Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Review - Slant Magazine

"The highly anticipated sequel to one of the Wii's biggest sleeper hits is one of the year's most overindulgent RPGs"

[FullmetalRoyale]

It must suck having to play a game as lengthy as this when you aren’t enjoying yourself.
XC2 is the first game I’ve played in the franchise, and I’m realy digging it so far.

[Deathdeliverer]

Me too. It seems like it might get grindy as hell at some point but I play Disgaea. Not a lot of stuff more grindy than that.

[mikeslemonade]

lol reviewers finally realizing that they have Nintendo glasses and now they are taking them off.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Exactly this is why I never pay attention to reviews

let's be honest if you like jrpgs you don't need anyone to tell you whether you believe it's going to be fun or not. Some of the best jrpgs I have ever played have been poorly reviewed. I'm not entirely sure if this is directly connected to the game that released on the Wii but I'm pretty sure almost all of their games are not direct sequels but spiritual successors but I could be wrong.

[Prince_TFK]

I really love this game and it really doesn’t deserve score this low. However, Slant is a magazine that give very low score to many other great game. That has always been their agenda.

[badz149]

being "grindy" is a bit of curse nowadays. and then we have publishers like EA and WB who introduced MT to shorten the grinding and then they get a flak for it for doing it wrong. I wonder how will the internet react if the introduce MT in XC2 too because main complaints from the reviews are it's "grindy" or "dragging"

[Movefasta1993]

Between botw and xeno ,xeno is the best switch game I have,the story is engaging,the gameplay has a lot of depth. The performance issues hold it back,they should patch it

[notachance]

yeah tbh I enjoy this a lot more than BotW..

the first 10 hours or so of BotW is real good..
but after that the enemy type is just copy pasted,
the novelty of runes wearing off after couple of uses,
the exact same plot for the 4 divine beasts
boring sidequests

it's a strong 9, but the flaws are obviously there... Nintendo filter definitely plays a large role in ignoring those obvious flaw which would be a deduction in other games.

now, objectively, XC2 has more flaws than BotW, handheld mode graphic is a let down, damage-sponge enemies that makes you feel like fighting bosses all the time, anime-like narration that feels cringey at times
but it's more enjoyable to me, the story is amazing, superior music and world design, characters that you actually care about, sidequests with real plot, battle with a lot of depth and customization..

[Jaypi03]

@Notachance, honestly, for me it's an 8 or a 7, for the reason you pointed out, with the addition of the weapon breakage, and rain making you slip after long climbs. I know it's Zelda, but as a long time Zelda fan it took a lot of what I like about Zelda and scrapped it, and added a lot of other things that didn't work all that well.

Like the open world is indeed impressive, but i would've liked a still living Hyrule, the game makes me feel like all of the most interesting things that happened took place 100 years before we even get to play the game.

[_-EDMIX-_]

I just feel the reasons I liked playing Zelda just don't exist in breath of the wild as they no longer have dungeons in the traditional manner.

After beating it I just don't see me ever playing that game again compared to the previous Zelda games.

But Xenoblade very much stays true to the concept of the previous Xenoblade games. At least if I buy that I still know what to expect and know that the team is going to offer an experience that is on par with the others in the series.

@j-pi-absolutely agreed I put breath of the wild around seven or an eight.

I just couldn't get used to that you were no longer able to roll and they removed the hookshot on top of removing the dungeons I just felt it was way too much of a departure from the traditional Zelda games and I actually just want a traditional Zelda game as opposed to what they did.

Just give me a series of dungeons an actual modest open world as opposed to all the waste of space they did some items and let me roll and I'll be okay. I honestly can't even put this Zelda in my top 5 favorite Zelda games.

I literally regret playing Zelda breath of the wild instead of Persona 5. I felt my 70 hours probably would have been better on Persona 5 as it stays true to the Persona concept way more than Zelda stays true to the Zelda concept.

So for me it's probably always going to be Twilight Princess
Ocarina of Time
Wind Waker
Link Between Worlds
Link to the Past remake

If they make another top down Zelda I'm buying it day one but I'm not too sure I want to play the 3D ones anymore if they're going to go towards this direction. No issue if anybody liked breath of the wild but I just couldn't take all of the changes and just felt this was in Zelda anymore. I t was a Assassin's Creed clone basically

[FullmetalRoyale]

I agree. I really like the main character as well. The presentation of the game is really good, and I like how they set up the different chapters.
* *Mild spoilers for the first five or so hours**
I really like how he outsmarted that Blade/Driver with the water tower, with your other party members holding them back. Very cool moment.

[_-EDMIX-_]

I would say after beating breath of the wild I'm actually more interested in playing this game then my experience with breath of the Wild.

I'm not sure when I'm going to pick up a Nintendo switch but when I do this is looking like one of the titles I'm going to pick up. I own a few good RPGs on the Wii so I'm thinking about picking up the first game used or borrowing it from a friend.

[tontontam0]

Lol reviewers hates this game because it takes a long time to finish and a lot of exploration to put out an acceptable review.

They like short games because they can put out their review right away and start earning money from it.

For games like xenoblade its like their doing extra shifts with no extra pay. haha

[bluefox755]

Persona 5 didn't seem to have that problem. Maybe they just didn't like the game as much as you? That's okay too, ya know.

[Theknightofnights]

I was pulling up a Persona 5 review to show you how there were some low outlier scores (like 6.5 out of 10). Something I think is funny is that you were in the comments. You even said the website was just trying to generate clicks.

http://n4g.com/news/2084409...

How hypocritical.

Edit: It looks like you did the same thing on the Horizon USGamer review that was low: http://n4g.com/news/2021369...

It seems like you think websites are just trying to generate clicks when the word "Playstation" is involved and they give a low review, but if it's "Nintendo" or "Xbox" the reviewer just "didn't like the game".

[tontontam0]

Lol your comment is way off.

Of course persona 5 did'nt have that problem, the exploration part in persona 5 is a randomly generated dungeon with clear level progression.

Same jrpg, but 2 very different game no point in comparing them.

[Prince_TFK]

For low score, when it is a ps4 game, you say the site just want click. When it is a switch game, you say it is justified. Lmao bluefox.

[balance2theforce]

Man, shut your phony ass up and maybe stop being such a hypocrite . We see you whining about "clickbait" quite often around here whenever anything with a playstation logo emblazonedon on it gets criticized or rated poorly. Yet you're here now wanting to chirp about respecting every opinion. So how about you start practicing what you disingenuously preach first?

Edit: LMAO damn, I just saw theknightofnights post and saw that you have already been exposed. And that there are more than a couple of others who have seen through your bullshit. 🤣🤣

[Prince_TFK]

Lmao where is bluefox. He got exposed with his pants down. If he see this I wonder what he gonna say.

[cuddleberries]

Bluefox, this guy just burned you, are you just gonna take it????

[gangsta_red]

Wow, bluefox, I am curious to hear your reply and what justifies a clickbait review and a review that just didn't like the game.

[Kribwalker]

Wow #exposed

[Gazondaily]

Haha oh dear bluefox....where are you brah???

[deadfrag]

To many technical flaws,framerate is very very bad at times and for me this game was released unfinished and unpolished to met a release date.Frankly i was not expecting such an unpolished release from Nintendo.The score is about right.

[InKnight7s]

Seems to me its even to pre Assasin Creed Origins games.

[rocketpanda]

Relax, it isn't hating a game. I don't get why people think reviewers tend to "hate" a game some gamers are enjoying because it didn't review favourably or align with your thoughts on the game. It is ok for people to not like a popular AAA game.

[_-EDMIX-_]

I don't actually really think that's the problem I mean you have to consider The Witcher 3 or Persona 5 or other long RPGs.

If the quality of the quest is very high they're not really going to have a problem I want you to also consider how Dragon Age Inquisition was reviewed one of the biggest issues was the game was long but not because of delays but because of the quality of the numerous redundant side quest.

It's not simply about the length objectively it's actually how they feel about the content they're playing in the first place.

I'm not saying this game is bad but just as an example I want you to consider if you played something you consider the worst game in the world but it really makes sense. This really terrible game is also 100 hours of just a bad experience?

So I think that should be taken into consideration. But I actually feel that they dislike this game maybe because they just don't play Japanese RPGs in the first place so I feel that many times there's no point to ever read reviews like this if you already know you like jrpgs.

[kevnb]

It’s hard to take a 4/10 seriously...

[Shiken]

Its hard to take Slant seriously at all...

[vergilxx3]

Why because it's Nintendo ?

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

No, because a 4-10 on a game that is so obviously not broken by any measure is a ridiculous score to anyone without a bias against Nintendo in general.
Speaking of which, why are YOU here?

[Theknightofnights]

Yes, let's pretend that Nintendo is the only company that has a fanbase that doesn't take outlier negative reviews seriously about games they enjoy.

It's not like there are other fanbases that do that. No sir: http://n4g.com/news/2021369...

[Prince_TFK]

Because the game deserves more than that even if it is not a Nintendo game and because Slant is known to give low score to great games.

[vergilxx3]

wonderfulmonkey

Where else should i be ?

Thekinghtofnights

i don't care about horizon reviews i don't have ps4 , i play only on handhelds switch , vita ,ect
while i heavily support Nintendo with the switch "believe it or not a already spend a ton of money on it "
I just don't defend most of their bad decisions such as

-No media apps on switch
-No VC
-No Web browser
-No music player
-No cloud saving
-Vey poor online
-lack of chat app

I don't wear pink glasses like everybody else on here and believe it or not i actually want them to improve their product instead of giving it a free pass for the lack of basic stuff

But it's ok it's Nintendo

And i bet to you game that drop resolution to 375p and frames 1o 15fps is a 10/10

Now some good

I think that bringing Bayonetta 1&2 + 3 as a exclusive is the best move they pulled since day 1 and it's a day one for me

[Perjoss]

Some outlets use controversy to get noticed, specially if they don't really have any other way to do so, like if their writing is boring and they never bother to make any original or inspiring articles, only articles that are reporting on negative stuff for shock value.

[Theknightofnights]

@vergil

I don't think you understood my reply. My reply wasn't about Horizon, my reply was in regards to people not taking reviews seriously. When there are outlier review scores such as this one it's pretty typical for there to be people that don't take the review seriously. It isn't "because it's Nintendo" it's because the review is a complete outlier.

Had the game received more 4/10 scores than 8/10 or 9/10 people would be taking this review more seriously.

Also, you play mostly handhelds consoles and are criticizing the Switch on it's resolution? Seriously? The 3DS and Vita couldn't hit the resolutions the Switch can and a lot of their games didn't max out their pixel density either.

[bluefox755]

Maybe they just didn't like it? It's okay for you to like a game, and to have someone else not like it.

[kevnb]

4/10 is a score a broken game would get, not simply a game you don’t care for.

[Razzer]

I disagree. 5 is average. 4 would be poor.

[ShiftyShifts]

This is the shit I talk about, I say XC2 is incredibly underrated and I get people coming at me with how "stupid" I am for saying "underrated" when it is getting good scores. The thing is the game is great. I am sorry if people have forgot what turn based JRPGS are. This is like a Call of Duty player playing Civilization and then rating it a 2 because there are no kill streaks. I played this and Persona 5 this year, and I loved Persona 5, but XC2 is the better game of the two.

[Lighter9]

I played the first one and what pissed me off is I would run away from a fight to where I couldn't see the enemy anymore and still take damage and die. Eff that.

[Jinger]

This isn't turn based though

[ShiftyShifts]

it absolutely is. Just because you can change positioning doesn't make it an action rpg. It is absolutely turn based.

[Jinger]

@shifty

Lol no it's not.

[Kaii]

This gets 2 stars while Knack 2 gets 3 :>
Though to be serious, only reason why I've not bought this yet Is the reported performance issues, on the review itself, different strokes for different folks.

Perhaps he could've scored 3.5/5 to be "fair"
His response, I write reviews to express my perspective.
I have been playing Japanese RPGs for more than 25 years. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 doesn't come close to measuring up to the best for the reasons I stated in the review.

[TheOptimist]

Don't get why these reviewers say "I have been playing so and so games for so and so years".....
Quality over quantity is something these reviewers don't understand.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Because we need to know if this is based on him not playing JRPG much or simply because he has played enough to warrant this one being sub pair. Trust me, it matters.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Nothing wrong with that.

They are entitled to their opinions.

[Lovable]

Guess this reviewer got the ninty BS shield resistance! Kek

[Prince_TFK]

Oh you are so funny. I wish I could be as funny as you.

[Asuka]

Playing it right now. Only a few hours in, and only been playing via handheld. Graphics are very sub 720p... Maybe even sub 520p. But the game is very fun. Just going by my handheld experience it is a solid 7/10 only because visually the images are not very crisp. I imagine when I get home to play in docked mode it'll look much better and which case I would rate it higher, personally.

Either case a 4/10 this game is not...

[addictedtochaos]

Can’t help but notice that this story was submitted by DigitalCentralMedia, the same site that also gave it a bad review (as well as a horribly written review).

[Outlawzz]

Clickbait, carry on .....

[higgins78]

Great, another clickbait/troll 'review'.

[Segata]

Troll review. I've sunk 50 hours in it so far and it's darn good.

[sk8ofmnd]

Yeah these low scores and complaints made by non nintendo fanboys make this game seem very weak

[Ikenda]

Hey Slant a -4 score could score you more clicks... Why don't you try it next time? Also learn the difference between a bad RPG like Risen that gets 4rs from everybody and a complex JRPG that gets a 4 from you and 7s and 8s from evebody else. Why don't you try to use common sense for the latter. Best teacher out there... Oh and you didn't got my click, i know very well by now that your reviews worth a -4...

[Razzer]

I’d give the game a 6. It is ok, but not great. The navigation is horrible though.

[CrystalFantasy]

If this wasn't a Switch game then nobody would give a shit about it. Because it's Nintendo, this mediocre rpg gets this fake praise and hype. Don't reply.

[Asuka]

... reply

[Prince_TFK]

You make shitty fanboy comment and then ask people to not reply. Are you not confident in what you have said? Or are you afraid that people call you a Sony fanboy?

[MadLad]

Oh fuck off lol

[zodiac909]

ANY RPG fan could see that this reviewer is a joke.

[JonnyBeoulve]

I can see where he's coming from. I can't get into cheerful anime style games like this anymore. I wish I could, because I know the gameplay is great. I like more serious tones like FF Tactics, though.

[Sirk7x]

It's pretty much a game for anime fans and jrpg enthusiasts. I absolutely love it, and think Monolith are some of the best world builders and artists in the business. I can't blame anyone for hating it though. It's very, very Japanese.

[cuddleberries]

I want slant magazine to suffer the wrath

[guywazeldatatt]

This is a ridiculous review. If it came out earlier it could have been a GOTY contender.

[Dowie]

I really tried to like this game. I tried for 15 hours and tried to excuse everything that was putting me off but I can't play it anymore.

The exploration is fucking miserable. You end up running around like an asshole going the wrong way several times until you finally find the ONE right way to go.

The enemies are frustrating, you can be happily fighting a group of enemies and then suddenly another group of enemies will be aggro'd tthen you're doomed. The worst part is when an enemy gets low enough that he runs off and puills another group towards you. There's probably a way later in the game to stop this but this early there isn't. You can't pull him back, stop him or even kill him quick enough to prevent him getting more enemies involved.

The characters range from passable to downright terrible. Seriously, there isn't one character I find that memorable or good.

The game just acts like a mess sometimes, the amount of stupid shit that just happens is unreal. I remember early in the game when you're with the original group, I fell through a hole but aggro'd an enemy at the same time. I managed to run back up to continue the fight but my AI didn't follow me! I just died and had to start from the beginning of the area again. Ally AI is just retarded in this game. If there's poisonous water in the area, they will happily stand there and die making some areas impossible to fight in.

Don't get me wrong, this game isn't all bad. The reason I tolerated it for so long is because it does have some good qualities like the battle system. However, this isn't enough to make up for the terrible characters, weak story, frustrating exploration and broken mechanics. This game deserves a 4/10. It's barely playable.