Three levels of war at once
Metal Fatigue is a real-time strategy game where the battlefield runs in three layers at the same time: orbit, the surface, and underground. You build a base, grow your economy, and push forces out while watching for attacks coming from above or from below, not just across the map. Hover jets let you launch airborne assaults, and you can combine ground, air, and subterranean pressure into one push. The goal is straightforward: break the enemy's position and force a surrender.
Building and customizing Combots
Your centerpiece units are the massive Combots, which you build and customize yourself. Their loadouts matter as much as your base layout, since a well-fitted Combot can carry a fight on any of the three levels. Between unit composition and where you commit your attention across orbit, surface, and tunnels, there is a lot to juggle in a single match, so expect to be managing several fronts rather than one army in one place.
Factions with their own tech
Three warring CorpoNations are available: The Milagro, Neuropa, and Rimtech. Each has its own technologies and research capabilities, with distinct strengths and weaknesses to build a strategy around. Picking a faction shapes what you can research and how you want to fight, so it is worth reading up on each one before committing to a plan.
Playing with friends
Multiplayer supports up to eight players over LAN, with both cooperative and death match modes, across 30 multiplayer maps and missions. Remote Play Together is also supported, which lets friends join in from their own machines. Cooperative play suits groups that want to split attention between the three levels and cover each other's weak spots, while death match is there for groups that would rather point everything at each other.
Before you start
There are 30 solo missions total, with each faction getting its own ten-mission campaign that follows three estranged brothers scavenging ancient alien Hedoth technology to fight a war within their own bloodline. Playing through a campaign is a good way to learn a faction's research tree before jumping into multiplayer. Expect a busy interface and multiple fronts to monitor at once; the game rewards keeping track of what is happening overhead and underground, not just what is in front of you.