MECHBORN, a Unique Roguelike Inspired by ’90’s Anime, Announced
Greek mythology and ’90’s mech anime come together in MECHBORN, a new roguelike deckbuilder from developer Turtle Juice and publisher Curve Games. The hook is that your mech is your deck, meaning you can swap out parts as desired using your cards.
More intriguingly, Turtle Juice says that “every card played is immediately replaced, forcing players to think ahead, position cards strategically, and chain pilot abilities to forge mech-pilot synergies and unleash attack combos that can turn the tide of battle.” Lead designer Ernani Rocha said, “With MECHBORN, we wanted to rethink what moment-to-moment strategy feels like in a roguelike deckbuilder. The conveyor-belt card system fundamentally changes how players plan, adapt, and position themselves every turn.” Check out the reveal trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.
There are 12 mech pilots with unique skills and backgrounds, allowing you to create all kinds of builds during your runs. You’re also free to move and fight anywhere, though fuel will be your constraining resource that must be managed.
MECHBORN will be available on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 1 & 2 in late 2026. You can play the pre-alpha demo right now on itch.io if you’re interested.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our semi-retired interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
