Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Reviews
You’d think that the bigger an enemy is, the harder it would fall, but because the only determining factor of difficulty is the gap between your level and theirs, there’s no sense of scale to combat. The only tactic you need is that of attrition: The longer a battle drags on, the more meters you’ll fill, and the flashier the attacks that you’ll be able to unleash, like interlinking with allies to briefly enter a more powerful form, or executing a chain attack that laboriously unleashes a series of uninterruptible commands. Your sword-sponge enemies have millions of hit points not because it makes for interesting combat, but because it stretches things out long enough to make players feel as if they’re more than cogs in the system. These flashy combos are a good way to illustrate the importance of teamwork to the plot, but in terms of gameplay, they only continue to demonstrate how overly engineered every inch of the conflict is.
Monolith Soft has gone from great Xenogears to medium in terms of plot, that in terms of gameplay of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. The triquel does not improve the ideas of the previous parts, but it adds a heap of its own problems.
Review in Russian | Read full review
I’m glad I spent a few weeks with Xenoblade Chronicles 3. The experience didn’t make me a JRPG diehard, but expanding your horizons is always good. For anyone in a similar boat, this probably isn’t the game to start with, thanks to its overlong length and a combat system that can come off as tedious to the uninitiated.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a massive JRPG with a unique story and deep combat that's tempered by all-too-familiar gameplay mechanics.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 earns a modest thumbs up. It’s undeniably huge, delivering good bang for your RPG dollar, and has some interesting ideas on its mind. It’s no Final Fantasy or Zelda, but fans of sophisticated combat and Japanese storytelling should be well served.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a double-edged sword that needs a bit more sharpening.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is easily one of the best JRPGs of 2022, even though it comes with some serious issues, which the hardware may be to blame for.
Review in Greek | Read full review
In the end, while I do have my complaints, I still had a ton of fun with Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I’ve been extremely off and on burnt out lately and I’ve started and played so many games in the last year, only to lack the drive to actually finish them. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was exactly what I needed. I jumped at the chance to review it back when it was announced and it didn’t completely disappoint me. It kept me occupied for over a month and I didn’t have my usual urge as of late to jump ship and find another game to try and get sucked into for a little while. I don’t know what I would have done this summer without Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I look forward to getting back into it to sidequest some more in the future and I’m anxious to see what comes out later, as far as DLC content is concerned. It wasn’t the perfect Xenoblade game I expected and was hoping for. Nonetheless, it was overall a wonderfully fun JRPG experience.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a fantastic new entry into the series, and it’s a game that is going to appeal to fans both old and new.
At its best, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the peak of Monolith Soft’s sterling record of RPGs. They’ve taken many criticisms of past games in stride and created a game that felt like an evolution in many respects, rather than a compromise. That said, it does end up stumbling into some of the same trappings that have held back past games, while bringing in fresh problems of its own. Xenoblade Chronicles 3, for better and for worse, puts the magic and weirdness of the Xeno series on full display.
It may be too overwhelming for some, and the length of the game may put others off. But RPG fans are going to love it and the Switch can now boast of a cracking new title in this genre.
While I've joked while playing that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was a great series of cutscenes with some fighting in between, the game gets away with its glut of cutaways because the story is quite good. Sure, people can see some of the twists coming from a mile away, but the core mystery is so intriguing and weird that you really want to keep playing to figure out just what the heck is going on.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has its fair share of rough edges, but look closer, and you'll find a world full of possibility and hope wrapped in a gripping narrative and remarkable combat.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has incredible presentation values and a rewarding combat system, but the story leaves much to be desired.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is another great entry in the long-running series. Combat is complex, but well enough explained to readily understand and feels fantastic to play with. It has interesting characters, an intriguing world and an engrossing storyline that had me always wondering what was going to happen next. Whether you're new to the series or a veteran, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is stylish, intriguing, super fun, and well worth checking out for RPG fans.
My time with Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was overwhelmingly positive. I’ve clocked a hundred hours at this stage, with the main story completed and PLENTY of side content still to go. If you want a big, meaty RPG to dedicate plenty of time, this game’s the one. But remember, soldiers only have ten years on the battlefield – and you might need that whole decade to see everything Aionios has to offer.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is filled with interesting areas to explore, heartfelt character interactions, and an engaging narrative. While having knowledge of the previous games is handy in some respects, this is by and large its own world with its own characters and self-contained narrative, so you'll be absolutely fine jumping in here. Despite its faults, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 gave me hours upon hours of entertainment that made me fall for the beautiful world of Aionios, and the soldiers that I came to know within it.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 continues the series' tradition of massive maps and intuitive combat, but this time offers a story that elevates the experience to new heights.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a satisfying conclusion to the two previous games. It's a game you devor like an exciting novel, you constantly want to come back, have more. Carried by a mature and captivating scenario, an artistic direction super effective and a refined and complex combat system, the license seems to have finally found its winning formula.
Review in French | Read full review
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 might be too frustrating for some, but its worth fighting through tedious systems for the RPG's stellar storytelling.