Xenoblade Chronicles 2 [Game Review]
TL;DR
Xenoblade 2 redeems the series by having a dynamic story, great characters, lots of content (even without DLC), a great New Game+, and diverse playthroughs for every player
I did not play the DLCs, this review is just about the base-game.
[Played on a Nintendo Switch Lite]
While I tore Xenoblade Chronicles Defintive Ed a new one in this article, my tone is a lot different for Xenoblade Chronicles 2! I really enjoyed this game. They fixed a lot of the issues in the previous title. The auto-attack system is not broken on either side of the game. There is also an addition to the game, where every character in the party has the option to use "Blades" which are humanoid/living beings that are paired with a weapon that are channeled to use "Arts" and do "Blade combos"... This game has a unique story-telling, and yet it also puts forth the overall theme of Xenoblade Chronicles in general. There is a careful execution of two forces overcoming their differences, and that happens on many levels. This is not a good vs evil story, and the "bad guys" are actually relatable.
There is a "gacha-like" system with how you get Blades, aside from main-story blades or quest blades. This makes a unique playthrough for each player, and it also makes it fun to collect and 100% the game. Every Blade has their own quests and story to go alongside their quest. There are over 50 blades to obtain, and it'll keep you busy for awhile. The main story has a roughly 100 hour completion time, so this is a full-scale RPG and does stand on its own feet. The elemental system in this game isn't broken. You can battle high-level enemies (to an extent), which fixed a lot of the issues in its predecessor.
As an ex-convict, I really enjoyed that the "bad guys" aren't painted in a complete negative light. They are either just misunderstood or have resentments as well as unresolved issues with themselves. This game has an existential nature, and everyone is trying to find a reason to exist. This is a post-apocalypse story, and yet again the world takes place on top of large beings. Unlike the last game where its two giant beings (one biological and one mech), this game has multiple titans and allows for more diversity in biomes. There is also bustling life in cities and a great encapsulation of different cultures throughout the world of Alrest in Xenoblade 2.
The amount of struggles, mental anxieties and trauma that exist in all the characters gives a sense of humanity in each and every part of this game. The remnants of humanity that are lost in the Xenoblade 1 post-apocalypse story are actually in Xenoblade 2's post-apocalypse story. These games are stand-alone yet they do have dimensions that make them relate, and if you have to choose to play one of them, I really recommend Xenoblade 2. I can almost guarantee I don't ever play Xenoblade 1, however I will replay Xenoblade 2 as well as get into the DLC at some point. I think that people can learn a lot about misunderstandings, overcoming mistakes, and being fearless in the face of your past experiences from Xenoblade 2, the story, and the characters. I have never had many games make me feel so many emotions and think about existence and really delve deep into what it means to exist than the Xenoblade 2. In Xenoblade 2, I was able to learn about myself and felt like I was in another world and not just a game.
I guess another thing to be warned is that, this game has some cute/comedic nature to the characters and has some comic relief, which I didn't mind, however it does deviate from the somewhat serious (yet bland) nature of the original Xenoblade game. So anti-moe people, be warned. (even though I'd say the moe-ness is super minimal, but haters gonna hate I guess...)