Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition review for Nintendo Switch

System: Switch
Release date: March 20, 2025
Developer: Monolith Soft
Publisher: Nintendo

The Xenoblade Chronicles series has had a fantastic resurgence on Nintendo Switch. What was once a singular underrated JRPG on Wii is now a complete trilogy with critical acclaim and even Super Smash Bros. representatives. Xenoblade Chronicles X is the only game in the series that isn’t part of the numbered trilogy, so it’s often seen as the odd one out. For the longest time, fans weren’t sure if we’d ever see the game again – but Monolith Soft has cooked up an excellent remaster and it’s one absolutely packed to the brim with content. If you’ve never played a Xenoblade Chronicles game and are looking to get into the series for the first time, this is a good place to start – for the most part, Xenoblade Chronicles X is unconnected to the other games in the series.

The most important thing to know about Xenoblade Chronicles X is that it doesn’t really feel like your traditional Xenoblade game. Whereas the numbered entries take place in fantasy worlds with a sprinkle of science fiction, Xenoblade Chronicles X is the reverse – science fiction with a sprinkle of fantasy elements. The story begins with an alien war between two factions, which winds up destroying the Earth and forcing humanity to leave the planet in search of new worlds. Most of the ships leaving Earth are shot down and destroyed, but one of them, the White Whale, makes it out safely. A few months later, those same aliens track down the White Whale and attack it, causing it to crash-land on the nearby planet Mira. You can already tell where the science fiction comes into play: Xenoblade X has aliens, super-advanced technology, futuristic town aesthetics, and more. And it’s a great contrast to planet Mira, a vast land full of overgrown wilderness and dangerous indigenous creatures. At the beginning of the game, you’re able to create your own custom character using pre-made parts and voice options, and this avatar becomes your main playable character for the rest of the game (though you can play as any character in your party – you just can’t take your avatar out of the squad).

Where Xenoblade Chronicles X truly differs from the numbered entries is its gameplay. Those titles are story-driven with frequent cutscenes and character development throughout. That’s not quite the case here given the much higher emphasis on exploration and clearing side quests and missions. Planet Mira is absolutely huge with several giant sub-areas to explore full of treasure, enemies, secret locations, and much more. It’s easy to lose yourself in the vast world and spend hours and hours exploring – and that’s exactly what the game wants you to do. The narrative is fairly sparse; basically, there are story missions here and there, but between those you’re required to take on side quests and install map probes around Mira. This leaves big gaps of downtime between story missions where you’re encouraged to take your time and explore. That’s a big part of Xenoblade Chronicles X – taking your time. The game’s pace is fairly slow, so if you’re looking to speed to the end to see the new story content that won’t be so easy. But when you do slow down and follow the experience at its defined pace, Xenoblade X is satisfying – you’ll slowly grow stronger over time, accumulating more and more rewards and equipment and slowly but surely becoming accustomed to the mechanics.

For the most part, exploration in Xenoblade Chronicles X is great fun. The game’s enemies, however, pose a big threat. Leveling up is quite slow, and the overworld is littered with monsters at a much higher level than you. That means you’ll sometimes be fighting enemies at your level, only for one of your party members’ attacks to accidentally tap a giant beast and provoke them into attacking you. At this point, about all you can do is run away or get knocked out. To add to this, many locations you need to visit for early and mid-game story missions are full of super-powerful enemies you couldn’t possibly defeat. This often turns exploration into a stealth game, and in some cases, it’s not always possible to visit areas you think you need to access. To an extent, this is true in the other Xenoblade Chronicles games, too – but in those games, the super-strong monsters are all absolutely gigantic and they’re also much less common. Overleveled enemies are everywhere in Xenoblade Chronicles X, which does hurt exploration – but it does, at least, make it more satisfying when you’re finally a higher level than them and can take them down.

Exploration is taken up a huge notch once you’re able to get a Skell. On foot, there are tons of areas you just can’t reach no matter how hard you try. But once you’ve got a Skell, you can fly around and explore however you like with almost no restrictions – not to mention that the aforementioned issue of super-powered enemies becomes much less of a problem when you can simply fly over their field of view. The MMO-like combat is also involved and deep for those willing to learn it – there are plenty of classes to choose from, so you’re bound to find a play style that works for you.

As usual, Monolith Soft’s technical wizardry is on full display here. Even in handheld mode, Xenoblade Chronicles X runs incredibly well. The picture looks sharp and crisp, plus the game runs at a consistent 30 frames per second. In our dozens of hours of playing, the game almost never dropped frames – except for small hiccups when you’re playing as a Skell, but even those aren’t a deal-breaker by any means. This game’s performance is incredibly impressive, especially given how good the game looks. The graphics have received a noticeable overhaul from the original release. Generally speaking, the colors are much brighter and aren’t as washed out as they were in the Wii U version. More importantly though, characters’ faces look much better. They’ve been brought in line with the more anime-styled faces in the other Xenoblade Chronicles games – but at the same time, they have much more detail than in the original.

It’s hard to overstate how much of an improvement Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is over its original. It looks better, plays better, and there are so many quality-of-life changes that make the game easier to play. I didn’t play the Wii U title, and going back to check what’s changed reveals just how many improvements there really are. Definitive Edition’s text is bigger, you don’t need field skills to open most treasure containers, there are no BLADE levels – and the list goes on. This is absolutely the best way to play Xenoblade Chronicles X, and it feels so much more modern with all of these quality-of-life adjustments on board. There’s also new story content that wraps up the story of the original Xenoblade Chronicles X, which ended on a cliffhanger of sorts. It doesn’t last much longer and probably could have been extended into a full sequel, but it’s a wonder we got this extra story content at all. And even if it is a little on the short side, it’s a welcome addition alongside the aforementioned quality-of-life changes.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition may not be objectively perfect, but it’s the perfect game for players who love exploring at their own pace. Planet Mira is a huge, thrilling world to journey through, and planting probes and filling out your map makes for an incredibly satisfying gameplay loop. Xenoblade Chronicles X doesn’t have the same story-driven approach that the other entries in the series do, but it makes up for it with its emphasis on exploration. This is an excellent JRPG, and it’s a fantastic way to spend the next few weeks as we wait for more news on Nintendo Switch 2. Also, with every Xenoblade Chronicles game available on the console, it’s a better time than ever to get into one of Nintendo’s absolute best video game franchises. We can’t wait to see where things go from here.