Following the conclusion of last week's Nintendo Direct presentation, a number of demos were uploaded to the Switch eShop. One of these gave players the chance to try out the DAEMON X MACHINA Prototype Missions.
If you were of the people who happened to download and play this particular demo, be on the lookout for a survey from Nintendo about it. It reportedly takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. If you're not selected, you're still encouraged to reach out via social media.
For anyone who hasn't been keeping an eye on this futuristic mech action game, the demo allows you to try out four different missions while familiarising yourself with the game's controls and mech customisation options. The final mission features a boss battle challenge. As previously noted by Kenichiro Tsukuda, the demo is available for a limited time, so if be sure to play it while you can. This Switch exclusive is currently aiming for a 2019 summer release.
We would also love to hear your own thoughts about this demo, so share them with us in the comments.
[source gonintendo.com]
Comments 77
My whole life is meaningless if I don't get a survey.
Too bad we dont have a links awakening demo to give feedback on 😠
I don't think I've ever got any of these "exclusive" Nintendo offers or select emails ever... and I've been using my same account since like 2009 lol.
Aaaaaand... done! I enjoyed the demo, even though I was terrible at the game (still interested in purchasing it and playing more, though!), and was happy to give my feedback on it.
The only issue I had with the game was how slow the mechs seem to fly. I saw a bunch of locked upgrade options though, so I'm going to assume that an upgrade that increases speed is among them. Otherwise, I don't see a need to submit feedback.
Honestly, I just felt like I’d rather be playing Starlink. Felt much slower.
I just got my email. Not sure if I'm going to respond though, given that I didn't even bother finishing the demo. There was something about the whole gameplay structure that just felt so...unsatisfying. I spent more time just wandering around the maps looking for enemies than actually fighting them. While the art style is really cool, nearly everything blends together, to the point where I couldn't tell the difference between enemy fire and the wind's graphic effects. Everything felt like it lacked impact. If it weren't for my health bar rapidly depleting, I'd have no idea that I was being attacked. Then the interface and menus, while looking pretty slick, seemed pretty obtuse and difficult to navigate. It reminded me of my troubles with Xenoblade Chronicles X's menus and mechs. The hangar area also felt pretty pointless, if the only things you can do in it are accept missions and modify your mech. It might as well be replaced with a simple menu. Don't get me wrong, there's lots of good ideas in the game, but there needs to be a big shift in its core structure to really make those good ideas feel full and satisfying.
My PERSONAL issues were:
It's was hard to distinguish between allies and enemies - I think on the second stage you have other robots similar to yourself that you need to destroy.
It wasn't clear enough to me that a part of a boss was destroyed completely, I lost a lot of ammo by shooting on the same spot that was already destroyed.
A health bar for the boss fight would definitely be helpful. My impression was that I was shooting something and doing some damage but don't know how much and don't know how much damage my allies were doing.
Definitely something needs to be done with the enemy design as mentioned before by other players, it's hard to see the enemies as they kind of blend with the environment, cannot even imagine playing this game on handheld mode!
Some response when hitting enemies, as mentioned by other players, it's hard to know if you are actually hitting something.
A lock on target button would be helpful, I've seen so many times my missiles spreading on several spots on the boss fight, some spots were destroyed already! I'd rather have a lock-on target system were I could focus all my attacks.
Better tutorial, what the heck is that FEMTO bar or what can I do when I leave my robot? on the second boss battle my robot got destroyed and I was outside of it wondering around trying to figure out what I could do as human until I died. So a proper tutorial would have been better.
When you destroy an enemy and it drops bullets, it would be better for the items to be pulled to you when you are nearby, it's really annoying that you have to constantly keep going to the ground to grab stuff dropped by enemies.
Important loot should be shown on the map after destroying an enemy.
So far this didn't impress me.
Well in overal I like the game but there are some negative pointe for me at least.
Im spending more time in finding enemys then actually fighting one.
Its so chaotic too see whats happing and you dont know where they are hitting you with jou yust see your healthbar decreasing.
I loved the demo and played it twice. Honestly probably a day one purchase for me. Gyro would be cool but I wouldn't use it. I think the customization was really cool especially the mech itself. I didn't have any problems with frame rate but I heard others did. Honestly the speed felt great to me and I never got bored if you read the tutorials and actively try to find the enemies it is fine. Overall I loved it some flaws but still awesome.
After playing the demo, I am quite concerned for this game. The big thing the devs for it have been pushing is that it is a “satisfying mecha experience” but it missed that target by a mile practically. Nothing felt satisfying, and most of the time I felt frustrated trying to find enemies and distinguishing different things on the map because of the very unique color palette they decided to use for the game.
This game DEFINITELY needs to be either delayed and rethought, or it has to have a nice bit of reasonable overhauls to the system and even art style if they want to have a successful game that is fun to play.
What a dream come true this'll be if they keep up the good work.
I was concerned about how slow my mech was but I can already see pilot upgrades and a few part changes made a world of difference when boosting.
I would highly recommend they work on identfying other machines on the map. I ended up shooting at teammates sometimes thinking they were enemies and the minimap feels like it doesn't show all nearby enemies sometimes.
I know y'all don't really care about my opinions but if I don't get a survey I'm just yelling at the wind here.
I actually liked the game, even though I didn't play through the whole demo - just the first two missions (I didn't want to ruin the future experience). The graphics are awesome, the effects are satisfying, the music is energizing and the gameplay is great (there were some issues but I think they will be resolved by upgrades). I don't see why many people here can't find the enemies to fight since there is a nice radar at the top of the screen. Still, the game still needs some tweaks.
My experience was just "meh". I dont feel that it did anything different compared to other games of it type other than being on the Switch. It'll take a lot more development time to improve it.
The gameplay require analog skill to aim the target enemy, but overall nice game for me. I press great on the feedback.
quite stupid that they didnt send it to all the players
@BensonUii. Gyro controls would probably be terrible in a fully three dimensional game though. If the mechs didn't fly, then absolutely.
@BlackenedHalo they probably used some metric, like how long you played, what other games you own, total play time across all games, etc.
I got the survey yesterday. My only problem was that I was unable to distinguish an enemy elevation on the map. I knew they was there but unable to know just where they was above or below me.
I could very well tell where everything was and if they was an ally or not.
Also for the people thats saying its too slow...well that makes it very clear you didn't farm any parts.
I hate how the mechs come to a grinding halt when you hit the ground, it kills the momentum and flow of the game for me. I think Xenoblade X had better movement in that regard, which is a shame cos the mech movement wasn't the focus of that game at all, unlike DxM.
Interesting demo, surprisingly enjoyed customizing the mech. Just want the controls and animations feel like there's some weight to it. Also lock on and hits should feel more impactful.
The game demo was great fun... A bit sluggish with some frame rate issues and other lil bits and bobs but great... I love the metal soundtrack!!!
I still haven't had the time to play it...
This was one of my most anticipated games and it makes me very sad to say i found reallky quite disappointing. I know it isn't finished but i feel like there is an awful lot that needs to be done with it. The graphical resolution is really low and a lot of the time characters both your own and enemy have exposed edges and seams. The terrain is literally like an N64 game for the most part, Completely flat trees and buildings that you can walk behind. The combat feels at odds with itself and you don't feel liek you are really in control of some powerful mech. A small thing but when you are in the hanger the mech is completely out of scale. The pilot charcater you control would never fit inside of it. I really really hope it gets fixed.
bit mindless for my liking. Fly around, shoot, fly around some more, then shoot again. Boring
I played the demo, and to be frank, it played like a low budget badly made indie game. Poor visuals, clunky controls, stodgy action, no structure.
I won't be buying it.
@penamiguel92 you can improve your lower body strength in the lab to get a 10 percent speed bonus and change your mech gear to increase your speed
@ilikeike it does seems that the Han will be updated
There is this closed ice cream shop near the lab, a lot of unused space and you can have up to 4 mech
So I believe we will see more in the future
I quite liked the demo ut there are some serious problems. Even now I can clearly see that the game will not be welcomed well regarding its story and how the game works with the story. It seemed too flat, too basic, too simple. I did not feel any excitement, any real will to make a meaningful story. The story seems as if it was really just like "Let's just throw there something and it'll be good." You know what? No, it will not. It is 2019 and such a story presentation is insulting. Please, get inspired with f.e. Nier Automata or just announced Astral Chain which story looks promising even from the short trailer. Only because of this is a mecha game does not mean that its story should be humdrum.
Next, the missions. Ah geez... Is the whole game going to be about shooting away a certain amount of enemies and that is it? Because if yes, it will be the most boring shooter ever. The shooting system itself is fine, i like it. It felt great to shoot with the mecha. I hope the maps will be larger and the missions more interesting than this.
I also did not like the system of taking missions. It felt out of the place, just like a list of missions without glue that should hold them together. So far it sounds like if the game was just like a bunch of missions taken from a menu.
The whole hangar felt pointless. I dont need to come back to the HQ if there is nothing to do. Please, explain how the hangar will be working, what will be insteresting there. Will there be NPCs who I can talk to and maybe help them with their personal problems? I think the game should be more intimate, more personal like Mass Effect.
If this all is in the game, then I will be the most satisfied man, but so far it looks that Deamon X Machina is just like an 80's shooter with modern graphics and I am not sure if it is enough for 2019.
I enjoyed a little the first two stages but stopped after two to play Wolfenstein which says it all. There needs to be better feedback to the player. Am I hitting the right target? Am I getting hit? It’s not very intuitive at the moment. I was hoping for a more open game with a greater sense of flying fast and better satisfaction when taking down foes. Anyway will keep an eye on this and hope it gets improved
Liked the demo, but the game definitely has problems that really drop a potential good game into being just average at best.
I didn't receive the survey to let them know my thoughts, but it seems everyone who played it found the same problems and more, so I'm sure they'll get the note anyway.
@ilikeike this is why you should be providing feedback
People need to keep in mind. This is an Armored Core spiritual* successor. If you wasn't a fan of those, you likely won't be a fan of this.
To be blunt, DxM is like a superior gundam breaker. You're in it to always get parts to tune to your custom playstyle. Its a grind game.
The demo is also ver 0.1 which is roughly put, the first build with a basic vision of what they want to do. The game is probably past the point of 0.6 this far in development. The demo we got is likely the E3 2018 build.
tl;dr - if you don't like armored core or loot games, this game isn't for you. You have to loot the mechs you shoot down and take their parts to get stronger.
The survey didn't really give me an opportunity to talk about my specific issues with the game, it only asked about certain aspects of the experience
The only thing I'd add would be a HUD indicator pointing to the nearest enemy and distance from it (to quickly assess its altitude) and HD rumble whenever you're attacked, to immediately tell where the fire comes from (both of these could be done as upgrades, though). Other than that, boosting performance should be #1 priority, since it's pretty uneven.
Overall, it was a really good experience and I'll be getting the full version day one.
@ilikeike That's The type of feedback they want... Why wouldn't you give it to them?
I liked the demo, the game is shaping up to be really good imo. But it really needs to be polished, and honestly, what´s the rush? There are so many awesome games coming this summer (and the rest of the year), that this one would probably be completely overlooked. If I were them, I would definitely delay it until january or february 2020, and work more on it until they really feel it´s done.
I loved it and will definitely be picking up the game when it comes out.
This is basically a beta so some issues were to be expected but it seems to be on the right track. I got the survey and just need to fill it out which I'm gonna do now.
I enjoyed somewhat the first two stages but stopped after two to continue Wolfenstein (love it). There needs to be better sensory feedback to the player. Am I hitting the right target? Am I getting hit? The gameplay is not very intuitive at the moment. Gyro would be a welcome option as the aiming seemed inaccurate and amateurish. The sense of speed is also lacking.
Anyway I’m keeping an eye and will wait for reviews. It’s in wish list B.
Framerate and other minor technical issues aside, which I'm sure they'll work to polish anyway, I enjoyed this demo quite a bit. Especially that they let you continue messing around in the hangar, and replay missions after the 4th mission is finished.
I felt the mech speed and boost were a tad sluggish, UNTIL I upgraded my Outer and noticed a significant increase for both - which you do from the LAB in the Hangar. It sounds like a lot of you here didn't access the Lab. I feel the body mods are rather integral to the game. Not only do they physically alter your character''s appearance, they also give you important upgrades like double jump while on foot, specials for blade melee, speed boosts, etc. So it's good to know you can really tailor the game's feel to your liking.
I really hope they add optional gyro aim, and that would guarantee my purchase.
As far as nitpicks go, I think the ammo drops could suspend themselves in the air where the enemy was disposed. There's already a slight auto pickup of ammo if you get close enough, so I think just letting the drops stay where they are would work.
If an enemy has multiple targets, they should stop appearing after you've destroyed one of them. Unless of course their intention was for the boss enemy to have immunity from immobilization, in which case there should be clearer directions for what you must do to defeat it. My first go around, I blew up, and started running around on foot where I could throw grenades, but they weren't effective. 2nd time around, I happened to shoot a different target, and it went to cut scene indicating I won, so I was confused. There definitely needs to be an enemy VP bar, or at least concise indicators of what you must do.
The radar is VERY USEFUL! Still, they could add up or down arrows for each blip (similar to GTA) depending on altitude, which would alleviate a lot of the complaints about not finding things. I have no issues with enemy size, since you're looking for the targets to show up anyway, and they're big enough.
A lot of little things, but they're all really easy to tweak. Excited to play more later this year! This and Astral Chain are gonna be so awesome!
I was bitterly disappointed to be honest....I thought it looked great in all the previews.... But playing it I thought it was fairly dull. The aiming was woeful and twitchy (granted that could be me) , the mech moved at a snail's pace, the combat felt meh..... It actually strangely reminded me of Unit 13 on Vita. Pretty. But just.... empty.
I was disappointed to be honest, was the game I was looking forward to most this year from Nintendo but demo killed the buzz. No gyro aiming and hd rumble from an exclusive is really poor effort. Shooting and movement had no feel to it, seems to be a loot based game without a fun loop. I hope they delay this and make some changes
The survey is kind of pointless because it doesn't really give you the opportunity to fill in your own thoughts about what needs to be improved in the demo, instead asking you to rank the game in a bunch of general areas.
The game is fun enough, but it has performance and balance issues that NEED to be addressed before release.
NintendoLife should send this discussion to the devs
10 minutes afer i got into the actual game i was bored don't really know what could fix it i guess it just isn't for me
I'm working thru the fourth mission now, so my biggest complaint has been the slowness of it all. I get that I have basic parts, but wow. I'd like more control over missile lock-on, like a "hold trigger to missile-target, move cursor over targets, release trigger to fire" type of set up. I'm not nuts on the ascending/descending mechanic either. Button customization looks to be a priority imo. Hard to tell what's going on at times too. There's a couple other nitpicks, but those are the main ones that detracted from my experience.
@MeloMan you can upgrade your mech in the game including speed
Took the survey after completing 2 missions and dying in the third. The game has potential, but to many things are unexplained. Can I only take 1 part from each enemy? How do pylon weapons work? Am I getting hit? What is the Femto bar for? The devs said that they wanted the player to be able to choose between air and ground, but I feel that I'm supposed to be in the air the whole time. Lack of HD rumble and explanations on how stuff works (including how to kill that huge boss) really kill the demo. I'll still play it, though. Nothing here is wrong that can't be fixed before release.
ZOE is miles above this game... meh
If we get the option of gyro aiming then we can dodge while moving the camera.... not being able to do those 2 simultaneously makes a shooter tough! I moved dodging to a shoulder button but obviously that sacrifices a different input.
@Platinumhobo omg I didn’t even realize there were teammates. I definitely killed them lmao
@R1spam Given this is made by the mind behind Armored Core I highly doubt the only was to get new parts is by loot pick ups. Plus, the hub had areas that were sealed off so very likely one of those is a shop.
Also, why does everyone want this gyro aiming? Given the pace of this game it sounds like a horrible idea.
@Platinumhobo It's nice to have options.
@ArcticFox True, but it just sounds like a bad option. Gyro controls for Splatoon were unweildly enough that I would think most people would see how poor it'd work here. I just wonder why have the option when it doesn't work well with the playstyle?
Thanks for chiming in tho ArcticFox.
Gyro controls and HD rumble whilst firing would be nice, that jolting feeling of firing a gun would be a decent addition. There's something about aiming with the R stick that feels a bit old hat after Splatoon.
Does Nintendo automatically send out the survey to people who have downloaded the demo?
@WiltonRoots seems to be the case, yes.
My biggest grip was that melee combat doesn't feel good. When you hit a target nothing happens also - making you wonder if you actually hit something.
I started with a shield, which I was excited for, but it didn't seem to do anything. At all.
@Cheez @mgnoodle I never completed the demo, so I'm hesitant to give feedback on the gameplay without having actually played all there is to offer. However, at this point I guess I'll still fill out the survey anyway, since incomplete feedback is better than no feedback at all.
@Platinumhobo Just an option, I actually find gyro aiming to be one of the best features on the switch. I love it in splatoon and might be reason why I buy wolfenstein 2 on switch rather than dirt cheap on ps4
The game lacks high quality production in my opinion. It should FEEL epic controlling a mech fighter.
It starts at the beginning. The loading screen in the demo is a dull gray screen when it be a visual of a mech flying in or schematics being drawn out. The mech movements lack weight to them as they move similar to someone simply flying with a gun. As others have said the enemies are difficult to discern from a far.
I think this game needs more time in the cooker sadly. It has some promise though
@Rohanrocks88 Zoom? As in aim down sights? That's not really fit for a mech game, especially when you automatically lock on to any enemy in your oversized reticle.
@ilikeike Yep.The whole demo was meh, even though it looked nice. Forced myself to do like 3 missions then quit. Everything felt like a chore. Not sure why Nintendo has been pushing this game so much.
@ilikeike you should definitely share this opinion with Nintendo. It reflects 100% how I feel about it.
Enjoyed it, will definitely pick it up at some point.
Gyro controls would be nice though, as others have noted. Am I the only one who kept trying to use gyro like an idiot during the first mission?
@Rohanrocks88 I only played it in handheld (no TV or tabletop), and distance wasn't an issue for me. But it's different for everyone.
@sportvater I just filled out the survey actually. It felt bad filling out so many categories with "disappointing" and "unsatisfying", since I've been interested in this game ever since it was first announced, but it really is a disappointing game that so far doesn't seem to be living up to it's own promises.
Poorly written survey. They ask you one thing on the first page and then, on the next page, they go like “about what you answered on question 4, tell us more about that”, but you need to go back to double check question 4 (there are multiple questions per page). That happened at least four times during the whole thing, so I just gave up.
Good job, Nintendo.
@wiggleronacid almost every single time something like this is reported on I receive it.
@ilikeike they want honest feedback so they will be thankful. Thanks from my side anyhow since I didn't get the survey
You Negative Nancys, never givin' anything a chance. lol
The game requires patience; it's not a game that you can just pick up and play. You can go back and do past missions you've completed to trick out your arsenal, which makes that last mission a breeze.
There are some things that are a bit confusing at first but sitting down and figuring it out isn't that hard.
I love that main theme music (the same music they used for the announcement trailer), it's so...metal.
Got my survey and I will chime in and be as deliberate as possible.
@wiggleronacid oh I got once XD and same use the same Nintendo acc since 2011
@penamiguel92 Did you customize your much for speed? At first, I just looked at the durability stats and didn't bring up the expanded stat menu. So my mech felt like it was flying through pudding, though it could tank hits like a champ. But then i took a closer look and noticed there is a lot more to the stats of each part. Then I gathered up a bunch of fast parts, and my mech got noticeably faster.
I imagine we were just getting the low tier stuff you'd expect from the first few levels. So there will likely be higher tier parts that let you lower the weight and up the speed even further, although you'll be a glass cannon at that point.
There were also some skill points you could throw towards your arsenal's boost, which helps a ton. Also, you can do missions again and keep getting parts. They have at least one set of heavy and one set of light parts.
Got my survey and completed it. I am still looking forward to this games release.
I played the first mission and then immediately stopped because I could tell that this game was absolutely not for me and judging by all the comments it seems like it's a disappointment to many.
Shame because you can tell that the developers do have a vision behind it and seeing new IP's on a Nintendo system is always a nice thing to see but with the rate the game is going at, I see this being a merely decent game at best that will get completely forgotten about in a few months down the line.
Hope that the developers take the critique they get too heart and make massive improvements to the game, both in and out of combat.
@ilikeike totally agree
Just did the survey - the game has a really cool style but just isn't....fun enough...hopefully more development time will help!
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