Within an endless expanse of clouds called Alrest, stands the World Tree, encircled by eight massive titans. The titans bodies function like "worlds", supporting all organic life in Alrest. Some of the inhabitants of the titans are able to wield living weapons called "Blades" that they use to wage war against the inhabitants of other titans over the limited living space and resources.
Rex, a salvager making a living from recovering junk below the cloud sea, finds an especially powerful Blade called the "Aegis", and enters into a symbiotic relationship with her. The Blade wishes to reach it's creator (god) in Elysium (paradise) atop the world tree. Rex agrees to bring her there.
Xenoblade 2 is a complex game that isn't the best at explaining itself. There are numerous combat systems and seemingly important story elements that are brought up and then never touched upon again, like the use of ether nets, Mythra's clairvoyance, and "Blade-Eaters"/"Flesh-Eaters". The Golden Country expansion helped to alleviate some of my lingering questions but not all of them. I was also fairly letdown by the ending. It was (highlight to read) to close to how XC1 ended and didn't make sense. Wasn't the cloud sea put in place because the world below was uninhabitable? What changed?
The narrative also develops the unfortunate routine of having the player fight the same bosses again and again, only for them to escape or have an obvious fake out death. Knowing who you will be fighting and how each fight will end is an easy way to kill enthusiasm. The number of cringe-worthy scenes present in the game tested my tolerance levels a fair bit as well. I mean, the first Xenoblade had it's share of silly moments, but it never went on endless monologues about friendship saving the day or told women to act like "blushy-crushy" maids alongside awkward shots of their chests. That said, I did have a good time with XC2, despite its hangups. The story isn't as focused or compelling as the first Xenoblade, but it still had plenty of high notes that kept me invested in the narrative.
Exploration is a major component of every title in the Xenoblade series and XC2 is no exception. Every titan is fully explorable, with their heads, tails, and various appendages clearly visible in the world around you, driving home the notion of a world that exists on the body of a living beast. Each titan also supports a different biome, ranging from pastel wetlands to toxic wastelands, along with unique weather patterns such as crystal sleet or geothermal haze. The landscapes of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 are easily one its most impressive aspects. The sheer amount of thought and originality that went into each area made exploring them quite the treat.
The world of Alrest is vast... and I do mean HUGE! More than once I thought I had reached the edge of the world, only to find that I hadn't even seen the half of it. New stretches of land were continually revealing themselves, with no shortage of interesting landmarks and alcoves. There is an amazing amount of verticality as well - trees and ladders that lead to platforms or ledges, and caves and stairs that spiral downward into the underground. There is even a "cloud tide" present on some of the titans that will come in and go out, cutting off previously accessible areas or opening up new ones. "Can I climb this?" or "Ooh, what's that over there..." were constantly running through my mind as I explored.
"Blades" or "Monados" were an important background element in the first Xenoblade Chronicles game. In Xenoblade 2 they are brought to the forefront (the lifeblood really) of the story and gameplay. For those unfamiliar with the series, Blades are anthropomorphised weapons in humanoid or animal form that are bond to a single person, called the "Driver". Blades impact almost everything about the player character, from their available skills to character class and beyond. Multiple Blades can be wielded by a single Driver, acquired from core crystals of varying rarity - common, rare, or legendary. Most of the time you'll get a generic Common Blade. They get the job done well enough, but the Rare Blades are the real prize. Rare Blades look unique, have special abilities, and posses more elaborate Affinity Charts (upgrades) than the Common Blades. They also come with exclusive side quests and Heart-to-Heart events. Additionally, their unique field skills are required to circumvent Alrest's various environmental obstacles, including some needed to progress the main plot.
Up to three Drivers, with three equipped Blades a piece, can be in the active party. The rest are kept in reserve. In battle, Drivers auto-attack as soon as they are within range of an enemy. Auto-attacks gradually fill four diamond shaped icons - three of which are for special actions called "Arts". Arts are triggered manually by the player and will result in either a direct attack, a defensive move, or a healing spell, depending upon which Art is used. Most Arts come with a secondary condition that can spawn a healing item or topple an enemy.
The fourth icon is for a "Special Attack". Specials come in four levels that are a bit like Arts, but more involved. They require the player to engage in quick time events and will deal more damage than the Driver's other attacks. Special attacks are element based. After one is triggered, a chart will pop up in the top-right corner of the UI that lists possible element combos. If an additional Special attack with the appropriate element is triggered before the current one runs out, a "Blade Combo" will activate. For example, a fire attack can be combined with water to create steam, or a wind attack can be combined with earth to create a sandstorm. Managing to trigger a third element after the combo will not only deal more damage, but it will also seal away one of the opponent's abilities.
An additional meter, called the Party Gauge, gradually fills up during regular combat and slowly depletes whenever the player is not engaged in battle. It is broken up into three segments. As soon as all three segments are full, a "Chain Attack" can be activated by pressing the + button. Each Driver in the party then gets the chance to deal a strong attack using an equipped Blade. These deal even more damage than Special attacks and can carve a massive chunk out of the enemy's health bar. The combat system and its layered, interconnected mechanics can be challenging to learn and understand. It doesn't help that the tutorials provided in-game only scratch the surface. Once you get the hang of it though, it's gratifying and rewarding.
I can see Xenoblade Chronicles 2 being an acquired taste. The blade designs are all over the place aesthetically and feature a lot sexualization not present in the first game. There are absurdly high-level beasts (level 80s in a level 10 zone) that are too easy to aggro, and quest markers almost never point the player in the correct direction because they do not account for elevation. These kinds of little annoyances will either be tolerable in light of everything else the game does right, or will be too much to put up with. Personally, I loved Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The unique setting and rewarding sense of exploration are the game's strongest elements. Combat is never punishing, just complex enough to prevent it from getting stale, which made for a relaxed experience. The overarching message the story tries to drive home isn't always clear, but it's a positive one.
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