Demo Thoughts: Daemon X Machina (Switch)

Daemon X Machina (Switch)

Developer: MARVELOUS!
Publisher: Nintendo, MARVELOUS!
Release Date: September 13, 2019
Platforms: Switch

During last month’s Nintendo Direct, lots of information was released on upcoming titles, as well as what people are calling “stealth drops,” in which a product is released faster than Randy Orton’s RKO.

One of these “stealth drops” is a demo for an upcoming Switch exclusive, Daemon X Machina. As of this writing, the demo will be pulled from the Nintendo eShop on March 10. (The demo appears to still be on the eShop)

The demo has you playing training levels to give you a feel for the gameplay before it dives you into the main missions. The controls took some getting used to since you’re piloting a mech, I didn’t expect it to be easy. My only issue with the gameplay was that ascending and flight were mapped to the same button. While I’m flying if I press it it’ll turn off my flight, causing me to descend, so I have to double tap to ascend. Other than that, it became second nature.

The battles were amazing, and story was all over with characters giving backstory while you’re fighting for your life. Since this was a beta disguised as a demo, I knew the frame rate wouldn’t be smooth since it’s still a work in progress. My playthrough was running 30 fps most of time until the battles got intensive. I learned in an interview that the developers hope to have the final product running at 60 fps.

The game is using the Unreal Engine, and the visuals work well with the levels having a large scale and I only experience very little pop in.

The main highlight of the game for why I feel it stands out is the customization. You can truly have a mech that stands out from the others with the deep customization you can do. While the main character creation is slim, the amount they put into making your own mech is speechless. I spent thirty minutes on my unit until I realized that my design will not be transfer over into the final game. My interest after playing and giving feedback (email) went from, “I’ll check it out, eventually” to ”You now have my attention.”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxPlBdk4HXY&t=3s