The game is based on the TT game but with some notable changes to bring it to a digital format; most notably the turn order is different. Most changes from TT were made in order to have battles run no longer than 30 minutes.
As for RPG elements, you level up your MechWarriors in four stats and get to choose three abilities (out of eight) while doing so. Each MechWarrior has a different background that may play into events that occur while travelling the galaxy. And of course you have the Mechlab, where you get to customize your 'Mechs (big change from TT is that you cannot change the engine).
There's also the managerial aspect of the game where you decide on pay levels, who to drop in what 'Mech, what salvage to pick, and what missions to take.
Finally, our base, the Argo, is upgradable as well (including a zero-g pool!).
Do you like X-Com? Battle Brothers? The game is a bit like both, in different regards. The goal of the game is to manage your mercenary company and not go bankrupt while doing so (this is the only game-ender; if you still have C-Bills, you can always continue playing even if you lose all your 'Mechs and MechWarriors).
There's four different game modes:
- Single player campaign (the original game mode, a rather long series of scripted battles in-between which you take on whatever contracts you fancy to build yourself up for the next scripted mission)
- Single player career (which is more of a sandbox, you roam at will throughout the galaxy, taking whatever missions you want without an overarching story to it)
- Single player skirmish (one-off battles against the AI)
- Multi-player skirmish (one-off battles against another player)
In addition, should you buy the Flashpoint DLC, there are flashpoints both in career mode and after the campaign is finished in campaign mode. Flashpoints are a series of connected missions with a short, branching story to connect them. If the campaign is
BattleTech: The movie, flashpoints are
BattleTech: The TV Series.
Speaking of DLCs, there are three: Flashpoint, Urban Warfare, and Heavy Metal. There won't be any more since HBS has moved on to other projects. I suggest you get all three (they are frequently on sale) for the full experience. The game is perfectly playable without any DLCs, but they each bring something extra to the experience; flashpoints, mega-city maps, and the classic Unseen 'Mechs.
There's also a whole slew of mods to alter gameplay; HBS made sure to make the game easily moddable - and even if you're not a programmer, it's easy to change e.g. your starting lance just by editing a JSON file.
As for being a strategy game, you'll soon notice that strategy actually matters. Running head-long into the enemy is generally not a viable tactic - but it may be from time to time.
In short, if you like BattleTech, if you like turn-based strategy, if you like X-Com or Battle Brothers, this game won't disappoint.