I’ll just get this out of the way; I’m not a Xenoblade expert. If that’s the kind of perspective on Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, then you won’t find it from me.
Xenoblade has always been a series that I’ve been intrigued by, but I've just never quite found the time to fit one of Monolith Soft's RPGs into my gaming routine.
However, with the Nintendo Switch 2 just a few months away now, I've been keen to spend more time with my OG Switch.
And when Nintendo offered us code to play Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, I decided now was the time to break the cycle and check out what it has to offer. And so far, I think it could well be one of the best Switch games in my library.
Exploration and experimentation
I think what's intrigued me so much about Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is the sheer size and scope of the world that's open to you.
Plot-wise, I know I'm not far along in the story — BLADE has yet to trust me with the keys to my own Skell mech — but I've been more than content to hot-foot my way across Mira and disappear in a direction just to see what's there.
Frequently, that's been an enemy far too powerful for me and my early-game pals to tackle, but I never minded that much. That's a big shock to me, as I've never really been an exploration-driven player up till now.
Save for rare examples, like exploring Hyrule in Tears of the Kingdom or wandering the wilds of Skyrim, I've always been story or objective-minded. Let loose in an open world, I'm usually keen to hot-foot it to the next point on the map, or the next mission.
And yet, here, there's something about Xenoblade Chronicles X that has me pivoting hard away from story progression and into Mira's nooks and crannies, hunting for treasure to salvage, tangling with Tyrants, expanding my FrontierNav network, or taking on one of the many side missions I've stumbled upon.
It's not just the exploration I'm hooked on, though. I also really dig the battle system and the wealth of customization options you have on the character build front.
Your player character has access to a number of Classes, Skills (static passive buffs) and Arts (attacks and moves set on cooldowns).
Combat feels like it's been picked up from an MMORPG, as your many scraps with Mira's foes play out in real time.
The dance of choosing how and when to time your Arts to inflict status effects and maximize party synergies and Soul Voice triggers feels like it'll keep combat from getting stale.
And, if and when I grow bored of my current Class of choice (Striker), I've still got others to rank up and lots of new Arts to unlock.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition has me hooked
Again, I'd just like to stress that this is all from a newcomer's perspective. For one, I don't know if all this stuff that I've found so exciting is common to the rest of the series.
Likewise, I would be remiss not to say that all this variety has felt like a lot to get to grips with as a newbie.
There are tons of menus, currencies, mission types, and management systems to get to grips with, and I know that throwing my mech into the mix later down the line is only going to complicate matters further.
However, what I can say with absolute certainty is that I've found myself wanting to go back to the game at any opportunity I've had since I first downloaded it.
So far, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition has been a truly intriguing experience, one that a fascinating world to explore and a web of missions, tasks and systems that I've loved experimenting with. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that the soundtrack absolutely slaps, either.
I may only have made my first steps into the series with the recent port, but I can fully see myself spending dozens more hours poking around Mira and seeing what else Xenoblade Chronicles X has to offer in the months before the Switch 2 lands.
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