DAEMON X MACHINA was announced by Nintendo during its E3 2018 presentation. The mech combat action game features a striking visual style and some massive enemies, but other than that, we didn’t learn too much about the project set to release in 2019. Now, however, Nintendo has put together an interview with the game’s director, Kenichiro Tsukuda. In it, we learn a solid amount about DAEMON X MACHINA, not least that it features RPG-style customization.
For the unaware, Mr. Tsukuda has a lot of experience in the mech combat genre. He’s worked on Armored Core and Fate/EXTELLA, no less. His interview on the official Nintendo website lets us in on a few details regarding his new game. When asked what sort of game DAEMON X MACHINA is, for example, Tsukuda explains:
“DAEMON X MACHINA is a fast-paced action game – you play as a pilot known as an Outer, and fight in battles using the Arsenal mechs you equip. As an Outer, you’ll fight against enemies in lots of different missions, while customizing the weapons of your Arsenal. Because they’re mechs, you have complete control of them on land and in the air. You can also obtain equipment from enemies in real-time, and then decide accordingly what sort of tactics would be best, and change your equipment on-the-fly.”
DAEMON X MACHINA: Custom Robo Fighting
It sounds as though the combat in the game will be highly customizable. “In terms of gameplay, we’ve made it so that you can fight with the style you want.” Tsukuda explains, adding that we will be able to acquire new pieces of equipment that we can “change… in real-time on the battlefield.” It’s sounding like a mech combat action-RPG, and that gets us rather excited. Indeed, Nintendo is “working to make it so that you can train up and customize your mech, and strengthen it beyond mere equipment.” Being able to equip new weapons on the fly sounds good to us.
Aside from speaking on the gameplay mechanics, Tsukuda spoke about the game’s striking art style and story. One of the more interesting tidbits of information to come out of the interview, however, was the confirmation of some sort of online connectivity. When asked how he planned on making DAEMON X MACHINA the best mech action game, he responded with this:
“One way we hope to achieve that is by making it appropriate for the age we’re now living in. The environments in which people are playing are always progressing and changing – we see advances in hardware, and now with Nintendo Switch, people can play both at home and on-the-go, and also online.”
Sadly, we don’t have any details on what form the online will take in DAEMON X MACHINA. Hopefully, we learn more down the line. 2019 can’t come soon enough.
