Titanium Hound from OverGamez and Red Spot Sylphina is a 2D retro-styled action game on Nintendo Switch. Learn more in our Titanium Hound review!

 

Titanium Hound from OverGamez and Red Spot Sylphina is a 2D retro-styled action game on Nintendo Switch. You’ll explore a series of levels in a dystopian cyberpunk world where you will take on the role of one of the pilots of a Titanium Hound unit. If you check the screens and trailer in this Titanium Hound, you’ll start to notice the size ratio between the unit, the enemies you’ll be taking on, and the humans that you’ll have to protect and serve.

The game will offer you to take on the Training Ground level so that you can learn the basics. You’ll control your character with the left analog stick, jumping with the B button. You can aim with the right analog stick, using your primary shot with the R2 button and your secondary shot with the L2 button. You can activate your shield with the L and R buttons to take cover as needed.

 

Activating the shield while moving will allow you to move faster by dashing. You will also deal melee damage to any enemy or object you come into contact with. Jumping will move energy from your weapon to your shield. Shielding will move energy from your shield to your weapon. You’ll need to manage all of this as needed so that you can always take care of whatever it is that you run into.

The Y button is for interacting. You can use this to activate switches or to grab useful stuff like explosive barrels you can then chuck with the ZR button. Any items at your disposal can be mapped to the four directions on the D-Pad for quick selection. To be able to survive, you’ll need to make the most of the Combo-Blast ability. This can be used to disable shields, stun stronger enemies and destroy weaker ones. You can activate it by pressing the ZL and ZR buttons at the same time.

 

Before diving into a level, you’ll get a chance to change up your equipment. There are many different combinations to choose from since you’ll unlock more and more pieces of equipment to take with you. You can equip as many devices as you have available slots. You’ll start with only two slots but will be able to unlock more as you progress through Titanium Hound. You should pay attention to your surroundings as you run and gun your way through an area so that you can locate any intel. If you find all intel in one mission and successfully complete the mission, you’ll be able to unlock new equipment and new slots.

What can you equip? There’s Reinforced Armor, which will boost your armor so that you can withstand more damage. You can also go with Piercing Shot, which pierces one target and deals increased damage. You might also want to check out Vortex Deflector since it will redirect energy to your shield when taking damage while shielded. Another very useful piece of equipment is the Shock Stabilizer. What this will do is make your secondary shot shoot at a faster pace while also reducing overall energy cost. You might also want to look into Reflective Skin. If you slot this one, you will have a small chance of projectiles not dealing any damage when you’re not shielded.

 

When defeating enemies or destroying objects, you will find armor scraps. These are yellow items that will restore some of your armor when collected. Enemies will sometimes also drop purple crafting parts. You can also find some inside supply boxes. By collecting them, you’ll be able to press the X button to create helpful items. You could build a Micro Bomb that will deal massive damage when thrown, which can make a big difference when taking on some of the bosses in the game.

Titanium Hound has an interesting premise and gameplay mechanics that are easy to understand, but it ends up missing its mark. When you stop walking with your metal unit, it will take a second before it starts to move again unless you end up activating your shield to dash. Having to balance energy between your shield and your weapon is something that can set this one apart from other 2D action games, but, in the end, the execution fails to deliver. Titanium Hound is out on Nintendo Switch at a $15.00 price.

Disclaimer
This Titanium Hound review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by OverGamez.