Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition: Is the Switch 2 Upgrade Worth the DLC Price?

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition has officially arrived on the Nintendo Switch 2, bringing with it the technical overhaul fans have been waiting for. Whether you’re returning to the planet Mira or setting foot on its sprawling, alien landscapes for the first time, this new version elevates the experience with a locked 60 FPS and up to 4K resolution in docked mode. While the core gameplay remains the massive, genre-defining JRPG masterpiece we reviewed last year, the jump in performance makes this the most fluid and immersive way to experience Monolith Soft’s greatest open-world achievement. Ready to pilot your Skell through a smoother, sharper frontier? Dive in as we break down if the new Switch 2 performance boost is the upgrade your journey deserves.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Review Pros:

• Beautiful graphics and some of the best on the Switch, but saying that, it does look crisper with the Nintendo Switch 2 version DLC.
• 14.7GB download size.
• Own in-game achievements system, and they pop on screen when earned.
• The update for the Nintendo Switch 2 version allows 4 K 60 fps, so if your TV supports it, then docked, you are in for a real visual treat.
• The Nintendo Switch 2 version fully supports and reads your original Nintendo Switch version save, so don’t worry about that.
• Full Pro controller support and the definitive way to play it when docked.
• Open world RPG gameplay.
• Opening the tutorial area with ongoing pop-ups throughout, along with an in-depth help system.
• Top-notch soundtrack that just screams JRPG in every way, from the orchestral heavy ballads to the booming, almost techno bass drops, it’s always got the right song for the right situation.
• An in-depth character creation tool in order to create your perfect character.
• The story is that of a blockbuster of sorts. It starts off slow, but you soon find yourself engrossed in the turmoil, Plot twists coming in thick and fast, and some of the best action that even Michael Bay would run scared. You can play the story whenever you meet the requirements to unlock the next chapter. As you do affinity missions and learn about particular characters, it does add more depth and meaning to the story.
• Side missions are plentiful and varied. You can pick up bounties, gathering, and social requests from the jobs board. Another way to get them is to speak to members of the team and publicise in the game world.
• Affinity missions are seperate from the story and side missions, but are still just as important. You do them for specific characters, and finishing them increases your bond with them. This rewards you with better missions and more rewards, such as gear and weapons.
• Online board: Here, you can do online squad missions that grant rarer rewards. You can play with up to 4 players, and it is basically an arena boss fight with certain conditions. You get 3 retries between you and a time limit.
• Nemesis mode: Another special online-only mode. Here you can team up or go in with your AI team and take on a HUGE boss in an arena. The rewards are far greater than anywhere else, but the fight is a tough top-tier affair.
• Game rooms: Every time you boot the game up, you have a choice of 3 “rooms” to join. Solo is self-explanatory, as is friends only. The last option is the one you pick if you want to focus on doing more team-based activities and nemesis fights.
• Auto saves regularly and will always save after the mission completes, screens, and changing inventory, but the game does allow you to save when you want.
• Once in the game, there are no additional loading screens except when entering buildings or cutscenes.
• Fast loading times and a huge step up over the Wii U version amd the original Nintendo Switch version.
• Items are diamond-shaped items scattered absolutely everywhere. They respawn quickly as well. NRG is a huge deal with these, but it does make item/resource collecting a bit easier.
• Planet nodes: Once activated, it becomes a fast travel location. Another and more crucial element of these nodes is the fact that you can turn them into different node types. Whichever node you choose, you can actually create an income from it. Tether them together to boost their performance.
• Placing nodes is almost like a mini-game in itself. All of it can be done from the map whenever you like, and you pay to swap them out.
• The world you explore is absolutely huge! I mean, it makes Skyrim look like a car park in comparison. Split into five areas, each area brings different environments and enemies to the mix.
• Online has four ways to play – quick assignment, play with friends, private squad, and play in private squad.
• Special events and hourly events can kick in when playing online.
• Squads support up to four players.
• Fast travel: The only way to travel. You can fast-travel to any activated node or any other sub-level access points in particular places of interest.
• Combat is tough to learn at first. You have a bar and can pick and use any ability on it, Each one has a cooldown. It is not turn-based, and you are free to move around as you please. Add in your skills and soul voices, and you have a huge arsenal of attacks to use. The trick is to learn combos. You can command your AI teammates to do particular actions and withdraw if needed.
• Scouting: You can find other players’ NPC forms in your game world in random locations. Scouting them actually allows them to temporarily join your squad. If they are on your friend list, then they will always spawn in the same place outside the Blade HQ. In-game NPCs will stay with you until you dismiss them.
• Boss fights are frequent and every bit as epic as you would expect, and can happen in the world naturally or be part of the story.
• If you keep dying on a boss or set of enemies in the story, the game will actually allow you to lower the difficulty level. You do not get penalised, and it is only a temporary buff.
• Armour Alley is a place you can visit to buy/sell gear and items. You can put money into manufacturers to develop new gear, and even just using their weapons will level them up.
• Skells: Your mech that can transform from a steroid-ridden Gundam robot into a vehicle. You have to take a series of tests before you are allowed one. Once unlocked, you can fully customise it from the colour to the loadout. You can choose between three Skell types: Light, Medium, and heavy-duty badass boss type. If you destroy your Skell or it gets blown up, you can get a new one via insurance or pay a repair bill.
• The world is home to many secret areas, Shortcuts, and so much more. It really rewards you for exploring and going off the beaten path.
• The Mini map is powerful, showing enemies nearby and treasure. If a mission allows it, an arrow will show you where to go, with a yellow area becoming visible as you get closer to the objective.
• Treasure: You can find random treasure drops all over the land. They could be plants, Boxes, or even destroyed ships and mechs. Depending on your level, depends on whether you can scan the treasure. Scanning an item then breaks it, and they disappear.
• Blade level: This goes up with general play and doing nodes. Once levelled up, you can choose to upgrade your stats regarding treasure and node activations/scans.
• Easy mission management screen. You can have up to 20 missions stacked in your menu screen and can easily flip between them.
• Daily rewards from your division.
• Hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of playtime are contained in this epic game. The main story is only a small part of the game.
• Classes: These distinguish which weapon types you can use and also give you a pool of abilities and arts for that particular class. You can go tanky, Long-range, or a bit of both. You have sub-levels of each class, and using them levels them up and unlocks the higher tier. You can swap out classes at any point and play around with them.
• BP can be used to level up skills and arts.
• Aerial cam is like a drone, as it shoots a camera up high and lets you look around.
• Equipping gear is made somewhat easier with an “equip strongest gear” option. This, of course, leaves you open to having new weapons you may not be used to, but it is a good, quick tool nonetheless.
• UI is very well laid out and labelled for the most part.
• Daily login bonuses.
• Blade HQ is your home, and you can customise it by changing colours. You unlock new options by upgrading your Blade level.
• Full day and night cycle with different weather types. You can visit special time cabins to change the time of day yourself.
• The controls are smooth and easy to learn.
• All items and resources have rarity levels.
• Missions will have time of day and/or weather conditions tied to them.
• Handy exclamation point markers on mission objectives like monsters or pickups.
• When locking onto an enemy, you can press a button combination to swap where you are shooting, breaking off pieces, and making them weaker.
• Tipple is a big mechanic where, by doing certain amounts of damage or by weakening their legs, they will fall, and then you can do more damage for a short time.
• Handy follow ball, set a mission marker, and press this to get a clear, easy-to-follow line.
• What the game does is give you this massive world to explore, then when you think you’ve done it all, you get a skelly, and the world not only gets bigger, it feels brand new again!
• Play how you want, and it’s encouraged.
• Find a heart-to-heart mission to help improve bonds with characters.
• You can and should farm areas for resources and pickups, or kill certain monsters.
• All main and side missions can be tracked with a button press or by going into the menu to show the location of the objective.
• The game looks and plays well in both handheld and on the big screen.
• Skill rank is where you are levelling up that certain skill; you unlock new passives as you do.
• You can run away from battles, but it is difficult.
• All cutscenes and interactions can be skipped.
• Multiple-choice encounters are plentiful, and the choices you make can add to your bonds with characters.
• Swap your team members in and out and recruit new members.
• Climbing mountains is a challenge, but it is possible to scale them, and it’s kind of a puzzle and fun.
• Creatures roaming around are fantastic and give atmosphere and life to the world. You will see their level; some will attack you on sight, some will flee, and some will be docile.
• End of fight spoils can be earned.
• The landmarks are spectacular and memorable.
• I love the sheer scale and depth of it all.
• It is a very addictive game because of how much you can do and how much you can do what you want.
• Any unlocked skills will pop up on screen, as will achievements earned.
• Full in-depth manual menu with tips and tutorials.
• Add a side mission to the navigation panel to have the icons show on the screen at all times, with a distance marker, and it allows you to use the follow ball.
• Run toggle helps a lot.
• No fall damage, which is a Godsend, I tells thee, with so much verticality it’s good to know, but also dying and staying up top would be a good thing as accidents do happen.
• You and your team heal when out of combat automatically.
• Icons on the map will tell you what is in that grid; it could be treasure, tyrant-type bosses, etc.
• There is an overall survey percentage for each location, and you build it up by discovering places, finding treasures, fighting bosses, missions, etc, and you get rewards.
• It’s a game that is primarily an exploration game with combat breaks, or at least it is for me, I just love trying to uncover the map, farm materials, and resources and avoid fighting.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Review Cons:

• Storytelling/Cut scenes feel really slow in places and kind of drag on.
• Slow starter.
• The Nintendo Switch 2 update DLC is very niche and will only truly appeal to gamers looking for the full 4k60 experience.
• I found the map a bit tricky to use without the follow ball.
• No Amiibo support.
• I don’t like that you cannot use the follow ball for your own objectives or markers unless you do the navigation panel thing, which only does one at a time.
• You cannot pause the game.
• The game is completely overwhelming, especially at the begininng. You get minimal help and guidance. In fact, a lot of the game’s best parts are not even explained, and you can stumble across them.
• You feel helpless a lot, and it is common when starting out or when fighting bosses.
• Had the AI companions make stupid decisions or run into walls over and over.
• I still hate how much effort it takes to unlock chapters.
• Item management is a bit clunky, as you have to go through this menu to get to this menu to do this, then go back to do that.
• All the management stuff, like equipping and checking gear, is clunky and slow, and I tend to just ignore it until I have some downtime.
• HUD gets very busy, especially in combat with the damage numbers, elements, and buffs, etc.
• It’s hard to see the nodes and stations to uncover the map.
• Some cutscene animations look ugly and robotic.
• Online is confusing, and you never feel confident that you know how to join a game and what is expected of you.
• Mission requirements to unlock the ability to play the next chapter are not marked on the map or even marked themselves when you have finished one of them.
• Difficulty spikes happen a lot, and the biggest one I encountered was actually Chapter 9.
• Combat still feels alien despite racking up 70-plus hours. I always end up just mashing buttons and abilities. Never really get any indication or guidance on what I need to learn to improve.
• It doesn’t support touchscreen, which is crazy, especially for the map and nodes.
• You cannot jump out of the water.
• The text is very small and isnt vastly improved with the upgrade.

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Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition:

Official website.

Developer: Monolith Soft

Publisher: Nintendo

Store Links –

Nintendo