It feels like whoever came up with this wrote the full production plan when they were 8. Titanfall 2 is about running across walls, doing slides and being best friends with a giant robot. There are hallmarks of linear, cinematic American action games that I don't typically have much taste for, but the game is so robust that you're typically doing the wildest stuff entirely of your own volition. The creativity and vision behind each new setpiece really justifies the instances where the campaign needs to limit your freedom, too. It's a bit of a buzz to see a game so clever being so riotously dumb.
It's also worth bearing in mind that the single-player campaign is only really an extra. Titanfall's primary focus is on its online multiplayer. There wasn't even an offline mode in the original game, which audiences had a strong distaste for at the height of Xbox's yuckiness in the early 2010s. Its mechanics weren't established with a story mode in mind, but you'd never guess that from playing it. Respawn Entertainment was founded by ex-Infinity Ward staff, who had plenty of experience with elaborate, cutting-edge setpieces through the Modern Warfare games. Titanfall 2 is them challenging themselves to show what they can accomplish without the restraints of the Call of Duty franchise or Activision's investor-focused release schedule. They show they can make Valve-quality games. This is the kind of campaign I'm still dreaming Nintendo will make for Splatoon someday.
Titanfall 2's ideas are wild. One level takes place on an elaborate manufacturing line, constructing houses that you take cover in, as they're carried down the track, turning on their sides and upside-down as they have new walls and objects welded on by giant machines. Another has you explore a ruined facility, shifting between two different time states at will, using either the past or present version to open secured areas or erase wrecked debris in your path. It does these things so slickly, you can't begin to imagine what's going on under the hood, and the campaign never takes a break to do a sensible idea.
My main reason for replaying this was as a spectacle piece for my Steam Deck. I've had the thing for over a year now, and Titanfall 2's just been a thing I've come back to every now and then when I've felt like an FPS. It's very silly that handhelds have gone from the 3DS to something like this in such a short space of time. I can't imagine myself ever going back to a console version either. Not unless they patch-in gyro controls, anyway. How did I ever play this with analogue sticks alone? There's so much movement and distant enemies all around you, it's impossible to keep track of targets without intricate, instinctive control over your subtlest actions.
I haven't dabbled with the multiplayer since the PS4 version. I'm aware it's just as good as the single-player. I just don't feel it would be respectful to come into PC FPS servers on a handheld. Certainly not years after launch, where it's just the hardcore fans still trucking on. Like attending a funeral dressed in an inflatable duck costume.
Titanfall 2 is frequently very, very cheap, and even cheaper if you're not someone who thinks Star Fox Zero has pretty good controls, actually, and you're happy with a gyroless PS4 copy. Even if it really doesn't look like your thing, you probably ought to give it a try. You don't want to look like the guy who was too clever to have ever seen Terminator 2.
It's also worth bearing in mind that the single-player campaign is only really an extra. Titanfall's primary focus is on its online multiplayer. There wasn't even an offline mode in the original game, which audiences had a strong distaste for at the height of Xbox's yuckiness in the early 2010s. Its mechanics weren't established with a story mode in mind, but you'd never guess that from playing it. Respawn Entertainment was founded by ex-Infinity Ward staff, who had plenty of experience with elaborate, cutting-edge setpieces through the Modern Warfare games. Titanfall 2 is them challenging themselves to show what they can accomplish without the restraints of the Call of Duty franchise or Activision's investor-focused release schedule. They show they can make Valve-quality games. This is the kind of campaign I'm still dreaming Nintendo will make for Splatoon someday.
Titanfall 2's ideas are wild. One level takes place on an elaborate manufacturing line, constructing houses that you take cover in, as they're carried down the track, turning on their sides and upside-down as they have new walls and objects welded on by giant machines. Another has you explore a ruined facility, shifting between two different time states at will, using either the past or present version to open secured areas or erase wrecked debris in your path. It does these things so slickly, you can't begin to imagine what's going on under the hood, and the campaign never takes a break to do a sensible idea.
My main reason for replaying this was as a spectacle piece for my Steam Deck. I've had the thing for over a year now, and Titanfall 2's just been a thing I've come back to every now and then when I've felt like an FPS. It's very silly that handhelds have gone from the 3DS to something like this in such a short space of time. I can't imagine myself ever going back to a console version either. Not unless they patch-in gyro controls, anyway. How did I ever play this with analogue sticks alone? There's so much movement and distant enemies all around you, it's impossible to keep track of targets without intricate, instinctive control over your subtlest actions.
I haven't dabbled with the multiplayer since the PS4 version. I'm aware it's just as good as the single-player. I just don't feel it would be respectful to come into PC FPS servers on a handheld. Certainly not years after launch, where it's just the hardcore fans still trucking on. Like attending a funeral dressed in an inflatable duck costume.
Titanfall 2 is frequently very, very cheap, and even cheaper if you're not someone who thinks Star Fox Zero has pretty good controls, actually, and you're happy with a gyroless PS4 copy. Even if it really doesn't look like your thing, you probably ought to give it a try. You don't want to look like the guy who was too clever to have ever seen Terminator 2.