Too much RNG and grinding to be any fun
My initial hour with the game was a blast. Ironcast is sort of like a mix of Puzzle Quest and FTL. It's set in a fictional version of the Victorian era where there is an endless war between England and France. To end the stalemate rich nobles decide to invest their resources and invent bipedal mechs.
It doesn't look like it at first, but this is a Rogue-lite through and through. The gist is once your mech falls in combat you have to start the game all over again. Any experience points earned in that run increases the Global Unlock Progress which grants you passive bonuses on every run. IMO a Rogue-lite should be beatable on the first run as long as you have sufficient skill and knowledge of what to expect. The problem is that even with impeccable skillful play there is too much RNG. It is common to suddenly find yourself without any ammo or coolant nodes. And late game enemies hit way too hard. They can demolish your mech in about 5 turns unless you lucked out on boosting your shields and evasion.
The only way it seems to beat the final boss is to grind away at the Global Unlock Progress. Grinding in this game loses its luster quickly because there aren't many unique events and on my third playthrough, I started seeing the same encounters. Sure the Global Unlock Progress rewards you with new mechs and characters, but I lost interest and gave up after my sixth run. The best thing I can say is that Ironcast has at least a bit more depth than a Bejeweled or a Candy Crush.