For Nintendo fans, 2025 will be a busy year, especially since we’re just over two weeks away from the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct, which’ll reveal a bunch of information about the upcoming console and the games we can play on it. However, the Nintendo Switch itself isn’t out of games to play, and one of them is just two days away from release. We speak, of course, about Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition, which arrives on the 20th and is incredibly hyped within the fanbase. The title was originally on the Wii U, but now, it’ll join its Monolith Soft brethren so that it can truly be viewed in the best light.
The good news is that the game’s review embargo has dropped, and Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition currently stands at 88 on Metacritic. That’s incredibly strong! However, as always, we must ask, “What did the reviewers have to say about it?”
Among the most positive of reviews, we hear not only about how great the game looks but how Monolith Soft took the time to “reset” certain elements of gameplay so that the title would not just be “modernized” but fairly improved to make itself even better. Granted, the reviews fairly note that the story hasn’t been improved outside of the new campaign. However, they also say that it doesn’t matter, as the game’s world and all you can do within it is more than enough to keep you sucked in for a long time.
Numerous reviews called the game a “gem” of a JRPG or a “must-play title,” and some even went so far as to say that the game’s quality was the “perfect way” for the Nintendo Switch to go out as a console. Some even noted that in handheld mode, the graphics aren’t hindered in the slightest! That’s pretty impressive and further highlights how good Monolith Soft is at optimization!
So, what didn’t they like about the game? As noted, the game’s main story still feels “a bit light” to many, and that’s fair, as this was more about world exploration and side quests than the main tale, like the two games that came after it.
Some also felt that this was a “missed opportunity” to truly add a lot more to the game outside of the post-game content, but that likely wasn’t a real option for Monolith Soft, as it’s undoubtedly working on the next game in the series.
Regardless, critics loved this JRPG, and that means you should give it a chance when it arrives on Thursday!
