Titanfall 2

Titanfall 2 launched in October 2016 to critical acclaim and commercial disappointment. Respawn Entertainment built a sequel that addressed every complaint about the multiplayer-only original by adding a full single-player campaign, and the result was one of the best first-person shooters of its generation. The problem was timing. Electronic Arts released it between Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, and it got crushed in the sales charts despite being the better game by many accounts.

What followed was something unusual. Players who discovered it wouldn’t stop talking about it. Titanfall 2 developed a passionate following that has kept the conversation alive for nearly a decade, regularly pushing the game into “most underappreciated” discussions and driving periodic player surges whenever it goes on sale. On Steam, it holds an Overwhelmingly Positive rating from over 90,000 evaluations. The community’s verdict is clear, even if the initial sales numbers didn’t reflect it.

Storytelling at Its Best in Titanfall 2

The single-player campaign is the headliner, and it earns every bit of its reputation. You play as Jack Cooper, a rifleman who inherits a Titan named BT-7274 after his mentor is killed in action. The bond between Cooper and BT drives the story, and Respawn handles their relationship with a warmth that’s rare in shooters. BT’s literal-minded personality and Cooper’s dialogue options create moments of genuine humor and attachment, and by the time the campaign reaches its climax, that relationship carries real emotional weight.

Level design is where the campaign becomes something special. Each of the nine chapters introduces a new idea and then explores it fully before moving on. The most celebrated mission involves a time-travel mechanic that lets you flip between two versions of the same environment, and it’s a showcase of design confidence. Other levels shift between large-scale Titan battles, tight indoor firefights, and platforming sections that use the game’s movement system in creative ways. Nothing overstays its welcome.

Movement defines the Titanfall identity. Wall-running, double-jumping, and sliding chain together into a flow that makes traversal feel as satisfying as the shooting. The speed and fluidity of pilot movement creates a skill ceiling that rewards practice, and the contrast between nimble pilot gameplay and the heavy, deliberate pace of Titan combat gives the game constant variety. Going from wall-running through a facility at high speed to climbing into a massive Titan and trading blows with another mech never gets old.

Multiplayer, while smaller than it once was, offers a unique experience built around the pilot-versus-Titan dynamic. Modes like Attrition blend AI enemies with human opponents, creating chaotic battlefields where both pilots and Titans have distinct roles. The community-built Northstar client has extended the game’s multiplayer life significantly, allowing players to host custom servers with modded content.

Titanfall 2’s Weak Spots

Campaign length is the most common complaint. Six hours is the common estimate, and while every minute is packed with quality, the brevity means the experience ends before it fully satisfies. Players consistently wish there was more, particularly more time with BT and more levels that explore the game’s movement possibilities. The story itself wraps up a bit abruptly, with an ending that works emotionally but leaves narrative threads dangling.

Multiplayer population has been a persistent issue since well before the servers became a concern. The game never built the player base its quality deserved, and matchmaking times have grown over the years. While the Northstar community client provides an alternative, it requires some setup, and the experience isn’t identical to official matchmaking. For players coming in primarily for multiplayer, the reality of smaller lobbies and longer wait times matters.

Some multiplayer maps drew criticism for being too confined, not giving the movement system enough space to breathe. The original Titanfall had maps designed around the parkour movement from the ground up, and a handful of Titanfall 2’s maps feel tighter in ways that limit the freeform traversal the game does best.

Boss encounters in the campaign, while visually impressive, follow predictable patterns. Each Titan boss has a gimmick, and once you identify it, the fights become more about patience than skill. They serve the pacing well enough as chapter capstones, but they don’t match the inventiveness of the levels that precede them.

The Cult Classic Question

Titanfall 2’s reputation has grown steadily since launch, to the point where calling it “underrated” has become its own cliche. But the label persists because the situation that created it never got resolved. The game sold poorly, no sequel was greenlit, and Respawn moved on to Apex Legends. What remains is a campaign that represents some of the best level design in the FPS genre and a multiplayer framework that showed how creative the shooter space could be. The community that champions it does so because there’s nothing else quite like it.

Should You Play Titanfall 2?

FPS fans who value campaign quality should consider this essential. If you care about level design, movement mechanics, or the craft of building a shooter that constantly surprises you, Titanfall 2 delivers in ways few games have matched. The Titan-pilot dynamic offers something entirely different from the standard military shooter template.

Skip it if you’re looking for a long single-player experience. Six hours is what you get, and while they’re exceptional hours, the value proposition matters to some players. If multiplayer is your primary interest, check the current server situation before buying, as the community has fluctuated over the years.

The Verdict on Titanfall 2

Titanfall 2 delivers one of the best single-player campaigns in the FPS genre, packed into roughly six hours that never waste a second. The movement system remains unmatched, the relationship between pilot and Titan gives the story real heart, and the level design hits peaks that other shooters still haven’t reached. Multiplayer has shrunk from its prime but remains playable through community efforts. It sold poorly at launch because of terrible release timing, and the gaming community has spent the years since trying to correct that injustice. They’re right to.