Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Review

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Game Details

Title: Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Developer: Monolith Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Website: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch/Xenoblade-Chronicles-2-1233955.html
Genre: Role-Playing, RPG
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Age Rating: PEGI 12
Release Date: 01/12/2017
Price: £49.99 – Rapid Reviews UK was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a vast open-world RPG which takes place in the world of Alrest. A setting where civilisations live on the back of huge beasts, also known as Titans. You take control of Rex, a young salvager who finds himself unlocking the power of an incredibly strong weapon, also known as ‘the Aegis’.

The story follows Rex and the Aegis on their 55+ hour journey to find Elysium, a safe haven. Across your journey, you’ll meet many memorable characters and landscapes, and you’ll climb to incredible heights, enjoying every second along the way.

Your party is hugely customisable. You acquire blades throughout your journey and companions who assist in combat. Each blade controls a different element which is used to create breath-taking combo’s making the combat system both unique and fun. Once I figured out which elements complemented each other, I found myself experimenting with many different combinations which kept the fights interesting and never dull.

Each party member has a skill tree which is used as a different form of progression and making your party stronger. What seems like something fun to progress and mostly optional, suddenly becomes an absolute necessity after roughly 40 hours in. At this point, my progression through the main storyline came to a complete stop, which was just frustrating. I was forced to complete specific side-quests and give party members specific types of consumables. I found this to be a real shame because the side quests I completed were rewarding and plenty of fun to finish. I didn’t like feeling forced to complete content I’d enjoy much more at a later time.

Throughout your journey, you’ll find a vast amount of content with great advantages and rewards to gain. For example, some quests will reward gold or items, and other quests will reward you with new recipes which will provide your party with stat boosts. Each city can be advanced by completing relevant quests and buying and selling to vendors. As cities progress, you’ll find vendors increase their range of stock, allowing you to acquire even more powerful gear.

Besides cities, many unique bosses are lurking in the wild, taking on these are challenging and fun. At points when exploring, I’d wander into a monster massively above my party’s level. This made gave my adventure a feeling of danger, excitement and to an extent, realism. I was certainly kept on my toes, and I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I took these down along the way. The open-world is crawling with side-quests. Completing all the content will surely keep you occupied for at least 100 hours.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a truly unforgettable experience and one which is essential for RPG fans. The greatness of this game truly outshines what feels like small problems in comparison to this incredible experience. This adventure will keep you hooked with its genuinely lovable characters and gripping storyline. Once the credits rolled, I still had plenty of adventure left to complete. I was able to go back and finish other quests and secrets I had missed. There’s always the ‘New Game +’ mode too. When I’m ready, I can do it all over again with my party’s levels, and skill trees all carried over.

It’s going to be a long time before I’m finished with Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Rapid Reviews Rating

You can purchase Xenoblade Chronicles 2 from the Nintendo eShop at the following link, https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch/Xenoblade-Chronicles-2-1233955.html.