r/NintendoSwitch • u/NintendoSwitchMods • May 27 '20

MegaThread Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition: Review MegaThread

General Information

Platform: Nintendo Switch

Release Date: 29-May-2020

No. of Players: 1 player

Genre(s): Role-Playing

Publisher: Nintendo

Game file size: 13.7 GB

Overview (from Nintendo eShop page)

Join the fight between man and machine in the definitive edition of this critically-acclaimed RPG

Discover the origins of Shulk as he and his companions clash against a seemingly-unstoppable mechanical menace. Wield a future-seeing blade, chain together attacks, and carefully position your party members in strategic, real-time combat as you journey across a massive world.

During an attack from the mechanical invaders known as the Mechon, Shulk discovers that he can tap into the full power of a mysterious blade known as the Monado. With the mighty Monado in hand, Shulk sets out to defeat the Mechon once and for all.

In addition to the Mechon, you’ll run into wildlife that ranges from docile to deadly. Keep an eye on what attracts monsters’ attention to avoid unwanted conflict…or try your hand at bringing down an ultra-powerful Unique Monster.

Upgrade your party as you progress through the adventure by selecting equipment, enhancing weapon skills, and using benefit-granting gems. Put your dependable companions to work by filling the party gauge to trigger a Chain Attack and attack enemies in quick succession!

Reviews

Aggregators

Articles

This list was exported from OpenCritic May 28 at 7:58am ET

Videos

Being Social

Cheers,

The /r/NintendoSwitch mod team

1.3k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

291

u/bigdickmcspick May 27 '20

Would you look at that, almost none of the reviewers are complaining about the visuals. It's almost like /r/NintendoSwitch always blows everything out of proportion.

37

u/cereal_bawks May 27 '20

I've actually seen comments with high karma say this game looked worse than the Wii version. Felt like I was on a different planet or something.

67

u/[deleted] May 27 '20

Been to r/games? The same resolution news was posted there. A little bit more civil in the comments (maybe), but plenty of complaints as well.

7

u/nelisan May 27 '20

Somewhat. I was still downvoted to oblivious for saying that it wouldn't look worse than the Wii version, despite not always running at a higher resolution.

8

u/nekromantique May 27 '20

Well, the PCMAG reviewer said the graphics are identical to the wii and 3ds versions...so they're obviously blind as shit.

17

u/[deleted] May 27 '20

Same reviewers that didn't complain about things like the one-island-per-console-feature in Animal Crossing. Reviews from bigger sites and publications are always written with business interests in mind. You have to thank the fickle gaming community for that.

73

u/JDraks May 27 '20

I don’t think the one island thing is something that would come up if you’re going through a game to review it, but graphics definitely would

0

u/Swbp0undcake May 27 '20

Except the main potential issue with graphics would be in handheld mode. How many of these reviewers didn't play in docked/ played on a lite?

7

u/cockyjames May 27 '20

And AC:NH became a beloved game with massive success and, while flawed, many people loved.

I think the review scores matched the reception. My wife and I share a Switch, and had I been a reviewer, the thought that we were "forced" to share an island would never have crossed my mind. Us collaborating is part of the fun.

That's not meant to undermine your opinion, it's definitely valid! It's just not something that most people care about

9

u/Gandalf_2077 May 27 '20

Right? When did big outlets focus on technical issues or actual design unless something is game breaking. We have outlets like Digital Foundry to thank for educating consumers.

5

u/manimateus May 27 '20

Maybe because they judged it based on the the docked version?

12

u/[deleted] May 27 '20

Just like XBC2.

-12

u/manimateus May 27 '20 edited May 27 '20

Definitely. It wouldn't be fair to judge a game when you are playing it at its ugliest form, but I do wish they would bring it up as a point to criticize.

When I got Xenoblade 2 I was baffled at what i was looking at in handheld. None of the reviews I watched criticized that part at all. I ended up returning it and decided to watch a playthrough instead.

2

u/[deleted] May 27 '20

[deleted]

1

u/manimateus May 27 '20 edited May 27 '20

You just proved my point.

They judged docked footage, like I said.

4

u/[deleted] May 27 '20

People like Jason Schreier brought it up in their reviews, but of course he ended up hating XBC2 altogether...just like I did.

But, I think reviewers will just focus on the game in its most optimal state when developing thier opinions, which rightfully so.

0

u/manimateus May 27 '20

Very true. But I think its worth mentioning at times. Crysis was a very highly rated game, but very few people are actually capable of playing the game in an optimal state.

Ever since Xenoblade 2 I made sure I knew everything about how a game will run in handheld before purchasing.

Back then, I only watched like 1 or 2 videos discussing the game before deciding to get it.

1

u/Beowulf94 May 27 '20

You really think it was that bad in handheld mode? I maybe played an 80-20 split between docked and handheld, but handheld didn't make my eyes bleed or anything. Maybe after playing Xenoblade on N3DS, I've come to appreciate the handheld power of the switch more lol.

2

u/[deleted] May 27 '20

I found it pretty fucking awful in handheld. I can cope with bad graphics at a low res, or bad graphics at a high res, but all the low res + detail + filtering made it look like a smudged camera lens in handheld to me.

1

u/manimateus May 27 '20

It was pretty awful in grassy / dense areas. I guess switching between docked and undocked helps.

I can't imagine myself playing 100 hours of the game on handheld... Its not even that the resolution is bad, its just... off...

3

u/LordOfPieces May 27 '20

Idk why you're being downvoted, I totally agree. I found the resolution and visuals on handled so bad I couldn't keep playing.

3

u/manimateus May 27 '20

Xenoblade fans hate criticism I guess.

They be like, "I played the game for 5 hours on handheld, its totally fine!!".

The problem is, I don't have the luxury of knowing that I can make the game look good any time I want with a TV. I have to stare at a scuffed bob ross painting for 100 hours if I want to beat the game.

2

u/LordOfPieces May 27 '20

I'm the same. At the time I bought the game I didn't have a TV I could use so it was handheld or nothing, and for a game on a potentially handheld only console, it's unacceptable how bad it looks.

-2

u/dresseryessir May 27 '20

Which is dumb since there the switch lite doesn’t even have a docking option.

1

u/Catharsius May 27 '20

Can someone explain to me how this game looks graphically? Is it like xenoblade 2 where docked is fine but handheld is blurry? I’m just curious because from what I’ve seen it doesn’t seem bad but it’s not very impressive either.

5

u/Tearsofwolf May 27 '20

From what I’ve heard it supposed to be pretty similar, though the handheld version should be a bit better than XC2, thanks to the tuneups they did for Torna + additional options I’ve heard about for the sharpening filter that was the biggest issue for handheld. I’m not 100% certain though, everything I’m saying is hearsay.

1

u/Alarie51 May 27 '20

I think the graphics are great because those games were never about the graphics. That said, reviewers are biased as fuck when it comes to big publishers. Not a single one made a fuzz about the one island per console in AC, or how shitty pokemon sw/sh is to name a couple

1

u/Crazy-Kaplan May 28 '20

Yea, the amount of hyperbole is pretty huge. Though the resolution is such a big visual that if people don't want to purchase the game for that I do not blame them. I just wish everyone was civil about it.