Unlike the first game, Titanfall 2 will feature a single-player campaign in addition to the multiplayer main course. I wasn't among the loud chorus begging for a campaign, but judging by a recent interview with designer Mackey McCandlish, it might turn out to be excellent after all.
Speaking to IGN, McCandlish said that for many people at the studio (which counts among its talent several former Infinity Ward devs) the opportunity to create a campaign shorn of Call of Duty's squad-based scenarios is a breath of fresh air.
"I think having made as many games as some of the people on the team have, we start to look for opportunities to stretch our limbs and make something that would excite us," McCandlish said. "We've all been influenced by Half-Life and Bioshock and didn't really have the opportunity to bring that level of pacing and player-centric conflict to games like Call of Duty that are so much about a squad. So this was a really great opportunity to stretch our limbs."
Interestingly – and perhaps, most excitingly – the studio is more inspired by the likes of Wolfenstein: The New Order and Doom 2016, rather than loot shooters like Destiny and The Division.
"I think for a while people thought that you needed an MMO experience and loot to be single player. There is sort of trendline into Destiny, The Division, and Borderlands. And I think in recent times with Doom, and maybe Wolfenstein before that, people have started to say, 'No no, we did like this other thing that was totally just about you and not about grinding.' I think it's something that we do well so we're bringing that to Titanfall."
It's worth reading the whole interview for some interesting insights into the development process, as well as some background on the narrative. Titanfall 2 launches on October 28.
