Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is shaping up to be great and is surprisingly good on Steam Deck so far
Back in early 2019, I played a demo for Daemon X Machina. At that point, I hadn't played an Armored Core game in any form, but hearing a lot of positive impressions for the game's original reveal got me to try the demo. I was blown away by the scale and more-importantly the soundtrack. A good soundtrack is enough for me to take a chance on a game. While the demo wasn't perfect technically, it was solid enough for me to want the full game. In September that same year when Daemon X Machina launched on Switch, positive impressions from friends convinced me to get the collector's edition. It also helps that it included a statue and SteelBook.
This collector's edition was in addition to buying the game itself. I did not regret any of those purchases. Daemon X Machina managed to deliver something I hadn't experienced at that point in gaming despite its flaws. Sure, there were many Gundam and Super Robot Wars games available in English through imports, but Daemon X Machina was different and it felt special.
When Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion was announced, I was very excited to see how the team would build on the original game and potentially how a sequel would look and run on Nintendo's next console. This was all assuming a Switch 1 version was off the table of course. Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion was finally revealed to the world during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct and confirmed for not only Nintendo's new console, but all other current platforms as well. Yes, the newest entry in the Daemon X Machina series from Marvelous First Studio, releases on September 5 simultaneously worldwide for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam). Ahead of its launch, I've been playing a non-final build of the game for a few weeks.
I'm now afraid of what Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion will do to my free time. For today's preview, I can talk about the opening hours of the game and the PC port so far. Note that since this isn't the final build, I will not be going into Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion Steam Deck recommended settings or giving my final thoughts on the game. Stay tuned for that closer to launch.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion has a different focus in its core gameplay with larger ambitions, but it still feels very much like a Daemon X Machina through a lot of its aesthetic and music. There's a massive open area to explore. Before getting to the that, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion's tutorial and introduction to the story already had me hooked. You're in a more-closed location at that point, but you do learn the ins and outs of combat and traversal. Given the trailers, I was already looking forward to the open world given the traversal, but Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion made a great first impression. I won't get into any story spoilers, but once I got to the open world, I was worried. No, this isn't worrying about it being "yet another open world game", but more of a worry for how Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion will be the game I jump into when I want to listen to a podcast or just play with friends online.
While the original game featured cross save between Switch and Steam, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion has full cross platform play for its online and the whole story is playable in co-op. You can even sync down when you want to join a friend who is just starting out or has less progress than you. Note that I was not able to test the online cross platform play right now, but I will when I write up something closer to launch. I was able to play with a friend who was on Windows while I was on Steam Deck without issues though.
As for the open world, the preview restrictions only let me talk about the first few missions. Even early on, you have a ton of freedom on how you want to reach specific parts of the map. You could just run across the map to get to the mission marker as you're still learning, but you could also just fly and explore. I did the latter and was surprised by what I found, but I sadly cannot discuss that right now. As for the critical path, there are some grunt enemies on your path, but everything you fight rewards you in some way. This could be in just consumables or good gear. Speaking of good gear, I decided to just fly as far away as I could early on, and I found a very nice shotgun hidden away at the top of a container on a cliff. I know the developers mentioned how the open world would have lot to do, but I expected that to happen in later areas. Even in the first few missions, I love how much freedom you have.
Even though I've replayed the opening hours to check something on another device, it took me a few missions to get used to the flow of combat instead of just using melee attacks. I think the first proper boss you fight does a good job of making sure you understand the verticality during combat, the importance of dodging, and even projectiles. When you kill normal enemies, some of them give you an option to access their carcass or bodies to carve out an item or equipment. You can only pick one of these and the game's fantastic interface will show you what you have equipped and the stat changes before you make your decision.
Customization was a huge part of what made Daemon X Machina special, and I feel like Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is pushing things even more with fusion and how you can just mix and match to go wild on your armored suit. I was only able to sample a bit of what is possible during fusion so far, but every design decision so far is pushing the right buttons. This also applies to the voice acting and music. I know Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is likely not going to appeal to those who specifically wanted the Armored Core-like experience, but everything I've experienced so far tells me the developers have managed to deliver what they wanted to do with this game. Nothing feels lacking so far. I'm looking forward to going deeper into the story and playing more of it online in the near future.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion PC port features
When Scott played a few hours of the game at IGN Live 2025, he also wrote about the PC port features available in the demo. The build I have features all of that and a bit more. Since this isn't the final build, there might be more changes for launch, but right now Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion has quite a few options for tweaking the visual experience with anti-aliasing and upscaling options like TSR, FXAA, DLSS, and TAA. You can also adjust the quality of these or rendering scale depending on your hardware. Beyond that, it supports up to 200fps and 4K so far. You can also disable post-processing effects like Lens Flare and Chromatic Aberration. I've included the Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion PC graphics and control options in the gallery below. While Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion has keyboard and mouse support, I only played it on Steam Deck so far. I will test more of the input options once the final build is ready
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion Steam Deck impressions
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is likely going to be Steam Deck Verified. I say this because it runs and looks fine out of the box, but can be tweaked further to play well even during multiplayer. It also has full controller support, brings up the on-screen keyboard for text input correctly, and it even supports online play fully so far. I've run into no crashes in the six hours I've spent with it on Steam Deck. Considering Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is a current generation only title, I was skeptical whether it would be good on Steam Deck or not. After a bit of tweaking and thanks to TSR delivering good visual results on the handheld screen, I'm happy with how it looks and runs including when playing online with a 30 or 40fps target. It is too soon to say how the later portions will feel, but Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is shaping up to be a great experience on Steam Deck so far all things considered.
A friend of mine joked that Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion was "anime Iron Man Monster Hunter" a few months ago. Looking back, it is funny how parts of that ended up being true, but also how it is doing so much more. I'm impressed so far with not only the game's opening hours, but also how it plays on Steam Deck and how it handles the multiplayer and loot. Hopefully the full game manages to deliver with the narrative and in how it builds on the mechanics introduced so far. Stay tuned for more on that and the console versions in the future.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion launches for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam) on September 5.