Yuga Labs’ latest game experience, the HV-MTL Forge, has finally been released. But what is it and how does it work? 

In March, the Bored Ape Yacht Club and Otherside creator Yuga Labs released its HV-MTL NFT collection, which stands for “heavy metal.” Holders of Yuga Labs’ Sewer Pass NFTs were able to “burn” or effectively destroy their NFTs from the Ethereum blockchain in exchange for a HV-MTL, also known as an Evo 1 Mech.

There are a total of 30,000 different mech NFTs, each with different traits like wings, weapons, and wheels—and each provides full access to the newly-launched HV-MTL Forge game. Here's what you need to know to get started.

What is HV-MTL Forge?

According to the game's official website, HV-MTL Forge is a crafting game that pits players against each other and requires a HV-MTL NFT in order to fully experience. 

The Forge is completely different from Yuga’s previous endless runner game Dookey Dash. While Dookey Dash had players race against the clock to accumulate as many points as they could to climb a leaderboard, Forge is more of a Tamagotchi-esque game that involves creating a forge and maintaining the health of your HV mech.

The HV-MTL Forge website states that the game’s players will be able to vote on which forges deserve rewards called “amps.”

Who can play HV-MTL Forge?

At time of writing, only holders of the HV-MTL NFTs will be able to fully experience the browser-based game. HV-MTL owners can also "delegate" their NFTs to another Ethereum wallet to let a friend play. A HV-MTL NFT can be delegated to multiple additional wallets, but only one such wallet can play with it at a time.

Players that own multiple NFTs will be able to achieve some bonuses via in-game “portals.” If NFT owners do not play the game, their NFTs will not be able to “evolve.”

Currently, there is no option to play HV-MTL Forge without owning one of the NFTs or holding a designated wallet. The official website notes that "non-holders will have an opportunity to try a limited version of Forge," but that feature does not appear to be available yet. As of this writing, you cannot play the game without holding a HV-MTL NFT.

Even if Yuga Labs eventually adds that option, the company notes that players of the limited version "will not be eligible to experience all elements of the game and will not be able to use what they build in future activations."

How to play HV-MTL Forge

Players will need to design their own unique forges, or workshops, and garner votes from other players in order to receive amps. Players that earn three or more amps will be able to evolve their mech NFT into its next evolution. Players can earn up to six amps in total.

The game will begin as a pet simulator with world-builder elements. Yuga Labs Chief Gaming Officer Spencer Tucker shared in a community Twitter Space that players will be able to spend ApeCoin (APE) to speed up their forge builds. APE can also be used to purchase items from the game’s shop. 

Twitter activity will also play a role in the game, as Tucker also shared that Twitter likes will give users bonus points to buy premium objects in Forge. 

Players will need to use blueprints to craft tiles and decorative objects for their respective forges using energy, the game’s main resource. There are 100 blueprints in total. Tiles can be rotated, but once placed, they cannot be moved—only destroyed. Tiles also have “levels” that can be upgraded by interacting with a tile. 

Gamers can also add portals to their forges to enable interdimensional travel and summon other HVs from a player’s wallet if more than one is owned. 

Like a Tamagotchi or in The Sims, HV mechs will need to be kept happy and healthy in order for players to succeed in Forge. While HVs won’t die if ignored, actions like petting, letting them sleep, opening portals, and cleaning up HV poop will keep them happy. That will provide players with additional benefits like increased speed, portal event energy rewards, tile energy generation, and increased working speed.

After six weeks, the game will offer Rifts, or a dungeon-crawling experience, for players who have acquired enough Amps.

What is the HV-MTL Forge Rift?

After nine weeks (August 31), the game premise of Forge will expand to include Rift challenges, in which select mech NFT owners will have to compete in a new game mode that falls under the “dungeon crawler” genre.

In Rifts, players will have to craft equipment, explore, and seek rewards to make it to the final stage of the game. According to Yuga’s Forge Game Guide, select players will have to fight “epic beasts” in the final game stage and compete against each other for unspecified “treasure” before the game timer runs out. 

How long will the HV-MTL Forge game last?

The game will run for a total of 18 weeks, beginning on June 29. Forge will have six seasons in total, with each season lasting three weeks. It appears that HV-MTL Forge will shut down once the six-season cycle is complete, much as Dookey Dash went offline once that competition ended.