When I first booted up PG-Geisha's Revenge, I immediately felt that familiar thrill of piloting a sophisticated war machine - the same sensation I'd experienced years ago when I first discovered mecha games. There's something magical about controlling these mechanical giants, and PG-Geisha's Revenge absolutely nails that Evangelion-inspired power fantasy of commanding a weighty-yet-sleek killing machine. The way your mech moves with purposeful momentum, the satisfying thud of each step echoing through your controller - it's pure mecha bliss that reminds me why I fell in love with this genre in the first place.

But here's where things get complicated, and where my experience as a long-time mecha enthusiast gives me pause. While the core combat feels fantastic, I can't help but notice the glaring absence of one crucial element that defines great mecha games: meaningful customization. Don't get me wrong - you can spend hours painting your Striker in elaborate color schemes and applying decals to its shiny metal torso. The cosmetic options are actually quite impressive, with over 50 different skins available through gameplay and microtransactions. Yet when I look deeper, I realize we're missing the mechanical soul that makes games like Armored Core so endlessly replayable.

What truly bothers me is the lack of structural modifications. In my ideal mecha game, I want to be able to swap out components based on my playstyle - maybe exchange heavy armor for enhanced mobility when I'm feeling aggressive, or trade standard bipedal legs for tank tracks when I need more stability for heavy weapons. I remember spending countless hours in older mecha titles experimenting with different loadouts, sometimes creating absolute monstrosities that shouldn't work but somehow did. That creative freedom is what separates good mecha games from legendary ones, and it's painfully absent here.

The game does attempt to address this through its PvPvE extraction mode called Mashmak. I've probably sunk about 40 hours into this mode alone, and while it's conceptually interesting, the implementation feels half-baked. You can acquire mods that boost attributes like your mech's health and maximum energy, but the only visual feedback you get is seeing numbers incrementally increase in your stats screen. During actual gameplay, the difference between a fully modded mech and a stock one is barely noticeable - maybe you survive one extra hit or use your special ability 10% more frequently. It's simply not the transformative experience that true customization should provide.

What's particularly frustrating is that the foundation for deeper customization is clearly there. The game's mechanics are solid, the combat feels responsive, and the visual design is stunning. I've noticed that certain mech frames seem designed with modularity in mind, yet the developers chose not to implement part-swapping functionality. It makes me wonder if this was a deliberate design choice to appeal to casual players or simply a feature that got cut due to development constraints. Either way, it represents a significant missed opportunity in my opinion.

I should mention that not all players will see this as a drawback. For those who prefer jumping straight into action without worrying about complex build optimization, the current system might actually be preferable. But for veterans like myself who enjoy the strategic layer of preparing our mechs for battle, the lack of mechanical depth becomes apparent rather quickly. After about 20 hours of gameplay, I found myself repeating the same strategies with minor variations rather than discovering new approaches through experimentation.

The cosmetic customization, while visually impressive, ultimately feels superficial when you realize it doesn't affect gameplay. I've collected numerous skins and decals through both gameplay and the in-game store (where premium skins cost between $5-15), but changing my mech's appearance doesn't change how I play. There's no connection between how my mech looks and how it performs, which breaks the immersion for me. In the best mecha games, form follows function - your mech's appearance tells a story about its capabilities, but here it's just decoration.

Looking at the broader mecha genre landscape, PG-Geisha's Revenge sits in an interesting position. It excels at delivering immediate visceral satisfaction but falls short on long-term engagement through customization. The Mashmak mode, while innovative in concept, needs significant refinement to truly satisfy hardcore fans. If the developers could integrate visual changes that reflect statistical improvements and introduce actual part-swapping mechanics, they'd have a masterpiece on their hands. As it stands, it's a beautifully crafted game that understands the spectacle of mecha combat but misses the strategic depth that makes the genre truly special.

Having played mecha games for over fifteen years, I've seen how customization can make or break a title's longevity. PG-Geisha's Revenge has all the ingredients for greatness except this crucial one. Here's hoping future updates or a sequel addresses this gap, because the potential for something extraordinary is clearly there, waiting to be unlocked.