Daemon x Machina: Titanic Scion Preview
As a very casual fan of the concept, it seems to me that mechs come in essentially two varieties. There are the slow, massive mechs that are essentially ambulatory battleships. At the other end of the mech scale are the fast and agile machines that are akin to super-sized personal armor. With, you know, jet propulsion in the boots and rocket launchers on the shoulders. In Daemon x Machina, these more diminutive mechs are called Assemblies, and they make an impressive return in the upcoming Daemon x Machina: Titanic Scion.
War of the Worlds
Titanic Scion begins with an explosive prologue tutorial that sees your character fighting through The Garden, a massive space station. The battle ends with you plummeting to the Planet below. Alive but in disrepair, you are rescued by a character named Forge and brought to a nearby rebel base to be repaired. Clear as mud?
The Daemon x Machina fiction pits the evil Axiom against the Reclaimers for control of the Planet. You play as an Outer, an elite Axiom super-soldier encased in a mech Arsenal. There is a rebellion within the Outers, the Neun aligning with the Aiom, but others taking sides with the Reclaimers. Titanic Scion includes a pretty robust cast of voiced characters from both the Neun and Reclaimer forces.
In my preview time with the game, I did not complete the story arc, so I’m both in the dark about what happens and curious. I am a little conflicted about the writing and tone of Titanic Scion. At least in the English translation, the dialogue and presentation do little to distinguish themselves from contemporary, slang-filled chatter. That, and the often-not-great humor and overwrought line delivery, combine to undercut the narrative.
Suit Up
Of course, combat is the heart of Daemon x Machina. The Arsenal you wear allows for incredible mobility, but it’s conceptually in line with other mech games. This means that you can customize just about every part of your suit and arsenal. You have main and alternate weapons in each hand, and shoulder-mounted missile launchers or other damage dealers. There’s a jet pack that facilitates aerial combat or simply zip-skating across the landscape. Every piece of kit can be cosmetically modified using whatever color scheme you want.
Back at home base, you access a terminal that’s a one-stop shop for outfitting your Arsenal, levelling, and accepting new missions. Forge is nothing if not an entrepreneur, and he manages a stable of Outer fighters that he pits against each other for paying audiences. Naturally, you gain XP and upgrades from these matches, too.
Most of the story-based missions take you out into the open world on one type of kill, collect, or destroy quest or another. Your primary foes are called Immortals, native wildlife-monsters, and Axiom-controlled machines. The former drops materials for crafting, the latter drops weapons or parts for upgrades. The map is dotted with treasure, enemies, and other points of interest, but there are large stretches of empty map, too. You can ride native horses across the landscape.
Mech on Mech Action
There’s quite a bit of detail in the Arsenals and weapon effects, but the open world itself is often pretty basic. You notice this less in the heat of combat, which is often incredibly fast. Although it takes some practice to control your Arsenal precisely, using your range of movement and various weapons is a lot of fun. I really enjoyed finding and using better versions of the game’s bladed weapons, but the ranged arsenal packed a punch.
I wish the game’s audio could match the combat’s energy a little better. Your companions often inject repetitive phrases into the mix. The game’s battle music is utterly generic metal, and cues don’t transition at all. Performance on my fairly high-end PC was a little inconsistent, with some very long load times and occasional framerate chop. But we’re still a month away from actual release.
Demons Crossed with Machines
Daemon x Machina: Titanic Scion expands on the original but carries over a lot of the first game’s mechanics and concepts. Titanic Scion is a big game worthy of its name. Some of the writing and voice work isn’t awesome, and the world is kind of empty, but the combat elevates the experience. The game can also be played in co-op, which adds even more frantic fun. Fans of fast-moving mech combat will certainly enjoy this one when it releases on September 5, 2025.
***PC code provided by the publisher for preview***
