Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion Review - An Unforgettable Dark Sci-Fi Journey

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Often, dark sci-fi games tend to miss the mark on a few things. They either deliver a superb combat system with a forgettable story, or vice versa. Fortunately, this does not apply to Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion, as Marvelous Inc. and XSEED have cracked the code to create one of the best dark sci-fi experiences of recent memory. This entry in the Daemon X Machina series is brimming with things to do, a smooth combat system, top-notch customization, and excellent quest design, among other things. While there are a few hiccups here and there, they are minimal compared to all the other amazing things that this game delivers.

Welcome to the Reclaimers

While Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is the second game of the series, there is no need to have played the first to understand this one. In truth, I only played a bit of the first entry, and I was able to grasp every detail, lore aspect, and term easily as soon as I jumped into Titanic Scion, so that’s a win for all newcomers out there.

This entry puts you in the shoes of an Outer character who joins the Reclaimers in a fight against the evil Axiom organization. After the latter sends their most elite unit to exterminate the resistance, it is up to you, the seemingly heartless mercenary, to help them. Unfortunately, that’s all I can say about the story, as delving deeper into some of the plot would spoil it. I would love to discuss some key aspects further, but since the story moves too quickly, I would risk spoiling many surprises. Yet, I loved the pacing, as the game always kept its plot to the point and didn’t take unnecessary detours to extend it.

Furthermore, the game doesn’t take dozens of hours to introduce you to the game’s central conflict. It drops you face-first into it, and you’re bombarded with plot twists, revelations, and some really shocking moments worthy of a dark sci-fi setting, which are pretty enjoyable, especially if you’re a fan of the genre.

Another highlight is the strong cast of characters, which, although a bit cliché at times, are incredibly memorable, regardless of the faction to which they belong. Even the most annoying Reclaimer member becomes likable after you learn a bit about their story. Also, despite the sheer number of characters, most of them had their moment to shine and become fleshed-out cast members. This is a massive achievement for any narrative with several characters.

Lastly, the protagonist, which is the character we create, also deserves a mention. Lately, I’ve seen many companies move away from the silent protagonist staple, and I’m glad Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion did it, too. The main character is the most badass mercenary on the planet, with witty remarks, serious moments, and an excellent personality that changes as you progress through the story. This approach to player-created protagonists is one that other studios should follow, as it actually puts your character front and center, instead of leaving them on the sidelines.

All in all, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion delivers an excellent narrative that will be even more enjoyable if you’re a dark sci-fi fan. It also has that iconic shōnen core, complete with heroic antics, inspiring speeches, family drama, an over-the-top villainous organization, and many other staples that further enhance it. It may be predictable at times, but it is a cohesive and memorable story from start to finish.

The Arsenal That Keeps On Giving

Story aside, the gameplay is another standout of Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion. Most of you already played the demo, but if not, you’re in for one of the smoothest high-tech mecha experiences of recent memory.

Instead of building a colossal robot, you have your Arsenal, which is a high-tech armored suit that would make Tony Stark jealous. Your Arsenal comes in different presentations and categories, mainly Light, Medium, and Heavyweight. Each of these categories allows you to craft a different type of playstyle. Heavyweight arsenals, for instance, can carry the heaviest weapons in every slot, but the trade-off is less mobility and Femto capacity. Lightweight, on the other hand, favors evasiveness, high mobility, and a lot of Femto to fly around during a fight, but provides the least amount of protection and will get overencumbered quickly.

In terms of weapons, there’s a plethora of them. Mainly, you’ll find them with physical or laser damage, which work differently depending on the situation. Physical weapons are more effective against enemies with exposed flesh, whereas laser weapons perform better against armored foes. When it comes to equipping them, you can bring four swappable weapons, be it a combination of two guns and two blades, or four guns and even four blades. Then, you can equip a shoulder weapon, which includes your usual missile launchers and the Gundam-like flying Bits that attack enemies at a distance. Beyond that, you can also equip an auxiliary weapon, which is usually a grenade type, or, instead of grenades, equip an attachment that increases your weapon’s ammo count.

However, you won’t be limited to the base version of your weapons and Arsenal pieces only. For starters, each weapon has different classes and rarity, with the higher ones being the most powerful. To provide bonuses, you can place attachments to any of them that provide increased Femto capacity, higher fly speed, or even make that piece or weapon weigh less.

Furthermore, you can also customize your character by performing a fusion. After defeating certain Immortals, which are the planet’s alien-like creatures, you can loot some fusion factors. After going to the lab, you can put these factors into your character to unlock passive and active skills. You can equip as many passive skills as your character’s body permits, while active skills are mostly tied to weapon times. For instance, the Flame Jab skill can only be equipped for your Knuckle weapons, but the Helmsplitter ability is available for all blade-like weapons. This gives a lot of build options and encourages players to bring different armaments to see all the skills in the game. And yes, guns also have active abilities you can unlock and equip.

Yet, it all comes at a hefty and almost permanent cost. Whenever you undergo a fusion, your character’s body will change. Initially, you’ll only see minor changes, such as your character’s eyes glowing or getting a few scars. But if you keep adding foreign factors to your body, you’ll undergo drastic mutations, swapping your limbs from something human to something alien. In truth, I loved this high-risk, high-reward approach to unlocking skills, as it always had me thinking about whether some abilities were worth acquiring. In my case, I stopped as soon as my mercenary got some cool scars, but I can see some people going the full body-morphing path to see the slickest abilities in the game.

A Femto-fueled Land

Lately, modern games have a “tell, don’t show” approach to game mechanics, but Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion embraces the “show, don’t tell” approach with every single thing it does.

Take quests, for starters. While some of them require you to fetch an item, explore a location, or beat different enemies, they often unlock a new system or teach you about a gameplay mechanic you might be unaware of. For instance, one of the optional quests in the game required me to carry boxes to a warehouse. When I arrived, I was not able to start it because I was wearing Lightweight armor. The NPCs told me to get a Heavyweight Arsenal, and in doing so, I learned about the carry weight difference of these armored suits.

In another situation, and this was exclusive to the main story, I unlocked a dungeon with a keycard. Initially, I thought it was part of the critical path, but then I discovered that keycards unlock dungeons with different floors that vary in difficulty and depth. That’s on top of the mini-instances you’ll encounter, such as caves or facilities. There are actual massive dungeons with a few straightforward puzzles that will test your Arsenal build as you go deeper into them. Without realizing it, the game was teaching me a new system almost at every turn. I kid you not, I was 15 hours in when I discovered an armor piece that had a skill you could activate. Then, 20 hours in, I unlocked the abovementioned Gundam Bit-like weapon.

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is a game that keeps on giving because it always surprises you with new features that make the whole experience feel fresh. But most importantly, these features seamlessly integrate with the narrative and exploration mechanics, making everything feel more cohesive. I will always enjoy a game that teaches me how to use a bow through a quest and not through a wall of text, and this entry balances that flawlessly.

Beyond the actual quests you can track and unlock, there are a few other things you can uncover as you fly, ride, or dash through this alien world. To give you an example, in the first desert area, I spotted a walking spider-like mechanical tank called Gunfort, which was not part of a quest or an objective. It’s just an overworld boss you can tackle at any time to get rewards, and even grind it later to get more rewards.

In another situation, I encountered a camp in the wilderness that had a journal with a picture pointing to a treasure. I didn’t get a quest marker or anything. Instead, I decided to look for the spot in the picture, and lo and behold, I found another journal and a new image. Unbeknownst to me, I was taking part in a scavenger hunt with zero guidance, and after almost an hour, I was able to locate the treasure. This is just a tiny example of all the many things you can find in the game to do. On top of exploration, you have different side activities, such as mining, and one of the most addictive card games I’ve played recently. And if you prefer combat, there’s also a coliseum you can enter to see how far you climb through the ranks.

Also, you can do most of these things with other players, in one of the best co-op systems out there. I’ve grown tired of games forcing you to finish the main quest and then unlock co-op. Here, you can complete the main story with your friends if you want to do so. Plus, all of them are the actual protagonist of the tale, as everyone sees their characters in cutscenes and interacts with the world around them. In short, it is one of the greatest implementations of cooperative play I’ve experienced recently.

Pushing the Sci-fi Limits

Looking back at my time with Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion, I have not found a game this year that provides what this entry does. It has a superb co-op system that other studios should copy, a main story without filler quests, an excellent exploration system, terrific character and mechs design, and a lot of side objectives to keep you busy and help you progress through one of the friendliest yet equally intricate horizontal progression systems out there. That doesn’t mean it is flawless, as I experienced at least two crashes when interacting with NPCs. Also, the camera, when using melee weapons, is a bit wonky, especially when fighting large enemies, and I feel the facial animations could’ve used more work. But that’s as far as my complaints go.

Overall, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is a dream come true for dark sci-fi fans and those who love high-tech armored suits with endless customization. It may look straightforward at first, but as soon as you fire up your suit’s thrusters, you’ll get lost in this intricate and alluring world, delving into dungeons, slicing or blasting enemies at every turn, and just taking in one of the most addictive gaming experiences of the year.

Review copy provided by the Publisher.

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion (PC Reviewed)

9 Superb!

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is an outstanding dark sci-fi experience thanks to its memorable plot and cast, highly customizable armored suits, in-depth combat, and addictive exploration.