With the Xbox One soon to head off into the sunset thanks to the arrival of the Series X/S it’s worth stepping back to revisit some of the games that made an impact here during this generation. Not all of them are exclusive but each of them resulted in many hours spent glued to controllers and that’s all that really matters. 🙂

After breaking away from Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward, the team at Respawn Entertainment made their mark with Titanfall which was a multiplayer focused team shooter that allowed players to take on the world in giant mechs. The world itself was interesting but without a campaign there were only a few vignettes piecing together maps that gave any context as to what was happening. However with the sequel it all changed and not only was there a campaign added but it was a GREAT campaign.

What’s great about Titanfall 2 is how the campaign establishes that there is a real relationship between a pilot and their Titan. A lot of games have done that before with AI squad mates but very few would have one the size of a building that often factors into the experience – being thrown around a level like a ball is an actual thing! It wouldn’t feel as great without some levels to show it all off and there are some incredible ones here. My personal favourite takes place inside a giant assembly line for prefabricated buildings that plays on the idea of your cover appearing and disappearing at inopportune times. In describing it I suppose it sounds a little generic (Gears of War 4 played on the same concept too) but the execution and end level section really played it up well and I loved it.

Multiplayer still remains fun and the Horde-like Frontier Defense mode is a great co-op experience too but the quality of that campaign was what elevated the game and it might have been a franchise in the making too if it didn’t launch in the same window as Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Respawn’s own Apex Legends might leverage some of the lore and is a great game in its own right but it’s not quite the same as calling in your Titan and seeing it crash down before taking control and getting into some stomping and shooting. Fingers crossed we get to see more of that again!