During today’s Nintendo Direct, a free demo for Daemon X Machina was announced. If you’ve been following the mech game, you’ll be glad to know that the demo is out today on the Nintendo Switch eShop. The Daemon X Machina demo will give players a good look at the core gameplay and give you a chance to check out the mech customization.
The demo includes four missions that will let you get a good feel for what it’s like to pilot an Arsenal—the name for Daemon X Machina‘s mechs. The team behind Daemon X Machina includes Kenichiro Tsukuda, the producer on Armored Core 2, Armored Core 3, and Silent Line: Armored Core; Shoji Kawamori, who is a legend when it comes to Japanese works including mecha and spacecraft; and Yusuke Kozaki who worked on Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates.
Mechs are fully customizable, and you can equip different weapons on their arms and shoulders. You can also pick up weapons from downed enemies on the fly and even use street signs and cars scattered throughout the levels to take down your foes.
In Daemon X Machina you’ll also see some verticality. Arsenals will be able to move freely through the air and on the ground. During the game, you’ll take the role of a mercenary who is fighting against rogue AI that take the form of anything from a lowly tank, an Arsenal like yours, or a gigantic mechanical construct which towers above you.
The game reminds me of a faster-paced Armored Core, which is fantastic. The mecha genre hasn’t gotten a ton of love in the gaming world recently, so it’s great to see a group of industry veterans come together to make a game that brings those older titles back to life.
Daemon X Machina doesn’t have a solid release date, but for now, it’s tentatively coming out sometime this Summer exclusively on Nintendo Switch.
