Daemon X Machina Review
Daemon X Machina Review
I’m a sucker for mechs. Does any of your media, be it movie, comic book, manga, anime, or anything in between, have mechs in it? Then I want to consume it with my eyeballs. So, when Nintendo announced they were publishing a mech game, I pre-ordered right away. When I finally got my hands on Daemon X Machina, I played the hell out of it. This is a game for and by mech lovers, and it shows.
My love for mechs, I believe, stems from my long lasting love of Godzilla. MechaGodzilla may be dumb but is undeniably badass. Daemon X Machina tries to achieve just that, some badassery. The mechs look awesome and you can customize them to your heart’s content. I was proud of my own Red Katana, all red and decked out, based off “Red Comet” from Mobile Suit Gundam. The action is fast and you get plenty of weapon variety. It’s one of those action games that if you play right, you are using the whole controller the entire time, which keeps you engaged in the action. The character design and epic story are pretty badass too.
I feel like Daemon X Machina accomplishes so much. It brings a modern mech game to Switch and does it in a badass way. The multiplayer is simple and flawless. The DLC path is very promising. The RPG elements and skill trees are fun to expand upon and the search for better weapons keeps you playing. My favorite parts are the Monster Hunter style fights with giant mechanical creatures and the mech vs. mech fights. It’s too bad the story is very back heavy and the missions get a little repetitive.
The story is a mystery, really. They have a grand story, they just play it close to the chest, for some reason. You, your protagonist and the rest of the cast are left in the dark for most of the story. The problem is, they don’t do a very good job of it, and it just makes me want to skip certain scenes ‘cause you feel like you are having deja vu as another character yells “What is going on?!”. I dig the characters but they don’t spend enough time to flesh them out until the plot hits too. Basically, the first 15 hours of the story is just mystery and intrigue and then by the end, the game starts screaming at the writers and they unleash everything. I won’t spoil anything but once that hits, it made it worth it.
The missions are the same way. For most of the game, it is a lot of repetitive swatting away of tiny drones, tanks and an occasional mech. The end of the game is straight up mech fighting, all the characters you have met throughout your journey take you on, one by one. It’s a fun yet repetitive way to end the game but it helps tie up everyone’s plot lines neatly.
There is a lot to love in Daemon X Machina, not so much for people who could take them or leave mechs in general. If you are a fan, you’ll have a great time,if not, you may just stop in the middle. The repetitive nature of the plot and missions will deter a lot of players but it’s a solid title. The action and many different weapons will keep mech fans busy. I enjoyed my time with it and given the ending, it gives me hope that maybe they can get a sequel and iron out the problems I had.
Galaxy of Geek Breakdown:
Rating: 7 Out of 10 Giant Mechs
Time Played: about 22-25 hours Hours
Cost: Usually $60 (my 20% Best Buy Gamer Club discount) (it’s on sale at the moment for $50)
Spent Most Of The Game: Pulling off some really dope Mech Fights
