PLATFORM: PC, PS5, SWITCH 2, XBOX SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Like all good sequels should do, this follow-up to 2009’s Daemon X Machina refines the original game’s mech-based combat and expands on its mechanics to make Titanic Scion a much more engaging proposition. You no longer pilot a cumbersome mech unit, instead equipped with a much more nimble suit that allows you to quickly zip through the air, run along the ground, and ride a nifty motorbike that doubles as one of the coolest weapons that’s been seen for quite some time. Larger environments allow for more opportunities to explore, opening the game up to wider range of activities than before, and the range of weapons, gear and powers that you can amass is nothing short of staggering.
Missions are accepted from your base, which is also the only place where you can create new gear, equip any new bits of weapons or amour you’ve collected, add attachments to boost their capabilities, and acquire new abilities through the science lab’s slightly confusing “fusion” process. The base, as well as the shops and facilities within it, are upgradeable, giving you fancier equipment as you progress through the game, and your mission list becomes more extensive as you complete quests and gain experience.
Heading out into the open world, you’ll be faced with various enemies known as Immortals – a strange combination of stony/robotic animal-like creatures. To take them on, you can carry four weapons from a really quite extensive range. All weapons and armour that you collect have their own “parameters”, changing their effects and how useful they might be in any given situation. These can be dropped by defeated enemies (although when looting corpses you can only pick one piece of loot from however many things are offered, so choose wisely), found around the environment or acquired as mission rewards. As well as completing mission-based objectives, there are dungeons to explore, a Coliseum where you can fight one-on-one with AI opponents to earn big rewards, and – because it seems like almost every game needs one these days – there’s a fun tabletop card game that can be played against certain NPCs. If you get the hang of the rules, there’s a high chance that scouring the world for new cards to build up your deck might become even more appealing than the actual campaign!
The game’s controls, with melee attacks bound to the trigger buttons, can be a little awkward to get to grips with at first, but everything feels very responsive and flying through the air Iron Man-style feels particularly great. It might be true that, at first glance, Titanic Scion might look a little bit PS3-era in the visual department but, as we all know, looks can be deceiving. When you get into the game there’s a heck of a lot going on, especially when it comes to the huge variety of weapons and armour that are available to play around with, and the gameplay itself is very addictive indeed (even more so when buddying up with others in 3-player online co-op). One of those games that keeps getting better the further you progress into it, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion comes highly recommended!
