Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion review — Devil’s in the details

Released on the Switch and PC, the original Daemon X Machina was the closest thing Nintendo owners got to a premier mech combat game last generation. Fast forward over half a decade, and its sequel, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion, has dropped on every major platform. Informed by games like Armored Core and Breath of the Wild, it’s poised to give mech fans all they could want and more.

The story feels like well-trodden science fiction at this point. Your character, an Outsider, is pulled into conflict between humans and Outsiders on the side of humanity after a planetside mechanic finds your Arsenal (Daemon X Machina’s mech suit) buried in debris. Humanity is fighting for its survival on a hostile planet full of monsters and, it turns out, augmented superhumans known as Outsiders. After a brief introduction to humanity’s leadership, you’re given a cutscene showing off the Neun, a team of elite Outsider soldiers, each with unique specialties.

Over the course of the game, you’ll have to face each member of the Neun with help from some of humanity’s Arsenal pilots. The variety of characters, both human and Neun, makes for some great monster-of-the-week type action. Each character fits a fairly rigid stereotype (cloaking hunter, boisterous youth, wizened samurai, overpowered villain leader), and their performances scream anime-standard, but the setup around each feels like enough structure to keep things from feeling stale.

While there aren’t many story beats that will throw you for a loop, the tale is told well enough to keep you engaged in the action. Unfortunately, on the back side of the 15+ hour narrative, it can start to feel a little long in the tooth. That said, it’s still fun.

From a gameplay perspective, fans of the mech genre will feel at home here. That feels particularly true for fans of the Armored Core titles, which share a lot of structural similarities with Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion. You’ll control a mechanized suit called an Arsenal, which, honestly, feels more like a form-fitting exosuit than a full-blown mech. You’ll be able to run and jetpack your way around the environment, locking onto enemies to use one of your hand weapons, grenades, or shoulder-mounted artillery to fight monsters and enemy Arsenals.

Defeated foes can often be looted. You can get ammunition, Arsenal parts, and healing items. Back at base, your Arsenal can be built out using a deep customization system that lets you create for your own playstyle or in a way that combats a particular foe. The options for customization are vast, granting everyone the tools to build their own unique Arsenal. You can even customize the paint job and add decals.

Titanic Scion boasts a massive open world to explore. Thanks to solid environmental variety, you’ll never get too tired of blitzing around the planet. You can make a beeline for the main story, of course, but there’s plenty to keep you distracted if you want a break from the narrative. The game has plenty of side quests you can pick up to make some extra cash. There’s a full-blown coliseum in the game with over 30 ranked duels you can take on a la Armored Core: Master of Arena. These will grant you money, camouflage, and more. Titanic Scion even features a fully-realized card game called Overbullet that lets you collect and battle Arsenal gear against NPCs. Overbullet feels like an unnecessary addition, but it’s nice to have the option if minigames like Gwent or Triple Triad were your jam.

While I’m sure it’s no surprise, the real meat for Titanic Scion is in its combat, which feels remarkably similar to playing an Armored Core title to me. Locking on enemies, firing ordinance from a distance, jet boosting around an area to dodge missiles, or setting up your melee strikes all feel great. While Titanic Scion decided to pursue open-world structures like bases as your normal fare, missions will have you focusing on particular objectives in a way that feels like the classic mech titles of yesteryear. Your Arsenal feels great to move in action, too. That said, as much as I enjoyed the game’s melee combat (it was my primary focus), swinging wildly 10’ from my target without much help to advance automatically did feel somewhat frustrating.

The game’s soundtrack felt like a solid mix that kept my feet tapping while I was fighting the Neun. The voice work felt like your standard run-of-the-mill mix of overblown stereotypes, but there’s honestly a familiar nostalgia in those tropes.

For the increased scope and scale Titanic Scion takes on, I was a little taken aback by how dated the visuals felt on Switch 2, which I expected to be the game’s lead console. Environmental textures looked muddy, and some character models felt like they were rendered on the PlayStation 3. It was a little jarring, particularly after seeing Digital Foundry’s breakdown on the Switch 2’s competency via Star Wars Outlaws. After a little tweaking (I went into the game’s settings and turned off two settings that were, apparently, affecting the GPU), the game’s framerate jumped from what felt like 15-20 to a steady, playable 30+, and that’s where it stayed for the remainder of my time. 

For the record, the lion’s share of my time with the game was in docked mode. I did play around a bit with the Switch 2 in handheld mode. While I’m sure the resolution was toned down, the game looked solid and played smoothly. There was no noticeable drop in quality, and controls still felt comfortable. 

I do want to comment on one particular issue I encountered, though. I’m not sure if this is a Switch 2-specific issue or a general issue with Titanic Scion, but I noticed the later in the game I got, the worse loading times were when fast-traveling to different locations. This even held true with coliseum battles, which is frustrating since an empty arena and two character models shouldn’t take 30+ seconds to load. When the game’s typical flow was to travel to the base, renew healing items, then fast travel out for story missions, it made progress a bit of a slog.

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is, at its core, a fun game with plenty of options to loot and customize your loadout. The story does nothing to break new ground, but it’s fun and kitschy in a comforting way. The coliseum and the open world with its side quests and big monster hunts will provide plenty of content for fans to enjoy long after the credits roll, too. Unfortunately, in our experience, the game suffers from technical issues across the board, and some elements feel like they could’ve used a bit longer in the oven. That said, if you’re itching for a solid mech game, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion knows how to scratch.