It used to be common place to see new high-octane explosive mech games on the market at any given time. This genre has been quiet the last several years, but the fan base has been hungrily hoping to see a shining star of mechanical mayhem come back to the market to revitalize the genre.

Beautiful Graphics; Amazing; Thematic Soundtrack; Compelling Narrative; Fantastic Controls; Great Customization

Lack Of Tutorials; Unnecessary Menu Surfing; Occasional Poor AI

Daemon X Machina is a fast-paced mech action game from Kenichiro Tsukuda. Players can customize their powered mech suit and tackle an array of missions to conquer enemies.

Daemon X Machina is a playable mecha anime that sucks you into its world

I didn't know what to expect when I started Daemon X Machina. The demo was notoriously bad, and Nintendo didn't put much marketing behind it. It's not a game I heard much about, so I was skeptical when I started playing.

Impressive character creation options; Vast array of weapons and armor; Frenetic combat that doesn't grow stale

Somewhat lacking in ambition; In-game characters are ugly

Daemon X Machina does enough to satisfy those wanting solid mech combat. Good looking effects and blisteringly fast paced combat, coupled with tight controls makes this one a must-play for fans of the genre.

Incredible mech combat; In-depth customisation options; Awesome effects and colour use; Massive screen filling boss fights; Great sound effects and soundtrack

Terrible voice acting and dialogue; Missions can feel a bit samey; Incredibly unlikable characters; Levels look barren once the action stops; Why have a dog at base if I can't pat it..

MATT DAEMON The combat in this game has provided me with some of my biggest thrills of the year. It's everything else surrounding that combat which is holding the final product back.

Considering the dearth of Mech games, Daemon X Machina is bound to get anyone's attention. Rather than allow itself to serve as mere niche fulfilment, this rises above through a solid balance between accessibility and depth.

Like a mech without a pilot, Daemon X Machina is a beautiful shell with not enough to fill it. It's a frustrating thing - simultaneously proving that there's life in this old genre, but failing to inject much of interest beyond the base level.

Perhaps one of the strangest titles Nintendo has published in the Switch era, Daemon X Machina is far from a perfect game. Its storytelling is underwhelming, its gameplay loop is repetitive, and it's not really doing anything particularly new.

Attractive mecha designs and plentiful missions can't save the plodding narrative and archaic gameplay of this sci-fi adventure.