Titanium Hound could have been a good game, but the developer’s assistance on uniquely bad mechanics makes it impossible for me to recommend it to anyone, let alone fans of the genre.
Singleplayer.
I must preface this by saying that allowing players to redirect power between attack and defence when done correctly is a fantastic mechanic; unfortunately, that is not the case with Titanium Hound.
Instead of allowing players to redirect additional power to shields (defence) or weapons (attack), the developer instead opted to force players to choose which of their systems are powered up in the most convoluted way possible.
This system isn’t just strange, it’s infuriating, and after playing for a few hours, I could not wait to finish my review coverage and uninstall it from my consoles.
I can see no conceivable reason why this mechanic was put in place other than introducing artificial difficulty and making the overall playtime of the game longer.
Somehow Titanium Hound manages to make controlling a mech suit feel terrible, and at no time did I feel like I was controlling a sleek killing machine instead of an out-of-commission school bus.
Manoeuvrability concerns aside, Titanium Hound makes platforming incredibly difficult due to its inconsistent hitboxes and general lack of consistency in the Titanium Hound’s ability to reach platforms which should be well within the range of a human on foot, let along a human in an advanced combat suit.
This lack of precision extends to combat, where console players are forced to shimmy back and forth to target enemies due to the Titanium Hounds’ poor weapon-targeting abilities when using a controller, making some enemies unhittable for controller users.
Titanium Hound looks fantastic, and while pixel art games are not for everyone, I feel that the aesthetic is perfect for low-budget indie titles, as it allows developers to focus their limited resources on making a better game, which can also include more variety of enemies, with 2D pixel art sprites frequently being easier and cheaper to animate than their 3D counterparts.
The only good thing I can say about Titanium Hound is that it allows players to unlock various equipment as they progress through the story, making further runs more engaging for those who have the patience to deal with Titanium Hound’s horrific control scheme, bland narrative and tedious gameplay loop.
Titanium Hound is a action video game developed and published by Red Spot Sylphina, it was released on 26 October 2022 and retails for $14.99.
Titanium Hound is available on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
On average Titanium Hound takes between 8 and 20 hours to complete.
Estimated completion times are derived from various sources and may vary based on the skill level of each player.
The following peripherals are officially supported:
Titanium Hound is rated PEGI 7+ and contains:
In its current state, Titanium Hound is not worth playing, and with an all-time high of just two players on Steam, it’s unlikely to remain in development long enough to improve.
