The best details in gaming are often the mundane moments. Unique walk cycles just hit different, as do those instances when the developers made the time to show characters reacting believably to their surroundings. I always found it amusing when Link lightly hums while cooking in Breath of the Wild. Or the crushing scene when V leaves a desperate voice mail for a certain friend in Cyberpunk 2077. Less endearing, but still an example of great design, are the grunts in Titanfall 2.
Reddit user u/dognutsinyourmouth discovered a tragic detail about the grunts of Titanfall 2 during a recent replay. They were piloting a Titan, giant chaingun in hand, and mopping up a wave of enemies. As they reloaded, they noticed a lone enemy grunt at the other end of the room. The poor sap, faced down with a giant robot, ran into the corner.
The player had the Titan follow and pointed the chaingun at the cornered grunt. Seeming to realize what came next, the grunt slowly set down their gun and got on their knees to surrender. This was not a cutscene–this was a random enemy character acting in the middle of battle. It’s something many Titanfall 2 players won’t notice or even encounter during their playthrough, but it shows smart AI and an attention to detail.
It’s also another reason for Respawn to return to the series. Hey Respawn, maybe take a break from Apex Legends and Star Wars and come back to Titanfall?
