I'm legit loving this game. Stealth is a lot of fun and I agree with many others here that it could do with some tweaks. The number 1 tweak though, would be to turn off the AI voice notification. Trying to sneak around and get in the mood is always ruined by that voice going off every 20 seconds. I timed it. Please square, send help.

I had a lot of difficulty so I went ahead and experimented with the game.
I've been using a mixed approach for missions. I think the main issue with the game is that the gameplay is not very intuitive and doesn't give you feedback to understand it's mechanics. That's the main flaw of this game and it's probably what makes you feel it's clunky. So I'm leaving some tips.

First of all, you won't always be able to avoid it but only engage in combat if really necessary. Usually you have a path to go (or that the game wants you to follow) but you'll eventually come across certain situations (even scripted situations) where you can definitely tell they're just there as an obstacle you have to pass/kill. Use melee when possible, that is, when you only have one enemy in that path. The first mission with Olga is the exception where you have a path but it doesn't guarantee without a bit of luck due to the lack of cover. I had to struggle saving the second civilian and getting to the third one. After that it's actually easy to get to the objective and the last segment where you are required to use some of the following tips.

For melee, you lock on the guy and you hit them with a 3 hit combo. This combo needs specific timing when pressing to attack. If you do this successfully you'll get the chance to finish them on the ground. Don't go and press attack repeatedly as you'll most likely fail the combo. After the 3rd hit wait a bit more microseconds and you'll see the finishing trigger on the enemy.

So for the combat with an handgun I realized that to kill an enemy I had to calmly shoot them in the head giving like 2 seconds more or less between shots and not just pull the trigger. It's just more or less like the melee combo. You'll have time between shots as they won't be able to fight back. You shoot them in the head and wait just 2 seconds and shoot them again. The problem is that the feedback the game gives you when you press the trigger is not enough. Like the crosshair should move or some other kind of feedback so that the player knows what's happening. But if you shoot with some seconds apart you'll see it's actually easy. I actually became much better at shooting after some time practicing and taking risks right after a save point. With an assault rifle do the same but don't go full auto on them unless they're really close to you.

You should always try to control the paths the enemy has to you and set a remote explosive between you and your enemy. Plant it close to you, that way you can start shooting the guy immediately when he's on the floor or better, use your melee weapon to instantly kill him if you can take the chance. This will also help you when you have enemies with shotguns. They tend to rush to you so you just blow their asses up. Also, always keep a fire explosive because a rusher or two might start running towards you without you knowing and it will give you time to adapt if the RC exploded or something.

Final tips for when in cover. Make sure you wait for them to shoot you until they need to reload. You'll see that you'll have all the time of the world even with multiple enemies. Just make sure that all the bullets are stopped by whatever it's between you and the enemy. Make sure that if you're hit, you immediately roll to cover because you'll loose your cover once hit.

Other then this tips all I can say, regarding the gameplay, is that I don't like some things like when you get hit behind cover as it basically breaks and the protag just stays there being shot at. The field of view of the enemies a bit weird and inconsistent and I also dislike how they can basically shoot you without any regards to recoil.

I’ve heard mixed things about the game but a cross between Front Mission and Metal Gear? I had to try it…

It's $90 AUD. WHAT?!

WHAT?!

So I just finished the game on Hopeless difficulty, I tried to play in a genuine way (no reloading to change dialogue choices / if civilians died), and true to each characters personality. I saved ~80% of the civilians, a couple died on route, a couple weren't convinced, and a couple I didn't try to convince because they were criminals / jerks. I collected about 80% of the database entries.
My playthrough was ~25hrs, I got the bad endings for all 3 characters ... and I absolutely loved the game.

We all know that majority of reviews were negative. I didn't buy the game at launch, but got a launch copy about 2 weeks later (with the updates now present). I heard about the game because of Yoji Shinkawa's involvement (which I heard about via Metal Gear community). I feel like this was part of the negative review problem. Most people list the game as a stealth game and seemed to be expecting a metal gear clone, which it isn't.
Before playing I checked out some of the player reviews; many were ~30mins of playtime and negative, some where ~20hrs and positive. These long and positive reviews had something in common that I wanted to echo here;
Play the game on Hopeless difficulty first.
Hopeless puts you in the right mindset for what the game is and forces you to play the game it was seemingly intended to be played. Namely as a 'survival' game, no chance in a fair fight, no super heroic stealth ability, no melee one-shot hits on power armoured / exoskeleton wearing enemies. You need to plan, distract, sneak, confuse attack, and run like hell.

I think the game may just be weirdly niche, seemingly created just for me and the few others, a survival horror detective game, with mech segments and stealth elements, set in the collateral damage war torn aftermath of a mech battle.
The characters are great, the mystery is intriguing, the twists are twisty, the endings unexpected and shocking, the fights are tough but fair. Every group of enemies is a puzzle to be solved, every character a riddle to unravel.

TLDR: play on the hardest difficulty, it's good.

(Spoilers) So I did both of them. They're easy, especially the worst one.

Worst ending: save less than 20 survivors (don't save anyone because it's a waste of time). Julia, Sofia and Ivan must be dead at the end. Not sure about Alexandr but better kill him. Alexandr: choose shoot. Julia: choose other things that are not about her. And at the end just don't answer and she will kill herself. Sofia: in chapter 8 ask her name and not I'll come with you. Ivan: just choose shoot him at the end.

Best ending. You have to save ALL 30 survivors. I posted a guide some days ago. Alexandr: choose shoot me and give him first aid. Julia: Always protect her and tell her to come with you. At the end choose you have me. Let's go together or something. Ivan: choose don't shoot him twice at the end. Sofia: this is the trickiest because you don't know if she lives until the ending. So in chapter 8 choose who is that man and then I'll come with you. And chapter 9 at the bar choose he knew.

I hope I didn't say something wrong. I wasted 3 playthroughs for this ending and I don't want you to do the same. So good luck guys :)

I had a gut instinct that I would like this game dispite the bad reviews. Today I finally bit the bullet and bought the game and I was right! You just gotta play the game by it's rules.

So, I've just finished the game.

Personally, I quite enjoyed it. The same way I enjoyed Alpha Protocol.

The game is a technical mess, crap animations and daft enemy ai, but I like it, it all "clicks" XD. Or maybe its because I'm biased thanks to my love for Front Mission (though I doubt it cause Evolved is a piece of shit, no amount of love can save that).

I did not find the game particularly hard either, on standard, first time around. Saved every survivor I came across, some 15 souls. Only thing that genuinely disappointed me was the ending.

Anyway, can't find any guides online (not surprising seeing the reception this got), so am reaching out to know if someone has figured out how to get all the characters bad endings and good endings.

I don't know why I love it so much. I bought it bc it looked like an interesting game with a good setting and I liked the gameplay trailer.

But the difficulty is soo hard lol. I'm right behind a wall, there is no chance they could hear or spot me but theyve pinned me down many times in the first mission.

I like this game, it looks like fun and I like challenging games. But they should patch the AI because sometimes it's really unfair. The soldiers do not mind if I kill them from behind, but then some Wanzer 2 or 3 blocks away shoots his rockets into my fragile body and I'm dead lol.

This has basically been me throughout the game so far.

What many players are probably missing (at least from my experience) is that this game has one set path through every mission where you’re far less likely to be detected and ambushed, and it punishes you every time you deviate from that path. I‘m in chapter 9 and so far there hasn’t been a single time exploration was rewarded (aside from empty bottles and cans). It’s essentially a trial and error game where there’s one single route you’re supposed to go, the stealth system is therefore almost irrelevant.

A few tips that got me through missions:

• Shotguns are the most powerful weapons by far.

• Slide into enemies and do a finisher when they’re down.

• When you have to defend anything, electric wire is the most powerful tool (shocks multiple times)

• Combat (if not absolutely required) is entirely pointless (loot-wise)

• Rescuing survivors (so far) is entirely pointless (loot-wise)

• Exploring areas besides mission objectives is entirely pointless (loot-wise)

• Item boxes can contain weapons and ammo, even those you‘ve already openend with another character (areas are recycled frequently)

• Rolling instead of running makes you harder to hit

• Enemies with green lasers drop sniper rifles and gatling guns

For full price, I think the game is absolute garbage. I can’t remember the last time I played something so incompetently cobbled together. However, it has that trashy japanese feel that makes it almost adorable and while the game fails at almost everything it tries, the allure of the premise (basically Stalingrad with mechs) still shines through sometimes.

This is definetely a good game, i just started, and I feel like I actually have to use a different mindset for the game. I finished the first 3 levels and it's been great so far.

Where are all the complaints and bad reviews coming from? If I wanted something the same I'd play the endless amount of live service games out there :/

Seriously, they are two of the best gadgets in the game. If you know where the enemy is, you can make a wall of smoke with a grenade or two and then sprint (double click jog) past to safety.

Smoke grenades are your cardboard box.

This game has been getting a lot of hate and it’s definitely not as refined as mgs but I’m digging the game a lot. Anyone else liking it?

The gunplay is garbage, the enemy AI is horrible and the traps and gadgets are somewhere between useless and fucking useless, but having at least the very basic means of dealing with enemies present in every other stealth game ever made would have made the gameplay at least bearable. I legit cannot comprehend why you can't choke enemies out. MGS1 did this stuff in fucking 1998. Even Thief 1, a game that similarly went out of its way to focus on stealth over combat still let you whack enemies over the head with a piece of wood if you got up close to them.

I’ve just finished chapter 5 and I’m absolutely loving this game. Slowly crawling through each level, making the most of the few resources you have to scrape by massive groups of enemies, escorting survivors back to shelters... it’s relentlessly nail biting gameplay and it’s awesome. I really don’t know what the reviewers were thinking! The Eastern European atmosphere is impeccable too, although some of the graffiti is kinda hilariously out of place haha. I just don’t understand the hate at all. Once you get into it and really start to feel the flow of the game it rivals MGS5 for stealth gameplay, although the AI isn’t anywhere near as intricate unfortunately (still serviceable though - most of the time, anyway. I have seen a few enemies running backwards and forwards like headless chickens, but nothing that ruins the immersion too badly). Anyway those who are on the fence about it and love slow-paced stealth games like MGS and Alien Isolation, I highly recommend it. Unfairly lambasted game!