PC Gamer - UK (2022-04)

T

here are rare few
games done dirtier
than Titanfall 2.
Sequel to a risky new
IP, doomed by a
release sandwiched between Call of
Duty and Battlefield, usurped by its
own battle royale spin-off, and
nigh-unplayable for the last year
thanks to an absurd conspiracy of
hackers and DDoS attacks, Titanfall
2 was perhaps always destined to
be a cult classic.

Of course, you don’t get to the cult
classic status without being good as
hell. And on revisiting Respawn’s
2016 mech-n-parkour-’em-up over
the winter break, I was reminded
just how joyous it is to slide,
grapple and wall-run across
Titanfall 2’s battlefields.
See, when Respawn debuted with
the first Titanfall’s wall-running

soldiers, it tore up the FPS rulebook.

The first game might not have set

sales records, but when even Call of

Duty is nicking your far-future

acrobatics, you can confidently say

you’ve made your mark.

Titanfall 2 rightfully built on that

foundation with even more

expressive movement. Pilots could

now skid around with the king of

videogame buttslides, maintaining

momentum with grappling hooks

and pumping their muscles full of

gooey green adrenaline. It still takes a

bit of work to get yourself going, but

once you’re in full stride you can

clear entire arenas in seconds. It is

absolutely joyous.

But Titanfall 2 made one other

massive change over its predecessor

• and I reckon I’m about to out
  myself as some kind of miserable
  contrarian when I reveal where I
  land on the sequel’s much-lauded

campaign. Look. Titanfall 2’s

campaign is fine. Hell, by the

standards of FPS campaigns of the

time, it’s great. But that feels more

representative of where FPS stories

were at the time than anything

particularly special to the game itself.

GLAMPAIGN

Don’t get me wrong, Titanfall 2’s

story also does have some killer

stand-out setpieces. Everyone

remembers ‘press F to time-travel’,

but the Ikea hell-factory and

ship-to-ship wall-rides deserve

equal shoutouts. The environments

are gorgeous, with lush sci-fi

skyboxes that rival even Bungie’s

backdrops, and beating the

campaign only takes a around six

to eight hours.

But for every time-jumping

skirmish you have a slog through the

jungle, or another truly lacklustre

boss fight against a cast of villains

that never quite match up as worthy

opponents. While the first game’s

TITANFALL 2

An old mech finds new life with a fan-run revival. By Nat Clayton

NEED TO KNOW

RELEASE

2016

PUBLISHER

Electronic Arts

DEVELOPER

Respawn Entertainment

LINK

bit.ly/3fT0Fka

EXTRA LIFE

NOW PLAYING I UPDATE I MOD SPOTLIGHT I HOW TO I DIARY I WHY I LOVE I REINSTALL (^) I M U S T P L A Y
Don’t look so
glum, chum.