The game is set on a fictional planet called Alter 8, where players take on the role of Junkmetal pilots, mercenaries who operate customized robots to explore, fight, and survive.
It has a unique and complex backstory, involving a secret plan by POF (i.e. Planet of Fortune), a huge private company, to terraform and colonize Alter 8, the emergence of a mysterious threat called GHOUL, and the eventual collapse of the planet.