DAEMON X MACHINA

I didnt know this game even existed once I got it in bundle, but fighting in a big mechs is always fun. Prepare for a lot of Japanese pathos and quirkiness, and you will have fun shooting enemy mechs in bulletstorm and explosions.

I'd describe Daemon X Machina as Armored Core 6: Lite. It has all the bones of a great mech action game but just mildly falls short of a few aspects. Its more accessible than AC6 and would be a good starting place for those interested in the genre. $20 feels reasonable. The gameplay loop is fun and there's a good amount of metagame involved where you're regularly developing and acquiring new parts that feels challenging without becoming overwhelming. Rarely did I ever hit a difficulty wall and need to spend significant time grinding for new parts. Most of the enjoyment was in the gameplay and the fast paced arcadey feel which made for good 30-60 minute sessions. For myself, the controls took a little getting used to but after a handful of missions it all starts clicking. The Arsenal's stats all do affect its performance on mission, however you can't ever get away from the "floaty" feel of the Arsenal. No matter how heavy your Arsenal is, it still will weightlessly glide through the air and have that slight delay in response time due to momentum, but for some reason all builds just feel a little off. Basic customization is all there and you have decent cosmetic options for both your Outer and Arsenal but it lacks the freedom that AC6 allowed. You're allowed only 1 decal per part group which doesn't provide for much expression. Decals are also unlocked by completing certain mission and milestones or found in the environment during a mission which further restricts the level of customization. While there's a full HEX pallet you can paint your Arsenal with, I would've also liked some finish options other than the standard gloss. The story is pretty surface level and some cutscenes can go on way too long with nothing happening. Dialogue feels like a poorly written anime that isn't even laughable, just bad and bland. The voice acting is all great and I think the actors delivered their lines to the best of their ability given the direction and writing. In the last leg of the story, the mission variety simplifies significantly and its more of a rush to the end than anything else. About mid-way through there was some intriguing foreshadowing that seemed to have been either lost in the finale, or I completely missed or misunderstood its resolution. End-game/Post-game is fairly lacking and there's little else to do after the story's resolution other than to complete the side-objectives and unlock all the parts. From here the remaining content changes to co-op missions which are a change of pace but ultimately aren't intriguing enough to drive a long end-game. I think these devs did a great job with the game and committed to an interesting art style. I'm looking forward to the sequel which should hopefully address the mild problems with the game.

This game is bad on so many level i don't even know where to start. First of all story, the easiest part. its just typical anime game bs which just flies over your head if you are above the age of 12. Now gameplay, this is easiest and hardest part. Quick answer it is trash, absolute trash. long explanation is, the controls are bad and even changing layout wont do much because there is fundamental issue with how your mech flies through the air, which is more akin to a log with a jet pack strapped to it, which makes movement clanky. Combat is not much better, most of things you do really just boiled down to your mech stats and not your actual skill (example melee clashes, if your melee stat is too low you wont win them, no matter how hard you mash the button). Weapons in general are just there. I personally didn't have any fun using any of them. Target acquiring kinda works but its effectiveness also just boils down to the stats and upgrades, which is fine. Dodging, dodging is one of the worst i have seen in general. And it adds up on to all the already existing flaws, which just makes combat absolute ass. The cherry on top is infinite stun loop, where enemy mech can just endlessly stun you with explosions, or endlessly dodge through you and just vanish from your screen every 2 seconds because they just hard dodged out of your vision and entire existence. And this is my main problem with this game, which it has to have engaging gameplay, that's why it is called a game and not an anime or a movie. And it fails to deliver any engaging or meaningfully gameplay. The mech customization, honestly no issues here, it is definitely the better aspect of this game, they change visibly depending on part models. there is a little bit of visual customization, and you even have pilot skills which alter your appearance replacing you body parts one by one, which does add to overall atmosphere. Graphics are... it is just there, don't expect much from a swish port. Music is easily one of the best aspects of this game, no wonder Japanese were always great when it came to music, even the cheapest Japanese games usually had at least decent soundtracks. Over all, my time was spent in vain. It wasn't the most useless waste of my time, but it was quiet close. This game is as far as i am concerned, a embodiment of a meme "we have insert whatever back home" in this case that game would be armored core. And honestly i was having more fun, when i broke my legs by jumping out of 5th floor rather then when was playing this game.

The character creator was cool. I loved the colours particularly. The tutorial was the absolute single worst introductory experience I have ever seen. The controls are generally not great but playable. The second mission was the most asinine story I've ever experienced. I hope for the sake of anyone with patience that this gets better. I have other things to play.

nah

Played most of it when it initially came out on the Switch. I like the visuals and music but the story and overall gameplay loop leave a lot to be desired. You're better off just getting Armored Core. As for online its OK for the most part, just a little tedious. Just farming bosses for parts and PVP is solid. Wish the Outer was more fleshed out gameplay wise but makes sense given you'll be spending most of your time in the mech Hope the sequel knocks it out of the park

Minor Story SPOILERS Fun mech game and nice looking artstyle, story could be abit better and the last boss kinda does suck. It is a shame that there is no branching story path in the game, you are locked in to being like a "good" guy, despite the game kinda making it feel like there would be multiple endings.