Monolith Soft - Tested on the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026
Correct name of the game: Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

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Xenoblade Chronicles games are usually filled with elaborate cutscenes. Hours of motion captured scenes with voice actors that rival those of great movies. And we love this here on rpg-o-mania.

Check out our reviews of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

This game is different. Very different.

When it initially came out for the WiiU console in 2014, people thought this was Xenoblade Chronicles 2. But it is a game that is seemingly unrelated to the story of Bionis and Mechonis. Unlike Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which was directly related to its predecessor.

And even if the game itself received quite some praise back then when it was released, especially since it was released on the very unsuccessful WiiU gaming console and it utilized the features of this console pretty well too, it is an oddball.

Like other Xenoblade Chronicles games, the gameplay in terms of battles is like an offline version of an MMORPG. Enemies roam around the large areas, some with higher levels, some with lower levels. When a battle commences, it is done in real time where players can choose to utilize various actions which take a certain amount of time and also have a cooldown timer.

In that regard, Xenoblade X is pretty much like its relatives.

But in terms of the storytelling, this one is different.

Earth has been destroyed. The remaining few humans board spaceships in search of new planets (Hm, Parm from Phantasy Star II anyone?). And one of these ships reaches the planet called Mira. But the humans are being attacked again by an unknown force, and their spaceship crashes down.

The huge human city attached to it falls onto the ground - and this is the base city and only hub town in the whole game, "New Los Angeles", or NLA as the people call it. From there on, the main game has 12 chapters (with a 13th one in this Definitive Edition) where each of them has a little bit of story that explains why humans have been attacked and why the people of NLA are in quite the time pressure.

However, each of the chapters is relatively short. A bit of gameplay, a bit of story. 20 Minutes, maybe.

The main story chapters are nicely done, but after they're done, you're back on your own.

How the game is meant to be played: After each story mission, there are some regular jobs (collect this, fight that) that award money, EXP and sometimes gear. And there are "green missions", which involve some story about the inhabitants of NLA or other alien specias that have some business on Mira.

Finally, there are "harmony missions" players can undertake after spending some time with the playable and collectable characters. These are voiced and have some interesting story to tell about the corresponding party member.

Speaking of party members: In this game, the players control an avatar. It is a silent protagonist with a lot of options in the character creator. But the player's avatar is not the hero of the game. It's Elma, who frees the avatar from a rescue pod. It is an unique concept - and one that confused many players who played Xenoblade 1 before or Xenoblade 2 after.

In terms of worldbuilding and storytelling, Xenoblade X is more like a true Offline-MMO (akin to Final Fantasy XIV, which has an interestingly similar quest structure oftentimes) than the other games.

And still, it is part of the greater series.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed ties the game back together in the series.

And then there is Chapter 13 - another chapter, only done for the Nintendo Switch Definitive Edition.

This chapter is massive, split in three parts, ties the game even more together with the rest of the series. And this chapter is designed similar to the other Xenoblade games, and totally different than the previous 12 chapters.

The soundtrack is a bit different than in other Xenoblade games, a bit more rocky and with a touch of wild west music. Visually, the game has been overhauled extensively for player characters compared to the WiiU version, and the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition runs at almost constant 60 FPS.

There is one more thing: Xenoblade Chronicles X paved the way for many of "The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild"'s features. The experience gained by Monolith Soft employees during the development of this game helped forging the open world of Hyrule in Breath of the Wild! It is, however, debunked that the game was actually a test mule. They even use different engines.

As an additional note: The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles X has upscaling issues when played in handheld mode. The visuals tend to warp. You can check out how that looks here - take a look at the houses in the background:

This is an issue in the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, that hasn't been fixed. Fans complain, but no word from Nintendo or Monlith up until now when or if they plan to patch this. If you don't like this, you can opt for the Nintendo Switch 1 edition. This only runs in 30 frames per second, but doesn't have the warping. It's your choice, but make sure to think about it before buying. You can't easily downgrade once you got the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.