Gundam Evolution is a fun, free Gundam-style alternative to Overwatch

I’m torn between recommending it Gundam Evolution to people. My feelings can be summed up pretty well with a vintage futurama fry meme: Not sure if Gundam Evolution is a good game, or if I just like Gundam too much to see its flaws.

What makes my confusion harder to shake is this other people enjoy the game too. People, who can’t even take care of Gundam! Some of them even say it is better as surveillance 2, another popular hero shooter coming out next week. Some of it may just be bitterness about it surveillance 2 is not just a sequel, but a complete replacement for the original over watch.

If you’re looking for a new hero shooter after Blizzard’s decision, let me try to answer your questions Gundam Evolution. Not because I know much about it at all over watchbut because I know far too much about Gundam.

It is fun! (And free!)

I may not be able to tell if it’s “better” than surveillance 2but I can definitely say that Gundam Evolution is a good time. Although these Gundams are giant metal robots, they fight and die quickly. You’ll likely respawn frequently while attempting to capture or defend points, or detonate and defuse bombs, so you’ll never be short of action. There are no strict character classes here, as even the most supportive mobile suits have enough firepower to make most 1v1 battles an even test of skill. The best part is that it’s free and widely available on PC and consoles, so you can just try it out.

The microtransactions are bad

Gundam Evolution is free, but also full of microtransactions. There are loot boxes, five characters that you can pay to unlock, a season pass, and deluxe editions that include premium currency that you must use in 120 days or it will expire! You can carve it out in the free tier and earn enough non-premium currency to unlock a Gundam if you put in enough time, but you’ll have a very boring looking profile for a long time. At least it doesn’t lock new characters behind a Battle Pass like surveillance 2.

It’s more like Overwatch 1 than Overwatch 2

Gundam Evolution has six-player teams, just like over watch — surveillance 2 switches to five-person teams. not how Overwatch 2, Gundam Evolution has stun attacks. Only five of the 17 mobile suits are locked at the start of the game, unlike heroes in surveillance 2. Are there more similarities? Quite possibly, but that’s the extent of my Overwatch knowledge.

No, you cannot play as Deathscythe

Gundam Evolution Not only is a playable XXXG-01D Gundam Deathscythe missing, it’s actually missing any references to it the only Gundam series that many American fans have ever seen. Big oversight or a $20 purchase down the line? Who can tell?

Image: Sunrise

The playable Gundams contain some deep cuts

Gundam Evolution currently offers a total of 17 playable mobile suits (all of these robots are considered mobile suits, but technically only a few of them are true Gundams). This includes many popular mobile suits from the original series, including the Zaku, Guntank, and the original RX-78-2 Gundam, as well as modern suits like the Unicorn Gundam and Barbatos’ Gundam Ironblood Orphans.

More surprising are the suits that fill out the early Zeta and ZZ Gundam roster, like the transforming Methuss and Asshimar. Other playable character appears only in a Gundam manga and video game. Best of all, the game has two relatively obscure suits Spin a Gundamwhich was broadcast in Japan around the turn of the millennium but only came to America on DVD in 2015. That’s important because this Gundam has a mustache and you can play like that and it’s good.

Image: Bandai Namco

The playable characters are not always screen accurate

Gundam fans should be prepared for canon inaccuracies from the off, and the game says so on the character info screens. Gundam Evolution isn’t interested in a close adherence to the source material, and it’s honestly a better game for that. Sure, the Morning Star, oddly named “Gundam Hammer,” is far from the RX-78-2’s most iconic weapon, but it’s a fitting secondary ability here. Other units gain weapons and abilities they never had before to make them more balanced fighters.

You don’t need to know anything about Gundam to enjoy it Gundam Evolution

There is no story in it Gundam Evolution. Unlike Overwatch, which has a single setting that all characters are drawn from, Gundam Evolution is more like Super Smash Bros MultiVersus, where a bunch of characters from completely different series or timelines fight each other for no good reason. The most important thing is to decide which character will be your first Gunpla build.

Gundam Evolution is now available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.