Again, there's a whole lot of context to the plot dynamics I'm missing, not having any BattleTech background. Voices were regularly astounded to see some form of enemy or witness some explosion, while I was focused on marching forward and learning the controls.
Do you like menus?
I have no real issue with the core loop of Clans. You've got five bio-engineered clan members, each with distinct skills. Each member pilots a BattleMech (just "mech" from here on out) that can be customized. One of your pilots might have an affinity for melee fighting, and you can cultivate that or move them down a different skill tree branch to become a lighter recon type. You, Jayden, are pretty decent at everything, so you have the blessing and curse of limitless customization.
Customization is where MechWarrior heads are getting much more out of this game than I am. You eventually get to pick out a mech chassis (out of 16 available), then customize each of its "pods": left/right leg, left/right arm, left/center/right torso, and head. You make interesting choices around weight, energy, speed, armor, and firepower. You get more options as you play on, spending resources on research and achieving optional goals. And you'll see most of the things you can potentially strap onto your mech on other mechs you encounter.
With five mechs to customize and only so much experience duking it out with other mechs in the field, the "'Mech Lab" portion of Clans felt overwhelming to a newcomer. There is tutorial pointing and a gradual expansion of options, but it still felt like an impediment to the stomping, shooting, and squad tactics. Which, perhaps unsurprisingly, was also a bit overwhelming for a newcomer.
Someone yelling at you, an objective in the distance, and a bunch of blips on radar: Welcome to the front, pilot. Piranha Games
Do you like buttons?
I played the combat portions of Clans with a controller, and it was fine. I played it with a mouse and keyboard, and it was better. Eventually, I mapped a whole bunch of squad commands to my little macro pad and, while not quite a full throttle and joystick, it made me feel much more involved in the combat.