Freenergy – Beta

• DEVELOPER: Mir
• PUBLISHER: Mir
• PLATFORMS: PC
• GENRE: Turn-based strategy
• RELEASE DATE: TBA
• STARTING PRICE: TBA

Freenergy was the biggest surprise for me, and I had the chance to play it during the beta campaign. Since I’m unsure how much I can reveal, I’ll keep spoilers to a minimum. Freenergy is a turn-based tactics game, and that’s how you’ll be playing throughout its entirety. You take on the role of an engineer with a passion for robots and science, but you’ve fallen into the clutches of a corporation. Now, you’re forced to build war machines and engage in battles, as it’s the only way to save yourself and your loved ones.

One of the game’s standout features is the ability to design your own robot, though the customization feels a bit limited, leaving me wanting more. You can modify five parts of your robot: the left and right arms, left and right legs, and the head — each offering unique attributes. You’ll also choose the equipment, including weapons like rocket launchers, cannons, or claws, all of which have special abilities and attack styles where accuracy plays a crucial role.

Very interesting gameplay with strategic and tactical thinking

As mentioned, this is a turn-based game, so each stage involves battling other robots and bosses. At the start, you have access to fast actions, which activate immediately, and heavier attacks, which take an entire turn to execute (this is referred to as activation time). After using abilities, they heat up. While you can still use them, they’ll deal less damage, so you’ll need to cool them down with a special skill. As you progress, you’ll unlock more powerful abilities that can be assigned to different robot parts. You can also shield your parts for extra protection and heal them as needed, giving you plenty of room to experiment with different tactics during each stage and round.

However, the gameplay eventually becomes repetitive, though the variety of enemies helps mitigate that somewhat. Most of the enemies don’t offer much challenge — except for the bosses. I found myself wanting more intense difficulty, as many moves didn’t feel impactful, and you could breeze through the game quickly if you’re experienced with this genre. I really wanted another chicken boss type of enemy that moves each turn… Another point to note is that the main hub unlocks new upgrade paths as you progress, including a shop, a museum to review enemy data, and ways to enhance your passive and active skills.

I really wished for more flexibility in designing my robot. What if I wanted a smaller or more unique shape? It felt like I was stuck with the same bulky frame. Additionally, the amount of gold and other currencies you earn after completing stages felt insufficient. Each map has several stages, and between them, you can upgrade or repair your robot parts, which is balanced well. But the rewards after each stage often left me wanting more, as I couldn’t fully upgrade my equipment before the next battle. On the plus side, any equipment you buy stays with you unless it’s destroyed—so be sure to protect your parts.

Energy management is at the heart of the game’s mechanics, essentially functioning as your action points, which are distributed among your units. While you can upgrade your energy pool, it’s limited, and each skill requires a specific amount of energy. You’ll need to think strategically — using a powerful move for three energy points might not always be the best option when you can attack in multiple, less costly ways. This emphasis on tactical thinking is where Freenergy really shines.

What could have been better?

With accuracy playing a major role in Freenergy, it’s important to remember that not all attacks will land perfectly, especially on a grid-based map where positioning matters. While most enemies remain stationary, the range of your attacks is limited. For example, your robot’s front arms can’t accurately hit enemies at the far back of the map, and vice versa. This is the simplest way to explain the combat mechanics.

That said, experimenting with different weapons and equipment is a big part of the fun. You’ll find yourself testing out various combinations to discover the best setup, whether it’s for boosting energy, increasing damage, or other cool perks. I’d love to see the game expand even further on these customization options. Graphically, Freenergy is great. The pixel art is beautiful, with a lot of attention to detail. It looks fantastic, and that same level of care extends to the environments and robot designs. The bosses, in particular, are a highlight. Without spoiling too much, figuring out their patterns and how to defeat them was really enjoyable.

One thing the game could improve on is explaining the different weapons better. While the game shows stats like penetration, health, damage, and durability, it’s still confusing to know which weapon is best in certain situations. On the plus side, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of abilities available, though you need to purchase and unlock them. For example, there’s an ability that lets you shoot every enemy in a straight line or a scattered shot that targets nearby enemies within the grid.

The story, on the other hand, was pretty forgettable. I often forgot there even was a narrative as I played. The premise of saving your family from enemies was decent enough, but the story and text messages didn’t grab me, and I found myself skipping most of them. However, that didn’t stop me from spending hours figuring out new strategies and tactics.