Launching on October 2nd, Update 1 adds Grausum RT: Ω and an unannounced foe as new bosses alongside a new cosmetic. Lapis Lacrima RT: Ω and Cybele RT: Ω will arrive on October 16th with two other unknown bosses and cosmetic items. November marks the launch of the paid Into the Abyss Expansion, while three more bosses will arrive in December.

In terms of free content, there’s a pretty extensive selection, enough to keep hardcore fans busy for a while. For more details on Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion, check out our review. We gave it a six out of ten, praising the customization, variety of weapon types, and music. However, the boss fights run a little too long, and the environments feel bland.

The biggest change from the first Daemon X Machina is the shift from a mission-based stage structure to a full-blown open-world. There are pretty much none of the typical open-world growing pains present here with one exception: how it looks. The Ground Below, or ‘Hel’ as the denizens like to refer to it, is basically a barren wasteland of PS3-era textures. There are some different biomes to vary up the look, but it’s all just different shades of uninspired crags and rock.

Some biomes have weather effects like rain or swamp acid that boosts or drains certain parameters of your mech. This is nifty on the gameplay front, but still doesn’t offset how bland and ‘samey’ the environments are in this game. The visuals in general look two generations stuck in the past. Even the anime-adjacent art style has trouble making up for the low quality textures, lack of environmental detail, and drab locations. At least the mechs look rad because hardly anything else does.

But beyond the bland open-world aesthetic, the studio has managed to more or less craft a functional open-world structure on its first large-scale attempt. Fast-travel in particular is expertly implemented. As you explore regions of the map, which are often separated by tunnel systems, you come across Byways overrun by enemies. Byways are your fast-travel points. Once liberated, these can be freely warped to anywhere on the map screen, providing instant fast-travel across the world. It’s a convenient way to encourage exploration while cutting down on needless travel time. Speaking of, the world map itself is more or less average in size by today’s standards. It doesn’t feel too overblown or too small. It’s just too bad the environmental design is so lacking. While the terrain doesn’t seem copy/pasted, it again lacks identity across its biomes, feeling like a giant barren wasteland with little to love about it. I guess they call it Hel for a reason.

"While the terrain doesn’t seem copy/pasted, it ends up feeling like a giant barren wasteland with little to admire."

Some of the activities you can engage with while roaming the overworld include world bosses, Stray skirmishes, Beacon signals, side missions, and my favorite of the bunch, mining. Ore is useful for its ability to craft various materials, but to mine it you need to engage with a fun little minigame. Lining up the circle in time with your ore strikes is a simple yet fun enough diversion from the usual mecha combat. But that’s not the only diversion in the game. There’s also a collectible card game called Overbullet that can be played with various NPCs around the Fort hub area, and there’s also bouts in the Coliseum to engage in too.

All of the various points of interest are very cleanly represented by icons on the map. One feature I wish more games adopted is infinite pin placement—this game has it, along with a handy function to delete all pins at once. The map also does a good job distinguishing different terrain types, which makes navigation even smoother.

One of the icons that sparked my curiosity was the outline of a horse. To my delight, the world has a number of wild horses that can be used as mounts. There’s not much to it considering your Arsenal (mech) is just as fast, if not faster, but hey, it’s something different to interact with. There’s also warthog-style vehicles that can be both driven and used for their mounted turret. By far the coolest mount is the transformer bike. Again, the function isn’t very practical considering your Arsenal packs more speed and firepower than the bike and its laser arms, but there’s a level of cool factor that I appreciate here.

Of course, your main mode of travel is your Arsenal suit. The vertical distance you can cover in such a short span of time is fun and liberating. Once you get used to the controls, dashing, flying, and decelerate to land again feels intuitive. Flying around feels almost too fluid at times, in a way I could categorize as floaty. Acceleration and stopping happen on a dime, with little transition, which can make movement feel imprecise. I can’t count the number of times I overshot a chest or loot pickup due to the sensitivity. In tight corridors like tunnels, the floatiness can lead to frustrating collisions. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but exploration and looting suffer because of it.

Speaking of, looting is more streamlined than one might expect. Players can only take one item for each downed enemy which encourages strategic planning and careful resource management. I like how this limitation forced me to weigh stats and utility of items as it developed a sense of familiarity with my equipment. The most rewarding and enjoyable open-world activity is finding new loot to add to your Arsenal.

"Ore is useful for its ability to craft various materials, but to mine it you need to engage with a fun little minigame."

Arsenals are this game’s main attraction, and perhaps the very best thing about it as a whole. There’s just a ton of depth involved in crafting the perfect arsenal mech build for combat and customizing how it looks. Customization is practically endless when it comes to your mech’s visual appearance.

Each part can be transmogged so that you don’t have to decide between looks and stats; just add your pieces in the customize exterior menu and you’ll see them on your mech regardless of your actual equipment. The coloring options are overwhelming (in a good way). Each part has three color sections, one luminous piece, and you can even add patterns and customize your own decals. This visual customization is well suited to the emphasis on loot within the open world and makes it worthwhile to explore.

Each mech is outfitted with a helm, cuirass, two vambraces, and greaves. These armor parts each contribute to a wealth of parameters ranging from weight, defense, health, resistances, ground speed, flinch resistance, etc. If that weren’t enough min/maxing for players, some parts also include attachments which further boost parameters. The range of weaponry at your disposal is no less daunting. Suffice to say, Titanic Scion features dozens of melee weapon types, dozens of gun types, as well as shields, auxiliary cannons, missiles, and even support airstrikes. These different types all feature unique gameplay functions as well as skills. Thankfully, the buffet of build options can be neatly organized and saved for posterity by setting up many loadouts.

"Customization is practically endless when it comes to your mech’s visual appearance."

Skills are acquired through a unique process called fusion. Defeating certain enemies drops genetic material that can then be absorbed resulting in new skills. It appears needlessly complex at the outset, but is quite simple in practice. Just farm enemies for the skills you want, though there is a caveat. Your character gets physically mutated in the process, so if you care about preserving your looks, you’ll need to pay a lot of credits to look normal again.

The skills themselves are numerous, ranging from unique weapon-based skills to general skills and passive enhancements. Suffice to say, between the hundreds upon hundreds of skills here, players aren’t wanting for variety when it comes to mech abilities. Among mecha titles, Titanic Scion ranks near the top when it comes to visual customization and combat variety; however, the feel of combat doesn’t quite live up to the depth of its various parts.

Like the general movement, combat feels rather light and arcady. There’s a noticeable lack of weight in punches and firearm shots. Bazookas and oversized shotguns don’t recoil when shot, and the sounds of the hundreds of different guns all sound unremarkable and generic. Further, the animations don’t have that extra level of polish and spectacle, but what can be expected with such a sizable roster of equipment? I hope this doesn’t come across as belittling, but I find the combat to feel like somewhere in between Earth Defense Force and Armored Core 6, with it leaning in the EDF camp more. That said, the sheer number of weapon types, skills, and options at your disposal make this a mecha game strategic. But in terms of viscerality, the game clearly emphasizes mobility and speed over realistic gun mechanics or intricate animations.

"In terms of viscerality, the game clearly emphasizes mobility and speed over realistic gun mechanics or intricate animations."

Even though movement can feel imprecise, combat doesn’t tend to suffer as a consequence. This is because the targeting system is more or less easy to use and is often preferable to free aim. Certain enemies have weak parts that limb targeting is especially useful for—allowing you to just instantly hit the enemy without worry of flight trajectory and whatnot. I just find that there’s often too much button mashing when relying on targeting like this. The best strategy for a lot of the common mobs is just to hold shoot or mash the melee attack as fast as you can while targeting them, which gets repetitive pretty quick.

Boss fights are where combat gets particularly interesting—or frustrating. Some bosses engage with all the mechanics and repertoire available to the player, resulting in an epic air and ground-based mecha battle. But others try a bit too hard to with gimmicks, resulting in an overtuned or boring fight. Some fights can drag on for 20 minutes at a time, such as the Colossus bosses roaming the overworld. This can be especially fun and engaging with a co-op partner. And since this game supports full co-op crossplay, it’s convenient to buddy up and take care of bosses. Though, I do lament the absence of local co-op.

But some bosses are truly unsalvageable. One story boss was particularly arduous and lopsided in its difficulty curve at that point in the campaign. The boss battle in question has a unique gimmick that isn’t even slightly hinted at. The game loves over-tutorializing every little thing that pops up—but the most important mechanic to overcome an overtuned boss fight? Nah, just let the player figure that out. The real problem is how padded boss health can be, especially with some of the lopsided difficulty cliffs that pop up here and there. Of course, given the game’s open world structure, grinding for power and farming materials can be a solution to difficulty walls.

At least the campaign isn’t as padded as some of the boss health bars. The story covers around 15 hours of playtime. Though of course, the wealth of open world activities can extend your time well up into 100 hours. The narrative here is a continuation of the first game, following a special group of Outers and their resistance to the their own government and its Axiom military. You begin being experimented on up in the Outer base referred to as ‘heaven’, and then escape to the surface world often referred to as ‘Hel’. There’s some satisfying, if predictable, plot twists and character arcs here, but it’s nothing spectacular.

"There’s some satisfying, if predictable, plot twists and character arcs here, but it’s nothing spectacular."

What I do like is the voice acting. Plenty of familiar anime and RPG voice talent are represented here and make the setting and story feel more lively and full of energy than it otherwise would. Unlike the first game, the narrative is structured with the open-world in mind. In practical terms, this results in dynamic party banter while exploring as well as datalog lore tidbits, and unfortunately no more of those cool mission briefings from the first game. As a result, the story feels slightly less epic and cinematic and more informal and seamless than the first, though the guitar-laden soundtrack certainly is as good as the original game.

All in all, Titanic Scion is a flawed mecha game with extraordinary customization elements. Combat can be hit or miss and the open world is a dull checklist of loot and places to go. The main draw isn’t the story, but the narrative is adequate. If you’re a big mecha fan, wait for a sale and you’ll have a lot of fun with this. For more casual players, try the demo first before committing—the best parts of the game are niche in nature and the rest of the game won’t make up for that.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

With the studio looking to expand on the size and scope of the franchise’s first outing, things are heating up for the Outers in this new adventure, requiring that they bring their best piloting skills to the field as they attempt to navigate a new world with complex and nuanced political relationships requiring their tact and skill.

To that end, let’s take a look at what’s new in Titanic Scion and perhaps help you decide if this one is worth your time, attention, and of course, your hard-earned cash.

1. The Story Continues

Marvelous has stated that Titanic Scion is a sequel to the first game. Your character is an Outer, a human being who has been granted the power to control and pilot mechs called Arsenals thanks to the power of Femto, an element formed during a past catastrophe called the Moonfall Calamity.

You are thrust into a struggle for control of a planet that’s the stage for an armed conflict between the Outer Government and its military branch, called the Axioms, and the Reclaimers who form a resistance group dedicated to retaining their home planet’s freedom. Expect nuanced interactions with their members and perhaps even a few key decisions to make over the course of the story.

2. A True Open World

While the original Deamon X Machina featured large explorable areas in which you carried out missions, Titanic Scion features an open world that you must explore, navigating it between missions and encountering enemies, field bosses, and side content along the way.

It’s a welcome change that builds on the size and scope of the first game while allowing players a modicum of freedom in how they approach its content.

3. New Traversal Mechanics

Getting around the open world that Marvelous is bringing in this time around might sound daunting for an Outer who needs to get a rather large mech moving and covering ground quickly. But the studio has been clever to introduce mechanics that make those journeys easier, and dare we say quite fun!

That’s because Early previews show the player character being able to mount a horse along the way to their next objective, while others choose to use the newly introduced Femto-boost mechanic to take their mech to the skies, covering ground rapidly in the process. All of this is facilitated by mech designs that are streamlined and lightweight, making them perfect for mobility during exploration and even combat.

That’s an intelligent change if we ever saw one.

4. Reclaim Fast Travel Points

Like many other open worlds, Titanic Scion’s map features fast-travel points that you can use if you feel like zipping around in your mech isn’t your cup of tea. While that’s certainly convenient, you will need to visit each one and complete objectives to ensure it is available for use later down the line.

While the objectives themselves seem fairly straightforward, we believe that it’s an interesting wrinkle that balances convenience with engagement, making you actually put in the work to earn the right to skip tedious journeys from point A to B. It’s way more immersive than simply having to visit the area to unlock the added functionality of each point, for sure.

5. New Combat Mechanics

The sleeker mech models find another place to shine, with Titanic Scion’s combat benefiting greatly from their improved mobility. The option to lock-on to an enemy during battles is now present, as is a plethora of ways to deal with the threat that the enemy poses. 

The action has been stepped up a notch with the new particle weapons system that lets you essentially switch between attacking, guarding, and dodging, along with the heavy Armor mechanic that lets you call down a massive mech to obliterate your enemies in a pinch as long as you have enough power to do so.

Expect a more refined, seamless combat loop in Titanic Scion, and try to enjoy it as much as we’re going to.

6. Cool Bosses

If you’re the type to seek out the biggest and baddest enemies in a new area the minute you enter it, we’ve got good news for you. Titanic Scion’s early previews suggest that there are both field bosses to discover alongside a roster of enemies that you will have to defeat over the course of the main campaign.

The boss designs we’ve seen are quite impressive, ranging from giant monstrosities to agile characters who are probably going to bring a relentless stream of attacks for you to manage out in the field. There is a possibility that each of these fearsome foes drops useful gear or weapons, incentivizing you to take them on and emerge victorious with some skillful piloting of your mech.

8. A Layer of Strategy to Looting

Speaking of loot drops, Marvelous seems to be averse to players hoarding items in their inventory, allowing players to select only one item from downed enemies from a range of options. These could include items that might serve you well in your current encounter or upgrades to your mech that let you play the long game and create a build that withstands increasingly difficult assaults.

It’s a great way of ensuring that your choices matter in the game, making you think carefully about your progression in a title that places a lot of emphasis on loadouts and their effective use in the field.

9. The Fusion System

Strategic looting is one part of the equation in creating a lethal build for your mech, with the new Fusion System being another. The parts and materials you nab from enemies let you choose upgrades across four categories, opening up a lot of options for your build.

There are weapon skills, stylish new moves, upgrades to specific mech components, and so much more on offer in a customization system that runs pretty deep. You could find yourself sinking a lot of hours into this game if you like crunching numbers to min/max your build, and that’s a good thing in a title like Titanic Scion.

10. Navigate Complex Rivalries

We touched upon the Axioms and Reclaimers in an earlier section of this list but it’s worth mentioning that their natural affinity towards a less-than-friendly relationship could be a source of interesting conflict for your character to navigate.

The game could potentially include story threads or side content in which you would have to pick one side over the other to get to a specific reward or upgrade, saving the other option for your next playthrough. It could mean a fair bit of replay value for Titanic Scion while allowing its players the chance to see familiar story beats from a different perspective if Marvelous has indeed made use of the narrative potential here.

11. Multiplayer Options

Aside from teaming up with your buddies in online co-op play, the lone wolves among you might be interested to know that asynchronous multiplayer is making its way to Titanic Scion. Early previews have revealed that the actions of other players do affect your version of the mysterious planet your character is in, bringing the feeling of a world in which other mercenaries are after similar goals as your own.

It’s a nice touch and is one that could be quite immersive once the game gets some traction going post-release.

12. An Excellent Soundtrack

Marvelous has been clever to bring a soundtrack that fits well with the action and theme of the game, mixing rock and roll into the game’s soundtrack to create some memorable tracks you might just find yourself playing even when you’re not actively fending off enemies in your mech.

The soundtrack might very well become our favorite part of the game if the tracks we’ve already heard are any indication.

13. Minigames Galore

Exploring the open world could get all the more entertaining with the presence of minigames, such as one in which you mine for useful resources, using well-timed button presses to improve your chances of obtaining more of them. There may even be a collectible card game to track down in some obscure corner of the world if some previews are to be believed.

That might be music to the ears of Gwent fans who have been longing for an alternative to scratch that itch.

14. How Long to Beat

While Marvelous has been rather cagey about the playtime Titanic Scion brings to the table, expect the main story to take anywhere between 15-20 hours to complete while completionist runs could take that number up by a significant amount.

Additionally, its multiplayer elements could have you constantly returning to the game’s world to take on missions with your friends or perhaps indulge in a few versus battles to blow off some steam. Titanic Scion could keep you occupied for a long time to come if its gameplay loop resonates well with your love for mech-action titles.

15. System Requirements

If you’re looking to play the game on your PC, the minimum specs your setup will need include an Intel Core i5-10400 CPU, 16GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, Windows 10 64-bit and 50 GB of SSD storage, and DirectX Version 12. The recommended specs take things up to an Intel Core i7-12700 CPU, 32GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, Windows 10 64-bit and 50 GB of SSD storage, and DirectX Version 12.

Set in Azuma, the story focuses on protagonists Subaru and Kaguya, one of them stepping up to forge a contract with a dragon to become an Earth Dancer. With the Celestial Collapse leaving the land in ruins, players set out to rebuild and heal the encroaching blight.

As players discover different villages, they’ll set up different buildings and farms, increasing their stats. Bonding with companions will see them assist you in battle. During combat, you can wield spells and swords to slash at opponents. Mounts are available for exploration, though you can also glide around using an umbrella.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is available on May 30th for Nintendo Switch and PC at $59.99. Stay tuned for more details before its launch.

Their companion’s name is Mocoron, and they’ll encounter various individuals like Hina, an archaeologist; Mauro, an adventurer traversing the skies; and Iroha, who runs a teashop. As with previous titles, players can bond with and have these characters accompany them into dungeons (with 12 in total).

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma diverges significantly from previous titles by venturing to an eastern country, the titular Azuma. As the Earth Dancer, you help to battle against the Blight, restoring the land and villages following a disaster known as the Celestial Collapse. Players can harness new weapons like the bow and Talisman, new abilities, festivals, and more. Stay tuned for more updates and gameplay en route to launch.

As a remaster of the 2005 remake of Ys 3: Wanderers from Ys, it sees Adol Christin and Dogi on another adventure but with old-school sprites. In addition to HD visuals, Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana offers new voiceovers for Adol, new character illustrations, and accessibility options. Players can utilize Turbo Mode to get around faster or crank up the difficulty.

Unlike Ys 8 through 10, the gameplay is from an overhead perspective, and Adol fights alone. Nevertheless, it retains the series’ signature fast-paced combat and over-the-top boss fights while offering a different platforming experience. Of course, for fans of the 3D style, Ys 10: Proud Nordics, an enhanced version of Ys 10, is out this year in Japan. Head here for more details.

The title is a remaster of Ys: The Oath in Felghana (which reimagines Ys 3: Wanderers of Ys). It launched in 2005 for PC in Japan before coming to PlayStation Portable in 2010 and eventually released for the same platforms in the West. Ys Memoire maintains the same gameplay but provides new accessibility options, new character illustrations during conversations (with the classics still available), and high-definition visuals.

Protagonist Adol Christin also sports a new voiceover, while combat offers difficulty options and Turbo mode for faster exploration. Those who enjoyed the soundtrack (all three versions, including PC-8801 and X6800) can listen to them with higher-quality audio.

Alongside the digital version of the game, the Refined Edition will be available physically for PS5 and Nintendo Switch at $59.99. Head here for more details.

After the protagonist awakens with no memories, they set about restoring Azuma. Like previous titles, players can choose from one of two protagonists and use new Earth Dancer powers for farming. You must also revitalize the entire village, causing people to return and restore their way of life.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma features festivals and events based on Japanese culture across the seasons. You’ll also encounter different allies with full voice acting. Make friends, and they’ll join you in battle when the occasion arises.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma retails for $59.99, but there’s also an Earth Dancer Edition for $99.99, which features the game, the soundtrack on CD, an art book, a custom box, DLC costumes, a Woolby keychain, and more. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

A remaster of Falcom’s Ys: The Oath in Felghana – itself a remake of Ys 3: Wanderers from Ys, if things weren’t confusing enough – there are several new features to look forward to. There’s Turbo mode for faster exploration, more difficulty options and revamped character illustrations (with the classic versions still available). Protagonist Adol Christin also gets some new voice acting, and players can experience three different versions of the soundtrack (Original, PC-8801 and X68000).

Alongside digital editions, XSEED will publish a limited physical Refined Edition for $59.99 on PS5 and Nintendo Switch. It features the game, a diorama/keychain set, four postcards, a cleaner cloth and a CD with 14 songs from the soundtrack. Stay tuned for more details on the release date in the coming months.

It looks to have a demo at the expo alongside XSEED’s other titles, but this pretty much confirms a Western release. Currently available in Japan for Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5, Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is a remaster of Falcom’s acclaimed 2010 action RPG for the PlayStation Portable.

It runs in 60 frames per second and features higher quality textures, redrawn character portraits (with the originals still available) and a high-speed mode. Players can also skip the cutscenes and turn off narration, which sees Adol (now voiced) taking over. Stay tuned for more details on Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana’s Western release date in the coming days.