Daemon x Machina: Titanic Scion (Switch 2)

Now here's a game that has much to prove on Nintendo's new hardware, one of the first arguably AAA cross platform titles that must shine among the other platforms, most notably the Switch 2's biggest competitor, the Steam Deck. Having both and access to a demo on the latter means that I can provide a little insight into just how well the title performs, so more on that later.

For now, let's make the introductions; Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is a third-person mecha game that mixes open world exploration with monster hunting, arena battles and upgrades.  The story takes place in a Universe in which humanity split itself in two after a war, between Earth and The Blue Planet. Some humans born on the blue planet are gifted with special abilities, which further split humanity and saw these special humans rebel against their cruel treatment. Winning the war, they set up a strict military regime on the planet and moved to a space colony called The Garden. The remaining humans on the planet call themselves Reclaimers, while the monsters that roam the globe are called Immortals.

It makes sense when you watch the cut scenes, promise.

You play as an Outer from the off-world colony who escapes a brain-washing procedure that would have turned you into an unthinking killing machine. Now a traitor to your own kind, you escape with the help of a friend called Nerve, who sadly doesn't make it after an extended escape sequence which teaches you the ropes. In tone it reminded me of the Bubblegum Crisis episode Moonlight Rambler, which used to be a dated reference before MVM released a 4K re-scan recently, so go watch it and thank me later.

Once you've created a character with the fairly comprehensive designer and made it through the tutorial levels, you find yourself on the blue planet and taken in by Reclaimers who give you access to their base, which becomes your hub for all activities. It's a neat setup and doesn't take too long to get you into the swing of things, with different consoles around the base providing various functions - mission selection, machine upgrades, tournament access and even an ice cream shop that sells flavours providing various buffs for each mission. You can also join the online game, but that wasn't available at the time of review.

And here's Flay, coloured for her Gundam SEED namesake.

The tutorial does a good job teaching you about your load-out, which is great because this is a game that's all about the action. You're able to equip a weapon to each hand, one on your shoulder and pick up items like grenades and health sprays. Every downed enemy will give you access to a selection of weapons or items, but you can only take one, so that lends an element of tactical selection. Of course it makes no sense because if I can take one item from three corpses, why can't I take three items from one? I find it best to squint a bit on the in-game logic.

One of the other abilities you have is grabbing hold of things, and this proves very useful against both small foes - who you can grab and shoot/throw - and larger enemies where you'll be tearing armour away to reveal weak spots. It's lots of fun and I enjoyed this aspect of the combat quite a lot.

The game provides two forms of enemy lock on - one is distance based, and locks on automatically. The other allows you to pick a target (even a large one with multiple lock on points) and switch between them using the right joystick. Unfortunately that also controls the camera, so it's a messy setup that can't really be avoided because every other button has a function assigned already and it makes no sense to move them all around.

However, get the hang of things and combat is certainly the game's strength. You can fly around a target, use bladed weapons, sniper rifles, cannons, lock on missiles and many more instruments of death quite freely, each sortie allowing you to discover new items or upgrades that further enhance your abilities. The discovery rate is first class too, the game is constantly throwing new things at you, so thankfully you can save up to 10 load-outs so that your machine is tuned for each mission perfectly.

And here's Flay's machine in matching colours :)

You also have the ability to strip DNA strands from opponents (the bigger the better, naturally) and then faff around with them to discover new abilities that can be applied to your avatar, though these are visible and often make a mess of your carefully constructed hero. I took some time making my female avatar Flay, so that's a bit of a bummer. Upgrades can be buffs to your stats or even brand new abilities, so take some time experimenting and the upgraded you will be kicking metal ass and taking names in no time. 

So in terms of gameplay, it's pretty solid. That's without mentioning the different vehicles you can pick up and ride in, or the world map's abilities to take you to new areas like mines with no load screens. Yes, it definitely plays like a current-gen title.

However, we're in grown up territory now, and so performance is both essential and easy to compare with other formats. How does Nintendo's new baby compare to the rest of the pack?

Not well, sadly. The main issue for Switch 2 owners is that the framerate is half of what we might have expected. The Steam Deck demo manages 60fps with no drops, and for a game offering fast action, that's important. The Switch 2 can, at best, hit half that number with 30fps, which isn't terribly stable. There is noticeable stutter and clipping in the open world, which isn't ideal. This is with some pretty low-res textures too - while things in the distance are generally very pretty, one look at the floor and it's clearly quite pixelated. Ordinarily we'd be citing the use of handheld hardware as the limiting factor, but it's not stopping the Steam Deck - hopefully patches will smooth out this performance as time goes by - the hardware is new after all.

Larger enemies requires some stripping before you can hit the squishy bits!

This is a bit of a letdown but it's not game-breaking. True, the game will never look as good as it's PS5 version (though that's not perfect either from what I've played so it's a game and not a platform thing for the most part) but it's not bad either. This is a perfectly playable version of the game, let down by a few niggles that only mar the core gameplay a little. I do think pricing it at £60 will make you think twice about which format you pick, and honestly Switch 2 is easily the weakest, even if the low-res textures and occasional slowdown will appear whatever you pick. As will the terrible dub, so go Japanese with this one and save your ears.

As an arcade-style mecha fighter, this is overall a good time. Everything is well explained, the combat feels crunchy and varied, the plot stays mostly out of your way and the ability to pick between exploration, missions and tournaments allows you to play whatever you're in the mood for. The ease at which you can flick between weapons and the variety of them offer ensures that combat is never dull and overall I rather liked the world around me. It feels more AA than AAA to me, but you'll certainly have fun unlocking the game's secrets. And killing them.