Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion Review
Marvelous brings us an underwhelming sequel to Daemon X Machina.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion, an anime-like mech action game from First Studio and Marvelous, is a sequel to the first game in the series that was released in 2019 as a Nintendo Switch and PC exclusive. The sequel was created and produced by Kenichiro Tsukuda and features mech designs from Shoji Kawamori. I was excited to play Titanic Scion, but was underwhelmed by what I found.
You are an Outer, an evolved human, who flees from the floating space station from where the Outers brutally rule over the planet below. Branded a traitor, you join up with the human resistance. The convoluted backstory to the wars that led to the current state of affairs between Outers and humans is communicated in a lengthy opening crawl, information that evaporated from my brain almost immediately after reading. Show, don’t tell, people. The actual in-game story is almost as forgettable, not helped by the clunky dialogue of the uninspired script.
The game is an open-world third-person shooter, where exploration is motivated by a mission system. You accept missions at your base, then follow your checklist and map beacons to complete them before returning. The world is large, but it’s a bit dull. It feels like an expanse I’m obligated to traverse between missions rather than an interesting place to explore. Though some of the traversal, particularly once you open up new options, feels great, it wasn’t enough to make up for the world’s design.
Titanic Scion is about tinkering with your Arsenal mech suit. There’s an impressive amount of customization, with replaceable parts and loads of weapons of various types. Loot is constantly thrown at you, which you can send back to your base to update your loadout or research new weapons, armor, and parts. It’s up to you to balance offense, defense, speed, weight, etc., to your liking and preferred combat style.
Regardless of build, the simplistic combat itself feels too weightless, especially considering you’re fighting in a heavy, powerful mech suit. The key to combat is constant movement, where you use up to four hot-swappable weapons, both ranged and melee, as well as a shoulder-mounted weapon and auxiliary weapon. Lock on to an enemy (or don’t), and shoot and slash your way to victory. I wish melee weapons in particular felt better to use.
On the PlayStation 5, I found the graphics underwhelming. The mech and enemy designs are cool, but the world they inhabit is dull and drab. Interior spaces feel empty. I understand the need to have wide, open spaces to facilitate the mech combat, but I can’t help but feel the execution could have been better and not so lifeless.
I simply did not enjoy my time with Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion. Based on my experience with the game, it certainly doesn’t justify its premium, AAA asking price. Its presentation and content make it feel like a game that should have been priced at half that price point. Perhaps your mileage will vary, but the game was not for me.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is available now on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Overall Score: 4/10
Played on PS5
