Skydance Interactive's Archangel: Hellfire is a cacophony of sights and sounds that throws you into the cockpit of a giant mech and turns you loose to go to war with other players throughout a post-apocalyptic landscape. It's an explosive time, to be sure, reminiscent of some of the best movies and TV shows out there that have ever depicted what it's like to jump into your own giant robot and wreak havoc on the world and players around you.

In fact, the game drew quite a bit of inspiration during its design stages from quite the unlikely source: 2018's science fiction and mech film, Pacific Rim Uprising and the Pacific Rim series in general. The team took several cues from the film itself as well as the all-around awesome feeling of being in your very own giant robot. Eat your heart out, Shinji Ikari!

"I think the feeling of being inside a cockpit in a science fiction world and being able to control that gives the player the experience of extending their power into a giant machine," said Pablo Leon-Luna, programmer at Skydance.

It's easy to understand why the team would look to Pacific Rim for inspiration, especially considering its market appeal and homage to the worlds of kaiju films, anime, and mech genres. Ever since the 2013 film aired in theaters around the globe, it attracted something of a cult following that's clearly extended to the artists at Skydance while the team got to work shaping and perfecting the Hellfire: Archangel mech experience.

"Pacific Rim is definitely a favorite, specifically on the art side of the Archangel development team. A lot of our artists draw a lot of inspiration from the look of the Pacific Rim mechs. When the trailer dropped, all of our art team was going nuts," said Leon-Luna.

With the film inspiration in mind, it's easy to start thinking about what we might be able to expect from an Archangel: Hellfire movie one day, which would certainly be an interesting prospect.

"If we had the option to turn Archangel into a film, it would be nothing short of badass," concluded Leon-Luna.

Take a look at the interview clip above, and then try out Archangel: Hellfire for yourself so you can live out those explosive giant robot dreams in the future. It's available now for $19.99 via Steam, though you will need a VR headset (HTC Vive or Oculus Rift) to play. Interested in trying out out the Hellfire expansion, but already have Archangel? It will be free for anyone who already owns Archangel.