Gundam Rogue Orbit gave me a sick whip sword, but held back the one thing I want most in a mech game

I never imagined I could voice an entitled opinion about giant anime robots until I played a preview of Gundam Rogue Orbit. To my dismay, I discovered they gave me a Gundam equipped with a whip sword reminiscent of Bloodborne. I'm not upset about the whip sword itself, rather, I'm thrilled about its inclusion. It suggests Rogue Orbit has a potential to deliver an action game with more melee crunch and nuance than typically offered in Gundam titles.

However, I can't help but feel conflicted, given that the developers are still withholding the most coveted feature from me: a customization screen. Why can't I browse through a selection of whitelisted weapons and decide if the whip sword is the right choice for me? The fact that mech customization is even hinted at, as evidenced by a screenshot on the Steam page, is exciting.

I would've loved to spend a few moments contemplating potential stats like close-range power and output before jumping into the action. While demo balance is a delicate act, I played around 30 minutes of Rogue Orbit, which was primarily action-oriented and featured anime voice-overs about alien invaders called "The Apocalypse." Despite the edginess of the game, it doesn't quite match the intensity of titles like Gundam Wing's Gundam Deathscythe Hell.

Although Rogue Orbit doesn't delve into politically charged war discussions like some of the best Gundam series, it aims to provide a different experience. It leans more towards an action RPG with combo-heavy action, where damage mainly comes from active skills, each with their own cooldowns. One weapon, the Sword Lance, felt somewhat inspired by Monster Hunter, building up a unique meter upon performing heavy attacks that could then be used to spawn a Beam Phalanx of laser-spewing orbs.

The inclusion of a customization screen would make Rogue Orbit feel even more like FromSoftware's Armored Core 6, offering a more relaxed, enjoyable experience centered around button mashing and dazzling visuals.