What is Project Chimera gameplay, tactical shooter or mech sim?

[EmmaLR]

I just saw the leaked gameplay snippet for Project Chimera and now I’m genuinely confused about what kind of game it’s supposed to be. The first half looked like a tactical squad shooter, but then it seamlessly switched to a mech piloting segment with completely different controls. Has anyone else seen this, and do you think they can actually make both of those systems feel good in one package?

[JeffreyLH]

I caught a clip too and it felt like two games glued together. The first part looked like a tactical squad shooter, then it flipped into a mech segment with totally different controls. It’s ambitious, but I’ve seen this before—in practice the transitions have to be telegraphed and the feel has to be tight or it just feels janky. If they pull it off, there has to be some common language between the modes.

[Justin75]

I've tinkered with a couple of prototypes that tried mixing modes. We did a quick playtest with 8 players and measured flow; the transition felt jagged and the pace dropped about 15 percent during the switch. It underscored how critical a shared control language and smooth handoffs are. We ended up scrapping a joint HUD idea and gave each mode its own rhythm, but it never felt flawless.

[Aria_R]

In Project Chimera, can they pull off both modes without one dragging the other down?

[Jonathan3]

Leaks are noisy and early; maybe this isn't representative of the final game. I wouldn't read too much into it until we see more.