One of the oldest discourses in the gaming space has circled around again: the question of whether big single-player games are “dead.” This time, Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke, who spearheaded development on the blockbuster hit single-player game Baldur’s Gate 3, has weighed in on the matter with a firm position.
Posting on X/Twitter, Vincke noted it’s “that time of the year again when big single-player games are declared dead.” His response: “Use your imagination. They’re not. They just have to be good.”
It would be hard to deny Vincke knows exactly what he’s talking about. Larian built up its reputation game over game, producing stellar CRPGs like Divinity: Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin 2 before taking the reins on Baldur’s Gate 3 and, by all accounts, delivering.
Vincke has previously made headlines for his concise insights, whether on the stage at The Game Awards or off. He’s emphasized the passion behind development, respecting the developers and players, and caring about the games. In that light, this take on the ages-old discourse may not be surprising, but it’s still reaffirming.
Indeed, 2025 has already seen at least one major single-player hit in the form of Warhorse Studios’ Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. There are still many months left to go in the year, and that’s plenty of time for other single-player games to steal the spotlight for themselves too.
Larian of course decided to walk away from Baldur’s Gate 3 and indeed Dungeons & Dragons to make a brand new IP. Speaking to IGN at this year’s Game Developers Conference, SVP of digital games at Hasbro Dan Ayoub teased fans may hear more on what’s next for the Baldur’s Gate series soon.
I’m still learning how to say “ginger” in Ginger, which was recommended to us by Maw feeder Fachewachewa. It’s listed in the game’s dictionary, and I have worked out how to say “er” – A + space + down arrow – and “g” – shift + S + space + up arrow. But I’m struggling to string together these consonants and vowels into words. It turns out computer keyboards are not an intuitive way of operating the human voicebox. This, of course, is what makes Ginger fascinating.
Half Life 2 RTX, the Nvidia-backed graphical overhaul mod for Valve’s seminal FPS, has a Steam demo out today. It covers both the Ravenholm and Nova Prospekt chapters, for an extended look at how much ray-slash-path tracing, RTX Remix asset remastering, and DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation is being packed into the decades-old shooter.
Microsoft has announced the Xbox Game Pass March 2025 wave two lineup, confirming the titles subscribers can expect for the rest of the month.
Out today, March 18, as a day one title is 33 Immortals (Game Preview) (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) on Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass. Here’s the official blurb, courtesy of Xbox Wire:
33 Immortals is a co-op action-roguelike for 33 players. Play as a damned soul, and rebel against God’s final judgment. Dive straight into epic, 33-player co-op battles with instant “pick-up and raid” matchmaking. Cooperate with your allies to survive against hordes of monsters and massive, challenging bosses. Expand your arsenal and equip powerful new relics to permanently upgrade your soul.
On March 19, Square Enix’s role-playing game Octopath Traveler II (Series X|S) hits Game Pass Standard.
In this critically acclaimed second title in the Octopath Traveler series, eight new travelers venture forth into an exciting new era in the land of Solistia. Step into their shoes and explore the land as you see fit, using their unique talents to aid you along your journey in this role-playing adventure.
Also on March 19, Train Sim World 5 (Console) pulls in at Game Pass Standard.
The rails are yours in Train Sim World 5! Take on new challenges and new roles as you master the tracks and trains of iconic cities across 3 new routes. Immerse yourself in the ultimate rail hobby and embark on your next journey.
A day later, on March 20, Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island (Cloud, Console, and PC) docks at Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard.
You’re shipwrecked on a lost mythical island. As backpacker Alex, you must befriend the forgotten gods of Greek mythology and restore their memories. Explore the dynamic island and its story sandbox to build new friendships, solve the mystery and save the gods.
Moving on to March 25, Blizzard Arcade Collection (Console and PC) hits Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard.
Experience a blast from Blizzard’s past! The Blizzard Arcade Collection brings five classic console games to modern platforms and new audiences, including Blackthorne, The Lost Vikings, The Lost Vikings 2, Rock N Roll Racing, and RPM Racing. Plus, visit the Blizzard Arcade Collection Museum to explore a trove of treasures from each game’s past, including concept art, music, behind-the-scenes interviews, and more.
Here’s a big one: Rebellion’s Atomfall (Cloud, Console, and PC) is a day-one Game Pass launch on March 27 via Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass. It’s well worth checking out IGN’s recent Atomfall hands-on preview to find out more about the game.
Available on day one! A survival-action game inspired by real-life events, Atomfall is set five years after the Windscale nuclear disaster in Northern England. Explore the fictional quarantine zone, scavenge, craft, barter, fight and talk your way through a British countryside setting filled with bizarre characters, mysticism, cults, and rogue government agencies.
Xbox Game Pass March 2025 Wave 2 lineup:
33 Immortals (Game Preview) (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – March 18 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
As usual, a number of games leave Game Pass this month. Game Pass members can also save up to 20% on their purchase to keep these games in their library.
Games leaving Xbox Game Pass on March 31:
MLB The Show 24 (Cloud and Console)
Lil Gator Game (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Open Roads (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Yakuza 0 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Yakuza Kiwami (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Yakuza Like a Dragon (Cloud, Console, and PC)
The Lamplighter’s League (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Monster Hunter Rise (Cloud, Console, and PC)
And finally, Microsoft is adding more games over time to the ‘Stream your own game’ collection for Game Pass Ultimate members.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Two years since the first gaming-focused PCIe 5.0 SSDs showed up, there are some encouraging signs that these drives might eventually develop something approaching a point. Consider the Crucial T700, one of the first 5.0 SSDs to escape the data centre and make a break for our PCs: more expensive than the best PCIe 4.0 models, and slower than them at loading games. Useless. Now, though, we have drives like the PNY CS2150 bringing down the entry fee, as well as the new Samsung 9100 Pro to finally – finally – deliver a performance improvement.
Still, there’s a way to go before PCIe 5.0 storage becomes the new standard, and honestly, that could take another two years or more. For all the CS2150’s cost-cutting and the all the 9100 Pro’s speed, neither make for compelling all-rounders like their 4.0 cousins do.
After many years of exclusivity with MEGA Bloks, it looks like The Pokémon Company might finally be teaming up with LEGO in 2026. That is, if a recent leak is to be believed.
According to a post on the fittingly-named r/Legoleak Reddit forum, the LEGO Mexico Facebook page uploaded a short video teasing the Pokémon collaboration. The original upload has since been removed, but the footage uploaded to Reddit shows a bricky Pikachu tail shocking the two company logos to life.
After about my third death, it became very clear to me that it’s dangerous to go alone in 33 Immortals. My sinful pride was getting the best of me as I navigated the Inferno, inspired by Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” filled with all manner of infernal beasts, creatures, and tortured souls, presented with crisp, beautiful hand-drawn animation. I thought my experience with ARPGs would be enough to push back against this enemy horde alone – I was wrong. It’s once I found other Rebel Souls (fellow players) to tag along with when my journey through Hell became a bit more manageable.
33 Immortals describes itself as a distillation of the MMO raid experience, an action-packed roguelike where 33 players are placed together on a large world map, a land littered with charred buildings and jagged spears of stone surrounded by flames. It’s also full of monsters. Lots of monsters.
In the first part of this game, conquering Hell is an exercise in structure. Your goal is to defeat Lucifer, the “boss” of Inferno, but first you must work with other players to unlock an Ascension Battle just to reach him. How do you do that? Glad you asked: You must complete 12 Torture Chambers, mini raids where you are grouped up with up to six players to battle multiple waves of monsters. Complete these to earn a variety of helpful loot and resources that you can then put into your character, increasing your odds of success as you proceed to tackle the next Torture Chamber, and then the one after that, and so forth.
This multi-tiered approach to finishing your roguelike “run” is challenging, yet very fun to play with — even though I only managed to complete just three Torture Chambers before succumbing to the elements (aka ‘ripped apart by monsters’). As I would learn during repeated runs – it seems the number of completed Torture Chambers is retained should you die and reenter Inferno — the larger the group of fellow Souls I traveled with, the larger my chances of survival became – and you can imagine how much bigger those chances get with 32 other people on your side. Leaning on one another’s skills and class abilities to unleash a balanced attack against waves of monsters is a key to success.
And becoming familiar with your abilities – and how they interact with others – is deeply important. Before you enter Inferno, you’re given the choice to pick one of four weapons, which also assign you a class: Bow of Hope (Shooter), Sword of Justice (Tank), Daggers of Greed (Fighter), and Staff of Sloth (Specialist). Each of these weapons have a primary and secondary attack that rely on you inflicting damage on enemies to build up their respective gauges.
For example, hitting enemies with the Sword of Justice will generate ‘Justice’ points for you to execute special attacks like Heavy Slash or Guard. Or like with Daggers of Greed, you generate ‘Greed’ off enemy hits; the amount of ‘Greed’ you build up determines the amount of damage you’re able to inflict with a takedown attack.
Of all these choices, I liked playing with the Bow of Hope the most, as it kept me at a decent length away from enemy attacks. Also, its Guiding Light feature, where returning arrows sliced through monsters on the way back into my quiver, allowed for a nice interplay of positioning to my targets so I could double-up on damage. I really like how 33 Immortals’ combat system is constantly finding ways to encourage you to go on the offensive.
There are three types of currency used in 33 Immortals that you’ll want to get a handle on. First, there’s Dust, which you earn from defeating enemies and can be spent at a Dust Shrine to upgrade characteristics like Attack, Vitality (Health), or Empathy (Co-op). There are also Bones which can be found in Urns and world chests in Inferno, used to buy healing, teleport stones (lets you warp across the world map), or a chest key that can open a locked chest full of useful loot found only in Torture Chambers’ chests. And then there are Shards, found inside the chests of Torture Chambers, used to spend on weapon upgrades and more when you’re in the Dark Woods (I’ll touch on this in a moment).
Upgrading your character and focusing on strengthening your class abilities is what will keep you in the fight through Inferno, along with working with other players, and the variety of currency you can earn here feeds into that. The reliance on other Souls to unlock the more difficult sections of 33 Immortals is a unique approach to cooperative gaming that I didn’t realize I was going to enjoy as much as I did. I primarily enjoy single-player experiences where I’m free to suddenly drop without letting my party down – I’ve become an unreliable online raider with growing adult responsibilities that can pull me away at a moment’s notice.
33 Immortals’ elegant solution here is to have a surplus of souls available on the world map at seemingly any given time – 33 to be precise – ready to jump in and help fill up any open slots. But should any Soul die, they will go back to the Dark Woods and not be replaced in that instance, making it vital to collaborate to give you and your Souls the best shot at taking down Lucifer. That also means you can join an open game at any time – there are more than enough enemies around should I just want a quick “pick-up and raid” session to earn some Shards to spend on cosmetics and Perks in The Dark Woods, your home base on this adventure. Having a constant flow of Souls in and out Inferno also fits nicely within the narrative of 33 Immortals — with this being Hell, there’s no shortage of damned souls looking for a chance of redemption. And loot, apparently.
The above-mentioned Dark Woods is a staging ground outside the realm of Inferno, free of enemies, and where you’ll be able to upgrade your Soul for its next run by speaking to some notable literary characters. It’s here where you can spend some of the Shards you’ve earned from those Torture Chambers or in your fights with Elite Bosses in Inferno.
Speaking with Dante will help you equip and upgrade various Perks like Fortitude of Heart, which increases vitality, or Guiding Light, which lets you inflict Status Effects on monsters. As your Feat level grows you can equip additional Perks (a maximum of six). Beatrice (Dante’s guide in “The Divine Comedy”) can also be found here in the Dark Woods to help with your progression, managing your Feats, like “Kill 35 Monsters” or “Complete 5 Torture Chambers.” Completing a Feat gets you Feat Points (XP) which then contribute to your Feat level. As this grows you can unlock additional features like weapon upgrades and more.
You’ll also find Charon, who manages the in-game shop, where you can equip and manage cosmetics for your Soul. One of those customization options is a pet by your side – I’ve got my eye on a little beagle companion. Finally, Virgil (based on the ancient Roman poet) is also here, managing the Compendium should you need a refresher on how the game works and if really wanted to know the official name of that creepy silkworm with teeth that killed you on your last run (for the record, it’s called a Mangiatore).
Of all of these, I found myself spending most of my interactions with Beatrice, tracking my various Feats and working to increase my Level and eventually unlock even more features. But I liked the vibe The Dark Woods area offers, letting me recover a bit from the hectic Inferno, and interact with these characters to help the story of 33 Immortals unfold.
Just a short time with 33 Immortals revealed a surprising amount of depth for what could first appear to be a simple action-roguelike. And there’s so much more for me to see: What’s the Ascension Battle like? How hard is it to face down Lucifer? How much more difficult will the second world, Purgatorio, be compared with Inferno? How badass can I make my weapons? What’s it like to run around hell with a beagle by your side? These are all exciting questions I’m looking forward to answering once 33 Immortals launches into Game Preview on March 18.
33 Immortals (Game Preview) launches March 18 for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Cloud.
33 Immortals® is a co-op action-roguelike for 33 players. Play a damned soul, and rebel against God’s final judgment. Pick-up and raid, cooperate to survive hordes of monsters, defeat massive bosses, and face the wrath of God in a fight for your eternal life.
Join the rebellion
Your mortal life has been judged sinful, and your soul’s fate is to be punished for all eternity – but an uprising is brewing among the damned! Press on as a renegade in the immortal rebellion against God’s final judgment, and fight for your eternal life.
Pick-up and raid
Jump start your rebellion – dive straight into epic co-op battles with instant matchmaking. Fight through a lean, mean distillation of the MMO raid experience.
33-player co-op
Find true strength in numbers. Optimize your skills and tactics to bolster your 33-player team, and tip the odds in your favor through powerful cooperative moves. Sustain your numbers as best you can, for only the strongest group of survivors stand a fighting chance in brutal boss battles.
Rise above the Almighty
Face the Wrath of God, and stay bold – for He will end your quest swiftly and often. Expand your epic arsenal with weapons empowered by sins and virtues, loot the spoils of His realms, equip potent new relics to match your playstyle, and gain permanent upgrades to your soul.
Inspired by the Divine Comedy
Experience your soul’s epic journey through the afterlife rendered in beautiful hand-drawn animation. 33 Immortals is a unique take on Dante Alighieri’s literary masterpiece, the Divine Comedy.
This game is a work in progress. It may or may not change over time or release as a final product. Purchase only if you are comfortable with the current state of the unfinished game.
When Lunar debuted in North America in 1993, it was a standout in the emerging Western market for Japanese RPGs. Lunar featured detailed, animated cinematic cutscenes, plenty of voice acting, high-quality music, and–most importantly–an endearing story packed with engaging and memorable characters. While it wasn’t the first CD-ROM-based JRPG to hit the market, it was one that left a powerful impact on everyone who played it.
A sequel, two PlayStation remakes, a PSP outing and more further broadened the audience for Lunar. More than 30 years after the series’ debut, Lunar and Lunar 2 are coming back to the realm of PlayStation with the Lunar Remastered Collection. To give some insight into what makes the Lunar games special–and to stir fond memories among longtime fans–we talked to Matthias Pergams, Producer over at GungHo Online Entertainment America.
Silver Standard
“LUNAR was one of the first JRPGs on the CD-ROM format, with animated cutscenes, in-game voice acting, and even an opening theme song,” Pergams explains. “The series gained a dedicated following both within and outside Japan, paving the way for the genre as a whole. It’s a work that has a unique historical significance.”
The original Lunar has been remade and re-released a few times for various platforms (along with Lunar 2, to a lesser degree), so we were curious as to why the PlayStation “Complete” versions of the two games were chosen as the base for the remasters. “Each version is different and possesses unique merits, so we actually struggled quite a bit with this question. Ultimately, the choice came down to which version we felt represented the series best. For us, it was the PlayStation version”.
As this is a “Remaster” rather than a “Remake,” we were wondering if there were any major gameplay or story changes that players familiar with the original games would notice. “The overall story and gameplay will remain the same as the original release,” Pergams assured us. “We feel that the original still holds up today, and wanted to preserve the gameplay as it was envisioned by original developer GAME ARTS. We have added a variety of quality-of-life features to make gameplay smoother, such as an adjustable Battle Speed-Up option in both games, a toggleable option for a unified inventory system in Lunar 1 designed to simplify the item management process, and also the ability to customize the behavior of individual character AI during Lunar 1’s battles.”
Download the image
Download the image
“In this Remaster Collection, we have prepared a Classic Mode for fans who prefer to play the game with the dots as they were back in the day – an environment where you can play the game with almost the same graphics as in the PlayStation 2 era. We have also prepared a CRT filter for this mode, which we hope fans will try and see.” – Matthias Pergams
Remastered Luster
So what is new and improved in this remaster? “The most visible changes are the graphical updates, which include remastered graphics, in-game effects, UI, animated cutscenes, bromides (in-game collectible card items), and more. Perhaps the biggest feature is the new aspect ratio, as we’ve expanded the size of the screen to accommodate that of modern TVs. All the above features are in the “Remastered Mode.” The other is “Classic Mode”, which allows users to play the games with the graphics of the original PlayStation version.
One major topic of discussion among longtime Lunar fans is the voice acting. When the announcement post went up here on the PlayStation Blog, it was revealed that there would be an all-new cast. How did the team select the new voices? “Our priority when recording was making sure that we preserved the identity of each character through their new voice actors. We considered how we wanted each character to sound. Once we locked that down, we started looking at voice actors who were close to that, and then selected them based on how well they captured what we were envisioning. The end product is something we’re proud of.”
“We also had all the vocal songs in Lunar 1 and 2 sung by the voice actresses of Luna and Lucia respectively, which we modeled after the original Japanese version of the game,” Pergams noted.
“We asked Mr Iwadare to write a new song for this piece. The song is called ‘Looking up at TERRA’. It is used in the game selection screen, so I hope fans will listen to it.” – Matthias Pergams
The famous cutscenes are getting a touch-up, too. “One of the key features of Lunar is the animated cutscenes, so we took a great deal of care with them during the remastering process. The original scenes still hold up well today, so our main goal in remastering was to touch them up for modern audiences, rather than change the content itself. We think the results speak for themselves!”
All of these updates and changes were done with the blessing and supervision of the original staff. “Throughout development we frequently consulted GAME ARTS, the original development studio, and incorporated their feedback,” explains Pergams. “We also consulted other development staff, including the original composer, scenario writer, and character designer. Their input has been invaluable in maintaining the spirit of the original games during the remastering process.”
One such individual who revisited Lunar for this remaster is famed character designer Toshiyuki Kubooka. The team originally weren’t sure if he would be on board. “He’s extremely busy these days, so when we first reached out to him, we didn’t know if he’d accept our offer! But he was kind enough to draw not just one, but a total of three completely new art pieces for the game.”
Download the image
Download the image
Download the image
Pergams also passed along a message from Kubooka-sensei to fans. “At first, I was surprised because it’d been a while since I’d worked on anything for Lunar, but I was really happy to have the chance to draw the cast again. Drawing them felt like meeting up with old friends again, so I had fun doing it. The art took longer than I expected, which inconvenienced everyone at Gungho America, but they were very transparent and cooperative so I’m grateful to them as well.”
New frontiers
Lunar was well-loved in North America and Japan, but–aside from the aforementioned PSP release–Lunar’s presence in Europe was nonexistent. We asked Pergams about releasing Lunar 1 and 2 Complete in Europe for the first time, and if they have anything they would like to say to players thinking about trying these games for the first time. “First and foremost, thank you for considering the Lunar series! I think the core ethos of the series can be summed up in one word: ‘Adventure’. I believe the Lunar series captures the essence of the classic adventure, in which you set out into an unknown world, meet trustworthy friends, defeat evil, and find true love. All adventures are valid and worth having, but there’s something nostalgic and unforgettable about the one Lunar provides.”
To finish things off, we wanted to see if Pergams had any advice for new players. “Don’t be afraid to use items! In many games, it can feel like a mistake to spend hard-earned money on temporary items rather than on permanent upgrades like weapons. However, items—particularly recovery items—can make a world of difference in a tough boss fight. We also recommend trying out the games’ Auto Battle system, alongside the new Battle Speed-Up option, for smooth progression. However you decide to play, we hope you enjoy the Lunar games!”
In an era where open-world games are a dime a dozen, Xenoblade Chronicles X soars above the pack. There’s an unparalleled feeling of freedom and exploration as you fly your mech suit across the massive planet of Mira, the size of which dwarfs other RPGs like it. While its story about humanity finding another home can be forgettable at times, an already engaging battle system is bolstered by the dramatic quality-of-life improvements this Definitive Edition makes, resulting in an RPG unlike any other.
Xenoblade Chronicles X starts off with the human race boarding spaceships in an attempt to escape Earth after it gets caught in the crossfire of an alien war. Your ship, the White Whale, eventually crash-lands on Mira, and it falls on you to find its scattered remnants from the freshly settled city of New Los Angeles. It’s a passable story in a vacuum, but it’s also the weakest of the Xenoblade games overall. That’s partially due to its customizable silent protagonist, who is completely devoid of any personality. That blank slate means the story lacks the same emotional impact as the other games in the series.
Thankfully, the side quests really help pick up the slack, with fascinating worldbuilding and compelling character development for the rest of your party and even many NPCs. For example, as all of humanity was forced to band together in order to survive, one basic quest explores the topic of discrimination against other alien races – it offers important insight into how humans interact with those races on Mira and how friendships can be forged across racial boundaries outside of Earth.
Completing any mission increases the Affinity levels of whoever is in your party at the time, which can then unlock Heart-to-Heart events for them. These are special scenes that provide essential bits of extra backstory, similar to how Persona and The Legend of Heroes handle their bonding events. For instance, Colonel Elma’s cold personality starts to melt away as you learn more about her interest in cars and pizza, fleshing out her character and showing us a different side that the main story doesn’t.
Once a character has a high enough Affinity level, you’ll also unlock their personalized Affinity Missions, and the rewards for completing these are some of the most substantial available. The main draw is that your protagonist will learn exclusive combat skills, called Arts, that otherwise can’t be obtained by leveling up. It’s an excellent incentive to learn more about the supporting cast while also getting stronger.
Your main character may be bland, but the world is certainly not.
One standout is the engineer, Lin. Her Affinity Mission details how integral her engineering skills and passion were to the White Whale. While she would much rather sit on the sidelines, she understands that she must also fight when needed, which is why she wields a giant shield and gatling gun in battle. Personal moments with your crew like this really help balance out the fact that your bland silent hero doesn’t have any of their own.
The Definitive Edition even includes brand new recruitable characters, as well as new story content that is well worth seeing. Without going into spoilers, this content is dolled out at an even pace throughout the 50-60 hour campaign, making its inclusion feel natural while adding even more longevity to an already massive game.
While your main character may be bland, one thing that’s certainly not is the open world of Xenoblade Chronicles X. It’s divided into five regions, each with its own type of terrain. For example, the beginning area of Primordia is a lush grassland, while a later area called Cauldros feels overpowering with its lava fields. There are so many gorgeous landmarks scattered throughout Mira that keep exploration exciting, from the giant natural overpass called Arendt Bridge in Primordia to the mysterious and mechanical Leaning Ring sticking halfway out of the sand in the desert region of Oblivia.
While the only hub area for human activity is New LA, everywhere else is still absolutely filled to the brim with life. Both small and giant monsters are crawling in every direction, but what makes them stand out is that some are docile while others are hostile. The low level bee monster might attack you on sight, but that level 40 gigantic dinosaur-like creature could just walk right past you, minding its own business. Each species has its own habits and behaviors, which means you have to stay alert as you explore instead of just mindlessly meandering around like in many other open-world games. Some monsters will only show up at certain times of day, too, which you can now conveniently adjust from the menu rather than having to find and use special pods scattered throughout Mira.
What also helps is the speed at which you run. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth may be great overall, but I was constantly frustrated by how slow Cloud ran, realistic or not. In Xenoblade Chronicles X, your character runs incredibly fast in contrast. Mira’s gravity also feels like the moon’s, letting you cover long distances and even reach higher elevations with a single jump. Decisions like these make exploring Mira much smoother and less intimidating.
It’s impressive how well the world scales up with its mechs.
It’s also impressive how well the world scales up with its mechs, called Skells, which unlock once you get far enough into the story. When in your Skell, you can move even faster than running on foot, but those giant monsters that were peaceful before may now be hostile to you. That means sometimes it’s better to run to a destination instead of driving your Skell there depending on what is standing in your path. This constantly changes the dynamic between you and Mira’s environment, keeping exploration fresh.
Towards the end of the story, your Skell even gets the ability to fly, letting you reach higher altitudes and providing access to mountains you couldn’t explore at the beginning. This brings exploration to new heights, making Mira really feel like humanity’s new home as you gain the ability to go pretty much anywhere unrestricted.
Everybody was MMO fighting
Combat in the Xenoblade Chronicles series is in real-time, but it is distinct from other battle systems as it feels much more like an MMO. Both enemies and allies fight with basic auto-attacks, and you have a row of more powerful Arts to choose from at the bottom of the screen. The order you use them in is similarly important – for example, some offensive Arts can inflict Topple onto enemies, which is a status condition that causes them to fall to the ground temporarily, while others then do more damage to Toppled enemies. There’s a lot of synergy to play around with that adds quite a bit of strategy to the action.
Another unique feature is the Soul Voice. RPG characters love to call out the names of their attacks and spout quippy one-liners as they fight, and Xenoblade Chronicles actually turns that trope into a game mechanic! You and your allies will occasionally shout out specific phrases that suggest certain actions, like using an Art that inflicts a status effect (which is color coded purple) – following that suggestion will then activate a purple Soul Voice, giving you extra bonuses like making the enemy more susceptible to status effects. It’s immersive while simultaneously leaning into the genre’s more absurd elements.
While that’s all just as fun as it was in the 2015 original on Wii U, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition also adds a bevy of quality-of-life improvements. One substantial addition is the Quick Cooldown bar, which fills up over the course of battle as you use auto-attacks. By spending a portion of the bar, you can completely bypass the cooldown period of any Art and use it right away. Need extra healing and can’t wait? Use your healing Art then Quick Cooldown to save your allies from getting knocked out. The Quick Cooldown bar builds fairly slowly, so it’s important to pick the right time to use it, but it can instantly turn the tide of battle when you do.
Perhaps the biggest adjustment is that you can now conveniently change out your party members at any time, anywhere, from a separate menu. While this is a basic feature of many RPGs, the original version instead asked you to memorize where every single character was within New LA and go talk to them in order to swap them in. Sure, maybe that process was more tied to the world around you, but it was also painstaking and incredibly annoying – especially if you were out exploring, since you’d have to return to New LA to change your lineup. This single change is monumental, and quite frankly, is enough to make the Wii U version feel completely obsolete on its own.
The Definitive Edition cuts down on unnecessary grinding.
On top of that, characters not in your active party will still gain EXP now, reducing the tedium of swapping people around even further. In the Wii U version, benched members had to be brought in and leveled separately, making for some very uneven party compositions. The Definitive Edition enormously cuts down on unnecessary grinding, which is certainly appreciated.
As for customization, each party member has a specific class that can’t be changed, like Lin as a Shield Trooper, but your custom character can switch their class at will. By going down different class trees, you can level up their ranks to learn new Arts and passive abilities. That makes the protagonist feel like they belong in Fire Emblem, where characters can mix and match different skills, and it’s fun to play around and find the perfect setup that fits your playstyle.
You can also fight in your Skell, and Xenoblade Chronicles X scales its battles to them just as well as its exploration. Their overinflated stats and power make mincemeat out of smaller enemies, but they are perfect for facing off against Mira’s giants and other bosses that would otherwise crush you. Battles in your Skell play out similarly to ones on foot, except the Skell weapons you equip determine what kind of Arts you have. It’s another added layer of depth and tinkering that pleased the min-maxing part of my brain.
Aside from the quality-of-life changes listed above, the Definitive Edition boasts some nice visual improvements, too. The UI is much cleaner and the character models are sharper (as you’d hope they would be a decade later), which makes for a smoother look finally worthy of one of the best sci-fi gaming series around. With the Wii U gamepad gone, fast travel and map info have also been smartly reworked into a separate menu on a single screen, transitioning that information perfectly over to Switch. Now I no longer have to experience the neck pain issues caused by having to constantly switch between looking down at my gamepad and back up at the TV screen.
There’s also some returning multiplayer functionality in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, though I wasn’t able to test these features as the servers were not on during this review period. In the Wii U version, you could recruit the avatars of other players to tackle Squad Missions such as defeating a specific group of enemies, and online Nemesis Missions offered a satisfying way to test your endgame skills. While minor parts of an otherwise single-player heavy game, these multiplayer elements contributed to the more MMO-centric identity that makes Xenoblade Chronicles X unique, so here’s hoping they’ll have been done justice in the final version of the Definitive Edition.
It was around the time the sigil-ridden corpse hooked up to a breathing tube pooped out a slithering, smiling garden gnome, and shortly after I had to sacrifice my arms, legs, colours and voice to a bunch of hideous trees that I realised that, hang on, this isn’t my current lunchtime favourite Bracket City. This is the demo for Moroi, a top-down “dark fairytale” from Violet Saint and publishers Good Shepherd, in which you are a horrible little man in a world of talking meat grinders, plughole maggots, and clamp-faced crawling things.
