. On the plus side, key bindings stay set as of the latest patch, but they still don't carry over to the in-game tactical map. Speaking of game options, MW5:C is remarkably quiet, even with all its sound bars maxed. This is the first game I’ve played in a years where I’ve had to increase my system volume.
The mission design is a juggle. Each is individually polished and you are given a good variety of story driven objectives that proudly display the truth of the BattleTech setting: Everyone's out to commit war crimes. Unfortunately, they follow the same bad trend of every BattleTech video game - you level up by getting bigger mechs until by the end you're just piloting the biggest, slowest mechs. Going back and replaying the early missions where you run lighter mechs and actually get to move around the battlefield to maneuver behind enemies and such is a breath of fresh air compared to the later slog-fests. Additionally, although the artificial boundaries on maps do help funnel you in the right direction, they can also limit tactical options, sometimes right down to "walk into the ambush".
Outside of the basic gameplay, which again is mostly fun, the mechanics are hit and miss. The "level up" mechanic for unlocking tech and new Mechs only makes sense within the frame of the video game, but that's OK. What's not OK is how much a PITA they made it to customize your mech. I want to say they tried their best, but then I look at something as basic as unlocking different pod configurations, which costs XP, only your current XP isn't displayed on that screen because it is otherwise spent on another screen, which can make it difficult to make an informed decision as to how to spend your XP. As such, it feels like customizing your Mech was an afterthought here, which is an absurd thought to have given who made this game.
Overall, is MW5:C a good game? Yes, and it is a solid entry in the series. But, it still needs some polish. I do look forward to future stories in this series.