Endurance, or―? In “GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT,” the battle begins with “building.” We try the customization options and new missions [Play Report]

Have any of you ever built a Gunpla model? While it’s fun to assemble them exactly as the instructions say, if you’re a Gundam fan, you’ve probably thought at least once, “I’d like to swap this unit’s arm for one from that kit.” Swapping out parts to create your very own, one-of-a-kind Gundam—that’s one of the ways to enjoy plastic models that has long been cherished in this hobby.

The new action game *GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT*, scheduled for release on Friday, March 5, 2027, lets you not only build your “very own mobile suit” but also actually pilot it on the battlefield.

We’ve had the chance to try out this game at media preview events and TGS 2026, but this time, we received a more detailed explanation of the customization features and were able to play the new mission, “Planet of Sand.” This article will focus on those two aspects.

The Gundam Helix Is a Mobile Suit You “Build Yourself”

The game’s protagonist mobile suit, the Gundam Helix, can be customized to your liking by swapping out its various parts.The main parts that can be swapped out are the head, arms, torso, and legs—four main sections—along with weapons, thrusters, and the autonomous weapon unit, the “Apocalypse Unit (AP-U).” These are mounted onto the frame, which serves as the base for the Gundam Helix.

Naturally, changing the parts alters the mobile suit’s performance. Let’s take a look at the role each part plays, one by one.

Head, Arms, Torso, and Legs—The Foundation of Appearance and Performance

First, let’s look at the four main parts: head, arms, torso, and legs. These parts directly affect the unit’s durability. In other words, the parts you choose determine “how much damage the unit can withstand.”

However, it would be premature to assume that you should simply equip the entire body with the toughest parts. This game features high-speed action where you dash across the ground and through the air using Boost, and each part comes with passive effects, such as increased melee attack power.You’ll often find yourself thinking, “I’d rather have this passive effect even if it means sacrificing a little durability,” so you can’t make decisions based solely on numerical values. Durability and passive effects—however you balance these three factors will result in completely different mobile suits, even if they’re both Gundam Helix models.

Weapons—The Most Important Parts That Determine Your Combat Style

Next up are weapons. These are the parts that greatly influence the performance of the Gundam Helix—they can truly be called the “core” of the unit.

This is because, in this game, tactical skills and unique skills vary depending on the weapon type. Looking back at the three types we encountered in previous hands-on sessions—the Assault Sword, Whip Sword, and Sword Lance—the combat style was completely different whenever the weapon type changed. In other words, choosing a weapon is nothing less than deciding “how you want to fight.”

First, decide your fighting style based on your weapon, then assemble the other parts to match it. This approach seems likely to become the standard.

Thrusters—You Can Even Choose “How to Fly”

Thrusters are parts designed to ensure mobility… but they’re more than that. The type of thruster you choose actually changes how your unit flies. Do you want to gain altitude and launch attacks from above, or glide smoothly across the battlefield at a constant height? Players can choose their own “style” of aerial combat based on their personal preferences.

In this game’s combat, which shifts between ground and air, this choice will have a greater impact on your fighting style than you might imagine.

AP-U—How to Choose Your Constant Battle Companion

And then there are the AP-Us. You can equip up to two on your mech, and as the name “Autonomous Weapon Units” suggests, the selected units automatically assist you during combat. Examples include “Silfield,” which attacks enemies alongside you, and “Guardian,” which deploys a shield.

What makes the choice particularly tricky is that the effects of the “AP Unit Burst”—a power-up available during the “OVER-RISE” state, which is activated by filling a gauge—also vary depending on the equipped AP-U. Should you prioritize units with excellent everyday support capabilities, or focus on the performance of the AP Unit Burst you unleash in critical moments? This is where player preferences will likely diverge.

Incidentally, there’s a clear reason why these units bear the name “Apocalypse,” despite being enemies. AP-Us are positioned as weapons created by humanity to harness and utilize the abilities of their enemies. While their funnel-like behavior is a classic Gundam trope, their origins are firmly rooted in the unique worldview of this game.

The RG Project discusses the “Three Gospels” brought about by the Apocalypse—“Gravity Control,” “Ultra-High-Pressure Propulsion,” and “Materialization”—and the AP-U is very much a part of this lineage.Furthermore, elements related to these three gospels are woven throughout the game; for example, the “Tactical Move,” which allows you to switch to evasion mode at any time during combat, is an action made possible precisely because of the ability to control gravity. It’s said that the stages featuring colonies and other locations are also dotted with visual elements that could only be realized thanks to these technologies.

Even the controls I’ve been using without a second thought have a backstory grounded in the game’s lore. Knowing this makes me feel like I’ve taken another step deeper into this world.

Power Output Issues—You Can’t Go Into Battle With Just the Strongest Parts

Having read this far, some of you might be thinking, “Well, then, shouldn’t I just choose the highest-performance parts for every slot?” …But it’s not that simple.

Each part in this game has a set power consumption, and you cannot sortie if the total power consumption of your equipped parts exceeds the generator’s output. Furthermore, the upper limit of this generator output increases as the level of the frame—the base unit of the Gundam Helix—rises.

In other words, the stronger the Frame becomes, the higher-performance parts you’ll be able to equip. That said, it’s generally difficult to go into battle equipped solely with high-performance gear, so you’ll need to make compromises at some point. Deciding “what to sacrifice” within your limited budget—that, I believe, is the true thrill of building your very own Gundam Helix.

Appearance Customization and Where to “Show It Off”

In addition to performance, visual customization options are also available.

You can set the color to your liking, and textures such as weathering (dirt) and metallic finishes are available as color variations. However, you cannot make individual edits—such as “adding dirt to a selected color” or “making it metallic”—but rather select a color that already has that texture.The same applies to emblems: while colors featuring pre-designed emblems are available, there’s no function to edit shapes yourself and apply them to the mobile suit. This might be a bit underwhelming for those who want to create detailed markings from scratch, but it’s nice that you can easily change the look just by selecting from the available colors.

As for MOD skins, while the three mobile suits included with the Deluxe Edition are exclusive to that edition, the RX-78-2 MOD is reportedly included as a feature available to all players within the game. Being able to use the form that could be called the origin of Gundam in a completely new world is sure to be an irresistible feature for longtime fans.

And once you’ve painstakingly assembled a mobile suit, you’ll naturally want to show it off. Unfortunately, a photo mode isn’t planned, but the game reportedly includes a co-op mode as post-story content, where three players can team up to take on powerful enemies.The multiplayer deployment screen will likely feature a lineup of multiple mobile suits, allowing players to take on powerful enemies while catching a glimpse of each other’s customizations.

The place to “show off” your mobile suit isn’t through photos—it’s on the battlefield itself. Isn’t that a quintessentially “Gundam” answer?

New Mission: “Planet of Sand”—Even Regular Enemies Show No Mercy

Here’s a play report on the “Planet of Sand” mission, which we were able to experience for the first time.

As with previous demo sessions, you select one of three pre-prepared sample mobile suits to deploy. The types are the same as before: the versatile Assault Sword; the Whip Sword, which is difficult to manage but delivers unmatched firepower when it clicks; and the Sword Lance, capable of executing three-dimensional attacks with charges from high ground or mid-range.

The basic flow of the mission is the same as in the previously experienced “Battle for the Rail Bridge”: first, you must eliminate the regular enemies before taking down the boss. …However, the challenge felt completely different.

While “Battle for the Rail Bridge” was a stage with a strong tutorial-like feel, “Planet of Sand” seems to be a stage that comes after progressing through the story to a certain point, and even the regular enemies actively launch attacks right from the start. Particularly troublesome are the enemies sniping from high ground. If you focus solely on the enemies right in front of you, you’ll end up getting shot from unexpected directions.I had to be mindful of the stage’s elevation differences and strategize which enemies to take out first.

There are also spots on the stage where a green “ACCESS” icon appears. Interacting with these icons grants various benefits. Among them, the most important is the Repair Kit—a healing item that you can stock a few of below your health bar. Additionally, if you take a slight detour during the mission, you’ll find development materials scattered about, which you can also obtain by interacting with them.

Don’t get too caught up in defeating enemies—try taking a few detours along the way. Keeping that flexibility in mind will likely make later battles easier.

The Giant Scorpion “Chimera”—Use “Explosions” to Break Through Its Hard Armor

After clearing out the minor enemies, the boss “Chimera” was waiting for me. It’s an enemy that looks like a giant scorpion.

This Chimera has incredibly tough armor. Attacking it head-on won’t do much damage, and it’s a real struggle to wear it down using conventional methods alone.

The key here is the advice from “Big Paul,” who appears to be the leader of the pirate crew. There are bombs scattered across the field; by detonating them and catching the Chimera in the blast, you can deal massive damage.Rather than relying solely on your sword, you use the elements of the battlefield to break down this massive enemy. The feel of this strategy offered a different kind of fun compared to previous boss battles.

Of course, the Chimera doesn’t just stand there. As its health drops, it closes in on you with a combo that starts with a charge attack, followed by a 360-degree laser spread, and culminates in a massive beam. Just when you think you’ve dodged the charge, lasers sweep across the entire area, and waiting for you on the other side is a massive beam.With this relentless barrage of attacks, it was a formidable foe that could wipe out your health in an instant if you let your guard down.

That said, it wasn’t unreasonably difficult. I was able to defeat it using each of the three weapon types. Since there’s plenty of room for healing items, I think the balance was such that you could win as long as you didn’t fight too recklessly. It offered a solid challenge while still providing clear strategies for victory. It was the “just right” kind of tough opponent.

That concludes my play report on the customization features and the new mission, “Planet of Sand.”

What struck me most this time was that combat in this game begins right from the stage of assembling your mech.Head, arms, torso, legs; weapons that determine your combat style; thrusters that dictate how you fly; and the ever-present AP-U. How do you allocate all of these within a limited budget? Choosing one thing means giving up another—and I believe it’s precisely that dilemma that gives meaning to “your very own Gundam Helix.”

And what I saw on the “Planet of Sand” was the tangible sense that, as the story progresses, the enemies steadily become tougher.This time, I went into battle with a sample unit, but in the full version, I’ll be standing on this battlefield with a unit I’ve built myself. Faced with formidable foes like the Chimera, just how far will the unit I’ve built hold up? And further along in the story, powerful enemies await that I’ll have to face alongside my comrades and our units. I’m already looking forward to that day.

*GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT* is scheduled for release on Friday, March 5, 2027, forPS5,XBOX Series X|S, andSteam .

©SUNRISE

*Screenshots are from the game in development.

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