The Definitive Edition expands on this with new characters and additional story content, painting more texture onto the world. New playable companions like Qlurian Neilnail and Liesel bring fresh abilities and combat options to an already diverse roster. Lore surrounding the Ghosts, one of the game’s largest mysteries, is given more attention through new missions that shed light on their true nature. While not everything is romantic, several characters have added affinity quests/dialogue as well as new side quests, building stronger relationships and giving them more meaningful roles in the overarching narrative.

While these additions make the world of Xenoblade Chronicles X even richer, they don’t drastically alter the experience. The game still leaves many questions unanswered (because what’s a Xenoblade game without a few lingering mysteries?), and the extra content, while appreciated, feels like a small drop in an already massive ocean. For newcomers, the sheer complexity of the game remains unchanged and you may have trouble making sense of the world. For returning fans, the added depth is a nice touch and you may find value in learning more about the world than before, but it’s not a game-changer by any means.

One of Xenoblade Chronicles X’s biggest hooks is the Skells. These giant, pilotable mechs completely change how you explore and fight. The Definitive Edition introduces the Hraesvelg Skell, a high-performance model with stronger stats and better fuel efficiency. These Skells let you soar over cliffs, take on massive monsters, and crush enemies with powerful weaponry. While they don’t become available until many hours into the game, I don’t care, I love it and the wait is worth it because once you unlock your own Skell, the experience is transformed.

Another major improvement in the Definitive Edition is the revamped map system. In the original, you had to use the Wii U GamePad to access the world map, a cool idea that turned out to be impractical. Now, you can pull up the map on your screen, which makes it more intuitive, but admittedly it’s still death by menus. It can be confusing with so much clicking around to change items between party members or looking at the map and selecting the right version to see resources or mission points. It takes a bit of time to get a handle on the menus.

Don’t get me wrong, there are great quality-of-life changes here. The original UI was a cluttered mess, throwing way too much information at you mid-battle. Now, the combat interface is clearer, larger, and much easier to follow. Other improvements to quest tracking as well as smaller details like the ability to mark key collectibles make the experience that much easier to enjoy. At the end of the day, that attention wasn’t given to menu navigation and there are still improvements that can be made.

The minute-to-minute gameplay is very reminiscent of an old-school MMO with this fluctuating difficulty, fetch quests, hunting down a set number of enemies, and grinding for drops just to move forward. While this loop can be enjoyable when you’re first exploring Mira’s stunning landscapes, it quickly becomes a constant repeat, especially without the social element of playing alongside real-life friends. The game features online functionality, but we could not test it pre-release, leaving the core experience feeling somewhat hollow.

The class system in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is a playground for customising your playstyle. Kick things off as a Drifter, armed with knives and assault rifles, and once you hit rank 10 the adventure truly begins. You can branch out into Striker, Commando, or Enforcer and continue through new classes from there. The real magic lies in the fact that mastering a class unlocks its weapon arts, letting you mix and match skills across any class. It’s a system that rewards experimentation and strategic choices, making it a fun, dynamic challenge, even if it might feel like a puzzle for newcomers.

One of the most unique aspects of combat is the Soul Voice system. Instead of a traditional healing mechanic, your AI-controlled allies will shout out requests (“Use a melee attack!”, “Inflict Break!”), and if you follow their instructions correctly, you’ll trigger buffs and healing effects. This adds a fun, reactive element to battles, but it also means healing isn’t entirely in your control, which can make encounters feel a bit unpredictable.

However, while the Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition improves visual fidelity, it still struggles in performance. Texture pop-in is no better with objects, especially enemies and NPCS, continuing to blink into existence at close range, breaking immersion in an otherwise stunning world. Given Monolith Soft’s extensive back-to-back support work on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, which handled massive open-world exploration far more smoothly on the same hardware and the former being a launch title, it’s disappointing that Xenoblade Chronicles X couldn’t overcome these issues. The improved draw distance helps, but it’s not enough to fully eliminate the distracting pop-in.

On the audio side, I think about Hiroyuki Sawano’s score all the time because it is as grand and cinematic as ever, blending orchestral swells with electronic beats and intense vocal tracks. The energy of these anthems elevates both quiet moments and high-stakes battles, making Mira feel like an alien world full of wonder and danger. However, the Definitive Edition hasn’t fully resolved the original game’s biggest musical issue: inconsistent track placement. Some songs, while excellent on their own, don’t always match the tone of a given scene, leading to occasional moments where the music feels out of sync with the gameplay or narrative. At the end of the day though, it’s undeniably an iconic score for the series.