Review: Xenoblade Chronicles X (Chapter 1: General)

Back in the days when Xenoblade Chronicles was released in Europe, it was such a joy that it even banished the recently released Skyrim from my daily schedule. It was a surprise hit for me since it came without much advertisement and was so unexpectedly good. So now we get the brand-new Xenoblade Chronicles X. And it is again released back-to-back with one of Bethesda´s finest: Fallout 4. Will it be able to hold its ground against the overpowering competitor?

Game Title: Xenoblade Chronicles X
Platform: Wii U

Created by: Monolithsoft

Genre: Action RPG

Difficulty: Medium (but high complexity)

Multiplayer: Only for a few missions

1.1 General remark: This is not Xenoblade Chronicles 2!

Fun trivia: the developers of Xenoblade Chronicles X decided to not name their new game Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Too big were the differences to Xenoblade Chronicles. However, nineteen letters are identical in the name of the two games so the X doesn´t matter much and the comparison will still be made. While the first game was more of a classic Japanese RPG with huge areas to explore, X is more of an MMO experience with an enormous open world and the plot missions are quite rare. As a fan of the first one, this is a fact you need to be aware of.

1.2 The Setting: Humans in Space

The story plunges you, one of the last survivors of the destruction of our beloved earth, onto a wild and untamed planet. You now gather what is left of the last spaceship of humanity and try to settle in this place that is teeming with dangerous wildlife. Sneaking by the deadly creatures you can explore to your heart´s content from the get-go. A huge uncharted land awaits you, probably even bigger than games like Witcher 3 or Fallout 4.

The land of Primordia, viewed from your hometown. Yes, you can explore anything!

Eventually you will meet other humanoid beings. The nice aliens you can invite to your city, unlocking potential quests, crafting companies and so on. The nasty ones will become your sworn enemies and in the end it is up to you to prevent humanity from going extinct.

Is he a friend, or a foe?

Fans of Xenoblade Chronicles will immediately notice that the story is not as creative as the setting of the last game. Well it is hard to trump a world that is made of the two corpses of gods where humans crawl on them like ants and every area is situated on a limb or other body part of a dead deity. Another problem are your companions who are a bit lifeless and can´t compete with the colorful cast of the previous game.

 This is a really huge game. 100+ hours just to reach the end of the main story is not uncommon. 100% completion may require well over 200 hours. And it is filled to the brim with mechanics and content. We will take a look at combat, characters and exploration. And since it is so much to cover I will split it up in several articles.


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Table of Contents

1. General (you are here)
2. Combat
3. Character growth
4. Exploration
5. Verdict