With the continued impact of COVID-19 on the gaming industry and generally high expectations as part of the new console generation, 2022 has been an odd year. There are still big slated games to release, like God of War Ragnarok, while highly-anticipated titles like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora have cited COVID’s impact as reasons for the delay. Some games, like Hogwarts Legacy, are even dubious about delays right now.
For whatever reason, Nintendo has managed to keep up its release cycle quite well this year. Several Nintendo games have been released so far this year, with games like Splatoon 3 and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on the horizon. Nintendo’s next major title is Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and ahead of its July 29 release, reviews have poured in. And they’re great.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Reviews
Over on Metacritic, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has received 64 reviews since its embargo was lifted earlier today, July 26. Only three of those reviews are mixed; there are no negative reviews. Of these reviews, eleven of them are 100. Including those eleven, there are thirty-five reviews all higher than a 90. The combined Metacritic Score is an 89 of this writing, but may shift one way or another as more reviews pour in in the coming days.
This puts it really close to a 90. This is noteworthy because only four major video games in 2022 to-date have received a 90+ average. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has received a ton of praise, with its characters, improved combat, cutscene style, score, and more getting particular praise. Across the good reviews, it seems that a lot of the critical remarks point toward certain irregularities due to resolution or other technical issues, but nothing major. There have been no reports of any major game-breaking technical issues, for example. Many praise it as the best in the franchise and perhaps the best JRPG on the Nintendo Switch, which is saying something.
Those planning on diving into it soon should be aware that it is a major time investment, like most JPRGs. Reports suggest that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 can take players 100+ hours to beat, so this could be a make-or-break element depending on personal taste. Given the thin release schedule ahead of the fall, though, it’s likely something that’ll keep fans engaged for weeks, if not months, to come.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 releases July 29 for Nintendo Switch.
