XDefiant Reviews
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.
I hope that XDefiant has a long future ahead of it. The game is good and I’m happy to have a modern arena shooter back in my life that isn’t bogged down by battle royale nonsense, too many modes, or massive installs. But only time will tell if XDefiant succeeds, or if it joins so many other games that tried and failed to compete with Call of Duty.
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 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
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
Ubisoft's free-to-play first-person arena shooter is less Call of Duty and more Overwatch, but the Snowdrop engine shines even on maps that are way too large for their purpose. Weapon grinds are sluggish, leaving players with more time in the game access to better attachments, while newcomers struggle to even leave their spawns. The lack of skill based matchmaking is being celebrated by influencers on social media, but in practice it makes for unbalanced matches where high ranking players are steamrolling beginners, even in the Welcome Playlist.
XDefiant is a confident shooter that's far more than a Call of Duty knockoff. The Tom Clancyverse crossovers are somewhat cringey, but if Ubisoft doubles down on the great gameplay, and the weird faction warfare, we'll keep coming back for months to come.
You may feel a touch of deja vu as you mow down rivals with your M16 – but although it's unoriginal, this free six-person shooter is slick and enjoyable.
XDefiant is a solid shooter that will likely scratch that arcade-y itch with its snappy gunplay, iconic map design, and fan-favourite game modes. It's the perfect multiplayer shooter to chuck on at the weekend, and we suspect it'll be home to several late-night sessions for old-school Call of Duty fans. It's not quite the breath of fresh air for the genre that The Finals is, but more like a blast from the past. Is it a CoD killer? No, but if Ubisoft can work its magic and go hell-for-leather with its multi-franchise post-launch content, then XDefiant could flourish into a regular staple of the shooter genre.
XDefiant will likely divide competitive shooter fans, as it did us here at Gaming Nexus. Fans of classic competitive shooters will find a lot to like in the Ubiverse shooter, even its take on hero abilities. But it may not go far enough in any direction to truly stand out in a crowded market.
If you're still wondering, the answer is no: XDefiant isn't the COD killer that many expected. The new free to play from Ubisoft is a good shooter, which certainly has the ability to entertain for a few hours, but which will hardly be able to impose itself on the market due to some problems related to balance and progression.
Review in Italian | Read full review
XDefiant is a solid first-person shooter featuring familiar gameplay elements as other games in the genre but with a twist, including the different factions and their unique abilities. The factions help to keep the gameplay fresh from match to match, and they're all fairly balanced in their ability, though not necessarily their application. Unfortunately, the game still suffers with weapon balancing and hit registration, as well as missing a some accessibility and quality of life options.
XDefiant is off to a good start, but to compete with the likes of Call of Duty or Overwatch, it still needs some tweaks and additional content.
XDefiant isn't a Call of Duty killer or even a close competitor. It has potential despite its many issues, but it has a long way to go before living up to it.
Ubisoft still can't land on any compelling identity for XDefiant, but it remains a genuinely exhilarating F2P shooter I wish was more active.