Xenoblade Chronicles X review: The reward is sweeter for the struggle

Xenoblade Chronicles X operates on a massive scale in more ways than one.

After about 25 to 30 hours of solid work, Xenoblade Chronicles X finally becomes a video game. Before that point, the game exists not to be enjoyed but to rhythmically clobber you into a biomass able to be sculpted into someone capable of playing the remainder of Xenoblade Chronicles X.

X, like its predecessor, is a sort of single-player-only take on the massively multiplayer experience, enabling players to traipse among colossal, uninhibited plains full of creatures that someone, somewhere, probably wants you to kill. But while most modern MMOs will guide you through some semblance of order or direction, X's world is an undirected mishmash.

More than you can possibly comprehend

Xenoblade Chronicles X starts with your protagonist and a whole mess of other poor unfortunates having crash-landed on the planet Mira. Earth is gone thanks to a passing intergalactic war that destroyed your home world as mere collateral damage. Thankfully, a few human cities managed to depart the atmosphere in search of new, habitable worlds.

Battles in Xenoblade Chronicles X play out in real time, in the sense that you can move your character around at will. While you can use any ability you have selected for whatever class you have selected, it's often a better idea to just let the game choose for you.

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