Style can only go so far. A good sense of aesthetic can really carry lesser games, but there's a limit. Every time I play Daemon X Machina, listen to the music, watch a mech glide through the air, I can't help but smile. It looks striking, and the music really is a cut above when it counts. Daemon X Machina is absolutely aesthetically pleasing to look at and listen to, and that makes me wish I weren't playing, for perhaps watching would've been a better way to experience the game.

Daemon X Machina is a game with some fun ideas, a great sense of style, and poor execution in so many aspects. This just might be the widest gulf in quality I've seen in a modern game between its aesthetics and music and what it's like to actually go hands-on with the game. It's such a disappointment because this is clearly a game that was worked very hard on by a very dedicated team. It has been given the love it deserved, and the end product just doesn't appeal to me.