Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Gameplay and Story|Game8 (2025)

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Gameplay and Story|Game8 (1)

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition
Release Date Gameplay & Story Review

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Gameplay

Quests Upon Quests Upon Quests Upon Quests

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Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is Monolith Soft’s once-stranded Wii U sci-fi action RPG. Initially, your customized avatar begins with a limited skill set. However, as you explore Mira’s five continents, you’ll eventually team up with eight other party members, each bringing unique abilities to battles and exploration. The combat and class system may seem slow at first, as, similar to Xenoblade Chronicles 2, players must progress through the story first to unlock the game's full deeper features. However, remember: Patience is a virtue, one that is highly rewarded in Xenoblade Chronicles X.

Quests come in all shapes and sizes, from main story quests that advance the plot to affinity quests that deepen friendships with comrades, to a whole range of side missions that reward players with in-game currency and items.

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The Follow Ball in the Definitive Edition has received a significant upgrade, making it much more useful for finding quest objectives. Originally designed in Xenoblade Chronicles X to guide players along traversable paths to destinations on the Segment Map, the Follow Ball now projects a bright red line that leads directly to mission-critical items. This new functionality greatly simplifies item-based quests.

A Combat System that Evolves with the Game

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Gameplay and Story|Game8 (4)⚫︎ Gameplay From Xenoblade Chronicles X on the Wii U

Gameplay is all about roles and responsibilities. The player’s avatar joins BLADE, a specialized task force that takes on different roles to keep humanity thriving on Mira. Whether it’s scouting out uncharted territory as a Pathfinder, seeking out towering Tyrants as a Harrier, or collecting rare resources as a Prospector, players can adopt a variety of paths that each bring their own unique rewards.

Combat in Xenoblade Chronicles X is a dynamic, real-time system where you must seamlessly use both melee and ranged weapons. Melee weapons rapidly build Tension Points (TP), essential for powerful abilities, reviving allies, and activating Overdrive. However, they draw significant enemy aggro. Conversely, ranged weapons minimize aggro and allow for you to position yourself away from enemies, but build TP at a slower pace. Once you’ve built enough TP, you can now access the Overdrive mode. This amplifies attacks and shortens cooldowns, turning players into high-powered juggernauts in combat. In the heat of intense late-game battles, players will constantly find themselves switching between weapons to maximize damage output and exploit enemy weaknesses.

You’ll also have to skillfully time your "Arts"—powerful abilities with a cooldown system that adds extra potency if you’re willing to wait just a bit longer to strike. Unique to the game’s combat system is the Soul Voice mechanic, where quick-time events (QTE) appear during battles. Successfully timing these QTEs can trigger powerful effects like increased damage, healing, or status effects for your party. There are even late-game builds that exploit this mechanic to the point where players can forgo a dedicated healer, focusing solely on damage while relying on the Soul Voice mechanic to sustain the team.

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One notable feature added to the Definitive Edition is the Quick Recast feature, which allows players to reduce the cooldown time of Arts by pressing the Y button. This action consumes a portion of a green gauge that can be replenished through auto-attacks.

Conquer Tyrants with Skell Mechs

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As you progress, you'll unlock Skells—massive, customizable mechs that enable faster travel and more combat options. Each Skell has its own fuel gauge, so you'll need to strategically manage its power for battles or long-distance travel. With these in hand, however, you can now take on Mira’s enormous Tyrants—colossal enemies scattered across the planet that possess significantly enhanced stats, akin to the minibosses or superbosses found in other RPGs.

Skell combat is a spectacle in itself, as it gives players new abilities to defend themselves and support non-Skell allies. Losing a Skell, however, doesn’t necessarily mean game over; players have a chance to salvage it in a QTE, or otherwise, it’s a trip back to NLA for repairs.

Team Up and Take on Mira

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Xenoblade Chronicles X is the only game in the series with a multiplayer feature. According to the game's eShop page, you can team up with up to 31 other players online, sharing avatars and forming squads to tackle Mira's most challenging monsters. Similar to the Wii U version, you won't directly interact with squad members while exploring the world. You'll only be able to see their avatars in various areas, ready to be recruited or called for combat support. However, you can interact with other players in real-time during online missions.

32-player squads can collaborate on Tasks, earning Reward Tickets and BLADE Medals to purchase monster parts for augments or Skell parts. Squads can also gather resources and face down massive Global Nemeses that require insane teamwork to defeat.

Transitioning from the Wii U to the Switch

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The Definitive Edition will feature substantial changes compared to the Wii U version. While the user interface changes have not yet been exhaustively detailed, recent trailers suggest that the UI has undergone a complete overhaul. In the original Wii U version, some players felt that the interface was overly cluttered, with an overwhelming amount of information displayed on the screen simultaneously. The Definitive Edition appears to address this by streamlining its presentation. Text and skill icons are now significantly easier to read, especially in handheld mode. Menu text and field notifications have also been sharpened.

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However, one aspect of the transition to the Nintendo Switch remains unclear: how the game will handle the map functionality. While the latest trailer offered a glimpse of the map’s updated visuals, it didn’t reveal how it will actually work. On the Wii U, the GamePad’s second screen was integral to the gameplay experience, serving as a dedicated hub for managing various elements. Players could use it to map out Mira, set waypoints, track missions, and manage fast travel—all without disrupting the main display. This seamless interaction with the game’s vast data was a hallmark of the original version and added significant convenience to navigating the world of Mira.

The fast-travel system, in particular, benefited immensely from the GamePad’s capabilities. Players could quickly access newly unlocked areas and teleport instantly without sifting through multiple menus. Transitioning these features to the Swtich—a single-screen system—presents a challenge. Without the GamePad’s secondary display, accessing menus and map functions may require additional taps or menu layers. On the Switch, these functions would need reworking, possibly involving additional menu layers or an entirely new way to access the map. Without the GamePad’s capabilities, the Switch version would need to creatively adapt or simplify certain systems to keep the streamlined experience that was so integral to the original.

Recommend the game to:

 ⚫︎ People who like the Xenoblade series or mech games
 ⚫︎ People who like open-world RPGs
 ⚫︎ People who like seemingly endless side missions
 ⚫︎ People who enjoy Kunihiko Tanaka’s character designs

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Story Plot

After Earth becomes collateral damage in an interstellar war, the remnants of humanity flee in massive spacecraft, hoping to find refuge somewhere in the stars. However, the White Whale, one of the last arks carrying human survivors, is attacked and crash-lands on Mira.

The story begins as the player-created protagonist is awoken from stasis by Elma, a commander from the organization BLADE, and is recruited to aid in humanity’s survival and the recovery of Lifeholds, scattered life-pods that contain the genetic essence of humanity. Their journey will take them through Mira’s breathtaking ecosystems and into conflict with the Ganglion, an alien coalition determined to eradicate all human beings.

At various points in the game, players will be given opportunities to make choices that will affect how scenes play out. Although these choices may not substantially alter the main plot, they can significantly impact how the player is viewed by the people in Mira, including their relationships with party members and NPCs.

For the Definitive Edition, Monolith Soft has added new story elements that could likely take place after the game’s main story. Similar to what they did with the first game's Definitive Edition, it is possible that Monolith Soft could even add more affinity quests and side missions that further develop the characters you’ll encounter.

Although the specifics of the new story content are still undisclosed, recent trailers have provided insights into several new features. These include the introduction of the Floating Continent as a new explorable area; the addition of a new character, Neil Nail, seen alongside two Skells whose relationship to her remains unclear; and the unveiling of a new Skell named Hraesvelg, equipped with a large katana and a unique flight form. The identity of its pilot remains unknown, but it is confirmed that they will collaborate with the protagonists and the BLADE organization.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Setting

New Los Angeles

New Los Angeles (NLA) is a strikingly ambitious city on the alien planet Mira, built from the remnants of humanity’s crashed starship, the White Whale. This colony is divided into different districts, including commercial, residential, and military areas, each reflecting the efforts of its inhabitants to establish a sense of normalcy amidst constant alien threats.

NLA serves as a central hub where players return periodically to restock supplies and get side missions. You'll also find the eight playable characters frequently going about their daily routines in the city.

Mira

Divided into five sprawling continents—Primordia, Noctilum, Oblivia, Sylvalum, and Cauldros—Mira presents an exotic environment where alien ecosystems flourish alongside daunting terrain. Primordia, for instance, greets players with lush plains, while Noctilum has a dense, bioluminescent forest that feels mystical. Sylvalum’s stark white plains feel almost otherworldly to the volcanic terrain of Cauldros. Each region is as visually entrancing as it is dangerous.

But how does one navigate such a vast world? Mira's terrain is too treacherous for foot travel, so BLADEs are equipped with powerful Skell mechs that allow players to soar through the sky and explore Mira’s most remote corners. However, caution is advised, as fearsome creatures prowl at night, especially during rain.

The Floating Continent

The Floating Continent is a brand-new area introduced in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, serving as a post-game story expansion. This landmass drifts high above Mira and is characterized by the floating islands of varying sizes connected by natural bridges and pathways.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Characters

Player Character

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Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition’s player character is a customizable avatar who embodies the player’s choices and actions within the game. Often referred to as "Rook"—short for "Rookie"— by other characters, they are a survivor of the White Whale crash on the alien planet Mira. With no recollection of their past life on Earth, they join the organization BLADE to protect humanity’s future on the hostile new world.

Elma

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Elma is the cool-headed and fiercely capable leader of the Reclaimers Division. Previously known for leading the "Skelleton Crew" in training Earth’s heaviest combat units, Elma is every bit the disciplined powerhouse: she’s a Full Metal Jaguar, deftly dual-wielding swords and guns with unyielding precision. And while she’s all business on the surface, Elma’s steel-willed commitment to humanity’s survival might just make her one of the most layered characters in the game.

Lin Lee Koo

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Lin Lee Koo packs an impressive punch despite her age. As the resident engineer of BLADE’s Outfitters Division, Lin is all about creating and upgrading Skells. She joins up with Elma and the player character early on and quickly proved her mettle with both her Shield Trooper class combat skills and her knack for tech. She often finds herself at odds with Tatsu, a supporting Nopon character who assists the main cast on their journey.

Lao Huang

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Lao Huang is the kind of battle-scarred soldier who’s seen it all yet still charges forward with conviction. Once a comrade-in-arms with Doug—another playable character—back in their U.S. Army days, Lao is now the leader of the Pathfinder Team Belisarda. Wielding both a javelin and sniper rifle as a Partisan Eagle, Lao strikes from afar and closes in for the kill with precision. His bond with Lin goes deeper than most, born from shared traumas and unspoken understandings.

Judging by the brief snippet showcased in the Definitive Edition's trailer, Lao is poised to have a more significant role in the new story content of the game.

Neil Nail

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Little is known about Neil Nail beyond her likely importance to the new post-game story content centered on the Floating Continent. Based on visual cues from trailers, she appears to be a female member of the Qlurian race, one of the alien species inhabiting Mira. Her concept art was previously included in the art book Xenoblade X The Secret File: Art of Mira, released back in 2015.

The Year 2054 trailer shows her alongside two Skells bearing her name, Neilnail Albus and Neilnail Furvus. These Skells were encountered as mission bosses in the original game, but Neil Nail’s relationship to them is currently unclear.

Is Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Multiplayer?

Yes, for up to 32 people online.

According to the game’s Nintendo eShop page, cooperative online play is supported for up to 32 players. Players can form Squads to undertake challenging missions and Tasks.

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Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Product Information

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Gameplay and Story|Game8 (19)
Title XENOBLADE CHRONICLES X: DEFINITIVE EDITION
Release Date March 20, 2025
Developer Monolith Soft
Publisher Nintendo
Supported Platforms Nintendo Switch
Genre Action, Adventure, RPG
Number of Players 1-32 (Online Co-Op)
Rating ESRB Teen
Official Website Monolith Soft Official Website

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L A R OpalecLloyd grew up bonding with his big brother over video games. While RPGs like Disco Elysium and Final Fantasy IX hold a special place in his heart, he's always up to try new genres.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Gameplay and Story|Game8 (2025)

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