Xenoblade Chronicles: A Definitive RPG
A game that masterfully balances its environment with gameplay and story
Xenoblade Chronicles (Definitive Edition) is an action RPG taking place in a world of 2 sleeping titans in an endless sea. You follow Shulk, a young man who wants revenge on the Mechon for attacking his home.
One of my favorite things about the game is the beautiful locations you encounter throughout the adventure. I can’t really describe them and do it justice, so I’m just gonna show some pictures….
The gameplay is a bit different from what you would expect from a regular RPG, your regular attacks are automatic. You select from 8 “Arts” which all have unique attributes such as debuffing, doing extra damage based on your position in relation to the enemy, among many other unique things. The combat is very easy to get into, and it becomes very satisfying when you try out different combos of party members and skills.
Random encounters do not exist. You’ll see enemies wandering the environment and you can actively avoid things if you need. Funnily, this leads to instances where you can encounter over-leveled enemies in early areas in the game. The most famous example is “Territorial Rotbart,” a large gorilla whose level is on par with the final boss of the game.
I don’t want to go in-depth on the story since I think it’s very important to go into it as spoiler-free as possible, but I highly recommend the game due to how it blends the world very well with gameplay (both in and out of combat). I can’t even begin to describe how often I’d get absorbed into exploring the world without doing specific objectives, just getting lost in the world finding new stuff. I highly recommend playing this game if “regular RPGs” aren’t your thing, but you want an interesting story with a creative world to explore.
