These may not be the mechs you’re looking for
I’ll be upfront: I wanted to like Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion more than I ended up liking it. The original Daemon X Machina was a messy but earnest mecha action game with style to spare. It didn’t fully come together, but when it clicked; soaring around in a mech, firing off missiles, and dashing between enemies, it felt unique. Titanic Scion doubles down on that formula, and while there are some improvements, the overall package still feels stuck somewhere between promise and polish.
The good news first: the action remains slick. When you’re in the thick of combat, launching from cover, boosting across a battlefield, and unloading an arsenal, the game delivers on its mech-pilot fantasy. The customization is still absurd in the best way; you can lose hours tinkering with parts, colors, and loadouts. And visually, Titanic Scion benefits from a noticeable bump in fidelity. Explosions pop, the arenas feel larger, and your Arsenal looks cooler than ever.
MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $39.99
But here’s the rub: the repetition sets in fast. Missions often boil down to “fly here, blow up this group, repeat.” Enemy variety is lacking, and the AI rarely puts up much of a fight outside of boss encounters. Even then, the bosses feel more like bullet sponges than carefully crafted battles. After the tenth mission of grinding through swarms, it all starts to blur together. Titanic Scion also offers players an open-world to explore but while there are creatures to grind for upgrades, the world feels empty a lot of the time.
The story doesn’t do much to elevate things either. It throws a lot of proper nouns, factions, and betrayals at you, but the delivery is flat. I found myself tuning out cutscenes more often than not, just waiting to get back to the cockpit. And while there’s more voice work this time around, it doesn’t exactly help sell the narrative.
Titanic Scion is also uneven in its pacing. Some missions drag on forever, while others are over before they even get going. Progression feels scattershot, with the grind for gear bordering on tedious if you’re not invested in tweaking every stat. Players will have to scour the above mentioned open-world, sometimes getting lost in underground maps. No kidding, I got lost in those tunnels and just stopped going down. For those that enjoy co-op I have great news, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is playable from start to finish with buddies. I can’t tell you if that changes the tedium of the grind because I wasn’t able to test it; but honestly bringing along a friend makes EVERY journey better.
What really drags down the Titanic Scion is the performance issues. For a fast-paced mech game players will have to contend with lots of frame rate drops, especially when things are getting its craziest. That’s not the only issue though, even on Xbox Series X I had stutters when loading into a new area AND low-res textures which both were just a common sight. Titanic Scion could have used a bit more time in the repair bay to get polished up for its release.
At the end of the day, Titanic Scion is a step forward for the series in some areas but still weighed down by the same problems that kept the original from reaching greatness. If you loved the first game, you’ll find more of what you enjoy here, and the mech customization remains a highlight. For everyone else, it’s a stylish but middling action game that struggles to stand out for long stretches. The original game had a lot of post-game support and with any luck Titanic Scion will as well, because currently it sits firmly in the ‘meh’ category; just another fun, forgettable game.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
