Back when Daemon X Machina was released on Switch in 2019, it wore its Armored Core influences on its sleeve, but this new sequel is a whole other game entirely.
Yes, the Armored Core influences are still there, in terms of the customization in the backend, but most of those parts are scavenged rather than bought. You also don’t pay for ammunition, among other things.
There are also obvious carry-overs from the first game in terms of player upgrades, called Fusion, as well as how certain parts and weapons are developed. In short, if you played the first Daemon X Machina, this new iteration will feel familiar.
However, the structure and gameplay are different. Gone are missions with set areas, and instead, you have a massive open-world setup, where you fly to mission areas and generally explore a huge, Femto-ravaged world.
The “flying” part is the new high-speed Femto-fuelled boost, which looks somewhat similar to Anthem’s flying setup, but that’s where the similarity ends.
This is because the gameplay now has a toggle orbit lock for enemies, and also runs at a fast pace. That makes it more of an action game than the Armored Core homage that was the first game.
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If anything, the game plays like the old Another Century’s Episode games by FromSoftware. The toggled orbit lock is the big similarity, as is the local stamina boosting.
You can also repair and use damage or defence boosting items out in the field, and the general progression feels more like an action role-playing game now.
The new open world setup is all about scanning and scavenging for items, as well as taking down various Immortals (creatures mutated due to Femto). You also have a few Colossus-type enemies from the first game roaming the landscape, and these can be a genuine challenge to take down.
Which brings me to the now smaller Arsenals, as these initially feel weaker than their larger brethren in the first game. That is somewhat the case at the start of the game, but once you start finding stronger parts and weaponry, you can really dish out a lot of punishment in the same way you could before.
That’s the other thing, this game takes a while to reveal its innate goodness. There is practically zero onboarding, so you will need to be patient and stumble through a lot of complex, layered aspects of the game’s design. However, if you stick with it, the game definitely rewards you.
I’ve played about 70+ hours on the Switch 2 version and finished the game and done a lot of the post-game content, and it’s all been very stable. The load times are definitely long, but the game handles beautifully, especially on a Switch 2 Pro pad. It’s also great fun to play on the go, simply because you have such a massive world to explore.
I’ll talk more about the online side of things in my review, but there is one major caveat here: I live in Tokyo, and the broadband speeds here are epic. Also, due to my timezone, I rarely see international players.
However, as this game uses Unreal Engine, I’m expecting the online elements to be pretty sturdy once it gets released in regions with slower internet speeds.
In the meantime, feel free to check out my interview with the game’s producer, Kenichiro Tsukuda.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion will be released on September 5 for Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
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