XDefiant
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for XDefiant
The fundamentals of XDefiant are good, but conflicting ideas and mechanics stop it from standing above a crowded shooter field.
It’s barely been a week since I first installed XDefiant, but I don’t think I’d miss it from my hard drive. While the gameplay at its core is fun enough, the game is barren compared to most other shooters—including the free ones—with even bare-basic modes like team deathmatch and free-for-all or features like a ping system or skill-based matchmaking nowhere to be found. Its maps are well-made, sure, but with no rank to strive for, daily missions that ask me to commit to playing ten whole matches, and very little to look forward to in the battle pass, I don’t understand why this game would gain any traction over others beyond the fact that it's free.
XDefiant is unoriginal, and its disparate styles don't quite fit together, but solid gunplay and excellent map design elevate Ubisoft's free-to-play shooter.
Ubisoft’s attempt to blend two disparate genres together backfires, creating massive balancing issues and diluting both experiences. Its lack of polish on the server side leads to outright aggravating and uneven experiences. Finally, while XDefiant is free-to-play, the fact that there’s little earn and outright unlock leaves little incentive to stick with the game beyond a couple of matches occasionally. XDefiant provides that solid, fun FPS action in small doses, but is sorely held back by a lack of focus, polish and earnable content.
Despite varied factions and excellent maps, XDefiant’s shootouts are let down by a lack of identity and sluggish weapon progression. Outside an emphasis on making skill-based matchmaking optional, the game plays like every shooter from the last decade, leaning into nostalgia over attempting a breakthrough. While technical pitfalls can be resolved with seasonal updates, XDefiant needs novelty to sustain a player base.
XDefiant feels like a niche, that knows it’s a niche, and tries to sprinkle some broad appeal on top. Just enough to draw in more than the hardcores, without risking alienating them too much. At the same time, it’s a line in the sand moment for all the FPS hardcores who are sick and tired of SBMM. On top of all that, crossing over Tom Clancy series has the appeal of mixing a bowl of potato chips from different brands that are all the same flavor. And Watch Dogs? Anyway, there’s a solid foundation here with rock-solid arena shooter mechanics. If the matchmaking experiment works out and some key adjustments are made, I can see this game sticking around for a good while.
xDefiant has some of that classic Call of Duty that many fans have been asking for years, but it also manages to add small gameplay tweaks to deliver a fresh, addictive and fun FPS experience. It falls short in terms of launch content, but Ubisoft already has its sights set to hit the bullseye.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
XDefiant is an online shooter with balance problems but still fun, solid in some aspects, and (far too) generic in others.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Industry Coverage
XDefiant Releases Final Major Content Update With Season 3
Ubisoft releases the final major content update for the soon-to-be discontinued XDefiant, with Season 3 introducing three new factions.
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Rumor: Ubisoft May Shut Down XDefiant After Season 4
A new rumor from a reliable leaker suggests that Ubisoft is considering shutting down its free-to-play shooter, XDefiant, after its fourth season.
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Ubisoft Admits XDefiant Was "Behind Expectations"
XDefiant did even worse than Ubisoft expected.
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Call of Duty Players Accuse XDefiant of Copying Modern Warfare 2 Map
Call of Duty players are taking shots at a new XDefiant map, claiming it is copying a controversial multiplayer map from Modern Warfare 2.
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