Iron Rebellion Review: The VR Mech Experience We’ve Been Waiting For
Sitting in the cockpit with the front visor closed, you notice a single illuminated switch overhead. As you flip it, three more switches light up. With each satisfying click, your walking metal fortress comes to life. You grip the throttle and weapon controls, feeling the weight of the machine around you. As the mech fully powers up, the alien world outside snaps into focus. Just as you take your first steps, a voice crackles through the comms: “Holy crap, this is cool! That cannon sounds awesome!”
Welcome to Iron Rebellion. This is the VR mech experience we’ve been waiting for, and spoiler alert—it’s an absolute blast. The game shines as a seated VR experience, making motion sickness a non-issue for me, even in the heat of battle. The cramped cockpit and limited viewport deliver a highly immersive experience, even after a two-hour session dodging missiles and laser fire. Iron Rebellion fully leverages the potential of VR, creating a tactile, memorable, and simply fun gameplay loop.
Game Modes
Iron Rebellion currently offers five modes, giving players plenty of options:
Intro Tutorial: Get a feel for your first steps in the mech.
Team Deathmatch: Classic mech-on-mech combat.
Conquest: Teams of mechs fight to control key territories.
Training: An open multiplayer lobby to practice and hone your skills.
Bots are available in the multiplayer modes, which is a welcome feature for a niche title like this. They provide a solid introduction before you face off against other players.
Iron Rebellion Hangar
Customization and Loadouts
Once you've familiarized yourself with the basic controls and fought through a few mechs, you’re taken to your home base. Here, you’ll find a giant data pad that lets you access mech customization, multiplayer menus, and more. The environment even features physics-based objects to mess around with while waiting for friends—perfect for those inevitable 15-minute delays while they boot up.
Speaking of customization, Iron Rebellion gives you a lot of freedom. Mechs are divided into three frame sizes: Light, Medium, and Heavy, each with two variants, each offering unique abilities introduced in the latest update ahead of the game’s 1.0 launch.
After selecting your frame, you can choose from a variety of weapons to mount on your mech. Light mechs, for example, may only wield one primary weapon but can choose between a riot shield or smoke grenade launcher. You'll also get to equip up to three augments from a set list, allowing for some creative loadout combinations. Once you’ve saved your loadout to one of the ten available slots, you're ready to test it out in the training zone or jump into a PvP mission.
Behind the wheel
Controls: Hands at 10 and 2
The controls are intuitive and satisfying. After a few minutes of piloting, everything feels natural:
Left Hand: Throttle and movement controls.
Right Hand: Weapon systems, with options to aim, scope in, and switch between weapons.
Loot Scoop Lever: Located between your legs, used to collect ammo and healing items.
Control Height Adjuster: Above the weapon controls, allows you to tweak the in-cockpit height to match your setup.
Additional controls above your head include toggles for voice chat (team vs. world), a mute function, and the repair module. The repair system is essential during combat: if a mech system is damaged, you can loot a healing canister, select the damaged module, and trigger safe mode. This temporarily reduces power while deploying repair drones to restore your systems. Under fire, these moments of repair can be incredibly tense and make for thrilling gameplay.
Combat: Immersive and Intense
Once your systems are fully operational and you’ve got a handle on movement, it’s time for the action. Whether sniping with howitzers, launching missile barrages, or bouncing lasers off enemy cockpits, the combat is fast, intense, and deeply satisfying. The mech movement is snappy and responsive, letting you stay engaged in the thick of battle. Even with the added mobility of jump jets, the chaos of combat never feels out of control.
The developers have nailed the feeling of piloting a mech. Weapons feel powerful, movement is fluid, and getting hammered by a barrage of missiles is as thrilling as it is overwhelming.
Conclusion: A Must-Play VR Experience
RECOMMENDED
Iron Rebellion delivers a reactive, immersive, and deeply satisfying mech experience. With its satisfying weapon systems, responsive controls, and heart-pounding combat, this is the mech game VR enthusiasts have been waiting for. And for those without VR, don't worry—flat-screen support is on the way, ensuring that everyone will get a chance to experience the thrill of Iron Rebellion.
