Bounty Star preview — A blend of mechs and homesteads

There's something oddly compelling about the idea of piloting a massive war machine one moment then tending to crops and cooking breakfast the next. That's exactly what DINOGOD is attempting to pull off with Bounty Star, an ambitious fusion of mech combat and farming simulation.

Bounty Star puts you in the boots of Clem, a war veteran turned bounty hunter trying to shed the guilt and shame of her military past. Set in the Red Expanse, a post-apocalyptic version of the American Southwest, Clem attempts to become a force for good in a region plagued by violent criminals and dangerous beasts. The 30 minute demo I played didn’t dive too deep into the narrative so this preview will focus mostly on the gameplay.

The core loop centers around two distinct but interconnected activities. You spend your days managing your homestead, taking care of it, customizing your mech, and preparing burritos and sandwiches, then take a few bounties during the evening to rid the lands of unwanted bandits and earn some cash. Bounties are mission based, so don’t expect an open world here.

You pilot the Desert Raptor MKII, a highly customizable battle vehicle that can be equipped with melee weapons, siege weapons, explosive firearms, and more. It can also be equipped with defensive systems like high-speed thrusters, boosters for dashing, and riot shields. You can also give your mech fancy paint jobs, allowing it to look sleek and stylish.

The mech combat surprised me with its difficulty. It has a very Soulslike feel, thanks to hard-hitting and telegraphed enemy attacks. The gunfire and melee options don't pack too much of a punch and things get hectic fast on screen. There's a temperature bar you should watch out for as some weapons heat your mech up, giving you debuffs once it reaches high temperatures.

You can evade enemy attacks, dash, and sprint around the battlefield. But here's where it gets interesting: there’s a gun-cancel mechanic that’s initiated by combining a melee strike with your primary fire, which performs the cancel. This maneuver varies depending on what weapons you have equipped but it acts as a dodge in addition to reloading your guns. It's giving me serious Armored Core vibes, where mastering these movement cancels becomes crucial for survival.

I only got to demo a brief portion of the management side of things, including gathering water, cooking food, and producing ammunition. There's also a crafting mechanic that allows you to create new parts for your mech, such as claws for melee weapons or a grenade launcher for your ranged module.

Based on the preview build, the technical performance on PC is solid. There are some frame dips during intense combat sequences though.

The visual presentation embraces a distinctive Wild West meets post-apocalypse aesthetic that sets it apart from typical mech games. Your homestead is an old gas station turned base of operations, and serves as the hub where you do all of your base management activities.

The mech designs lean more toward industrial functionality than typical science fiction. They work well for the setting. These feel like machines built from scavenged parts and necessity rather than cutting-edge military hardware.

The voice acting, from what's been shown, appears to match the game's grounded, mature tone. Clem comes across as genuinely weary rather than generically tough.

Bounty Star impressed me so far with its undeniably unique concept, but I’ll need to play more to know for sure. The demo only really showcased the mech combat part of the gameplay, so I’ll have to wait until the full release to see how the farming and base-building aspect works.

Bounty Star launches October 23, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with day-one Game Pass availability.