Worlds to explore
Review: Dense, rewarding ‘Xenoblade Chronicles 2’ gives Switch a well executed RPG
As the latest entry in a longrunning role-playing series, “Xenoblade Chronicles 2’’ follows in its predecessors’ footsteps by offering a huge world to explore and a dense story to wrap your head around. That in itself is an accomplishment for a game in which most of its world is sunk underneath a sea of clouds.
“Xenoblade Chronicles 2’’ is the latest in the loosely connected “Xeno’’ series of games by developer Monolith Soft, starting almost 20 years ago with the release of “Xenogears’’ for the PlayStation. It’s the first title in the series since 2015’s “Xenoblade Chronicles X’’ for the Wii U, a game laudable for its ambition, if not always its execution.
This game takes place on the world of Alrest, which has mostly sunk due to a cataclysmic event. The people of Alrest now live on the backs of enormous floating, living beings called titans. A young boy named Rex and his battle companion Pyra are searching for a paradise Elysium among the clouds. Predictably, things go awry, sending Rex, Pyra and their friends on a titan-hopping adventure.
To explore the titans of Alrest, you will form a party of three “drivers’’ which will act as your fighters. Each “driver’’ is supplemented by a “blade,’’ who channels the energy needed for attacks. For example, Pyra can give Rex the ability to unleash fire-based attacks when serving as his blade. Most characters can As the latest entry in a long-running role-playing series, “Xenoblade Chronicles 2” follows in its predecessors’ footsteps by offering a huge world to explore and a dense story to wrap your head around.
have several blades and switch between them in battle to link up devastating elemental combos or exploit enemy weaknesses.
Sound confusing? Like “Xenoblade Chronicles X,’’ the latest game in the series throws a lot of mechanics at you quickly, and without a lot of explanation, so combat can at first seem daunting. But once you get the hang of the timing of using your battle arts, and figure out how to link combos with allies, it becomes
a fun, deep system that is challenging but rewarding.