Titanfall 2 - Disappointed by a very good game

The original Titanfall is one of the few online only games I have ever fallen in love with. Despite never being particularly good at it I played enough to regen 3 times and checked in on the game regularly after, like when it released new maps or the (pretty good) PVE mode that came a few months after the main game. I more than got my money’s worth from that game and it was the first 8th generation game that I felt spoke directly to me and justified the new hardware (Even though the 360 version is apparently quite serviceable.)

Sarah Briggs is back! Ok. I sort of remember her from the first game, kind of. Why does she wear a full face of make-up in the middle of combat? Doesn't battle sweat make your mascara run?

When Titanfall 2 was announced I was hyped and when it debuted to high review scores and much praise I pre-ordered without hesitation. Unfortunately I didn’t get around to playing during the launch for various reasons, but a few weeks ago I finally cracked that digital seal and got ready to fall in love all over again.

Now, having beaten the campaign and played some of the multiplayer, I can say that Titanfall 2 is a very good game, but it didn’t make me fall in love with it and it didn’t meet my (too high) expectations. I like the game, but I’m also disappointed with it, and I don’t think I’ll play much more.

Titanfall 2 can have a pretty busy HUD, especially in a titan.

Titfanfall 2’s campaign starts strong, with interesting characters and a big chaotic battle sequence that feels like the best parts of what I think of when I think of Titanfall. It follows that up with some first person platforming and sparse combat that reminded me, in a good way, of one of the late sequences from Uncharted 4, moving from platform to platform engaging with small groups of guards and feeling outnumbered but also like a powerful predator, picking off enemies almost at will. From there the campaign explores a handful of well-crafted environments, with a fair amount of variety in mechanics and several impressive set pieces. It is clear that time and effort went into crafting a satisfying campaign, and it definitely adds significant value to the overall package.

BT is your robobuddy. He's alright, but not one of my top game characters of the year.

However, despite the smooth mechanics and variety, the campaign never really lived up to the promise of the first 30 minutes or so for me. While the player will interact with several characters over the course of the adventure the only one with significant screen time is his titan, BT, who I never particularly bonded with, though I also didn’t find his comments annoying or intrusive. The game’s villains look and sound cool, but don’t have enough screen time to develop personalities or make you truly look forward to defeating them, and I never really cared about completing the overall mission and saving my "buddies". Titanfall 2’s story is very much in the “care because we TELL you to care” model of game storytelling, and it didn’t really work for me.

On the gameplay side, the various mechanics and titan loadouts also don’t stick around long enough for the player to really engage with them., often lasting no more than 15-30 minutes each. The campaign is briskly paced but that quick pace also kept me from falling into a rhythm or really feeling like I’d mastered any of the mechanics before it was time to move on. I wish the game was longer and gave each segment more time to breathe. Something closer in scope to the recent Doom campaign would have been great, a game with a similar number of levels but a lot more content in each area. There also aren’t enough titans to fight over the course of the campaign. Late in the game there are a couple areas where you fight through large numbers of titans but it probably amounts to 45 minutes total, and I wanted more, damn it.

The last boss fight is also pretty cheap, only manageable with certain loadouts and tactics, and unsatisfying from a story perspective.

The grappling hook was a good idea, though not a lot of people actually use it.

Meanwhile the multiplayer feels...like more Titanfall. That’s not a bad thing, but while the original game revolutionized movement in a first person shooter, the sequel builds on parkour mechanics that have been copied by a lot of games at this point (though never equaled.) It also changes some things that were great about the first game, and not for the better. For one the titans feel quicker and more agile than they did in the first, which can make them more responsive to play but reduces the differentiation between riding in a titan and running around as a pilot. They also feel a bit more fragile than they did (at least to me) and generally less imposing.

Rodeoing is less important in Titanfall 2 (in the first game it was a great way to kill a troublesome titan, especially those who lacked electric smoke, and could be used to bait pilots out of their death machines.) since you can’t just shotgun a titan to death anymore, and there is less overall titan/pilot interactivity.

Many of the maps are similarly flat, with no buildings over two stories tall.

More importantly I think the map design in the second game is not as good as the first's. The maps lack the first game’s verticality (which pilots could use to their advantage against enemy titans) and sense of place, with most just seeming like generic industrial installations. Part of that could be my familiarity with and nostalgia for the locations in a game I loved, but I also think it’s objectively true. Titanfall 2’s maps just lack the delicate balance that made the first game’s levels such a joy to run around and blow people’s face off in.

So what we’re left with is a game that I wanted to fall deeply in love with but find myself just liking as a friend. A game that was built up for me not just by my own natural sequel hype but also by high reviews and lots of praise from critics I respect. I understand the praise, given that the game is quite good, but that praise also set up expectations that the game just couldn’t meet, for me.

Oh look. A futuristic industrial area. Finally!

Being disappointed by a good game can be more frustrating than being disappointed by a bad one. For one thing you can feel bad for not seeing what others do in a game, as opposed to just resenting a developer for having done a bad job. For another you can often see a truly great game lurking just out of reach of what was delivered. A close call can be more frustrating than a clear misfire. If the campaign was just a bit longer, if the multiplayer maps were slightly more vertical and the rodeoing mechanics a bit better…

But they’re not. And Titanfall 2 is just very good. I don’t feel like I wasted my money (though it went on sale quickly) and if Respawn keeps adding stuff to this game I’ll check in from time to time. If there’s ever a Titanfall 3 I’ll be excited for it, but with reservations. I won’t build up the level of excitement I had for this one. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe I’ll appreciate what was delivered instead of missing what was not.

Giant robots fighting is a fundamentally cool concept, and even though I was disappointed I did have a good time. I hope Respawn gets another shot.