Just two more days until Xenoblade Chronicles X arrives on Switch. Well, actually, in 15 minutes (as I type this sentence), it will technically be "Xenoblade Chronicles X is out tomorrow".
I am, if it was not already clear, really looking forward to diving back into this wonderful game. I am a little concerned it's going to get lost in the rush of other stuff that's coming out this week — most notably the new Assassin's Creed game, which, after a lot of people tutting and clicking their tongue at Ubisoft for the last few years, everyone seems to be all over, regardless.
One doesn't have to cannibalise the other, of course. I have zero interest in Assassin's Creed, but am eagerly awaiting Xenoblade Chronicles X, and I'm sure I'm not the only one in the same position. My concern is that the people with the loud voices and the column inches to spare will concentrate entirely on Assassin's Creed and not give Xenoblade more that a cursory look. And that will be a great shame indeed.
But rather than moaning about it, I am going to do what I do best: hyperfixate on it for an indefinite period of time, and write extensively about it over on MoeGamer. That's right, I'm essentially resurrecting the "Cover Game" feature, though I don't know if it's going to be a fixture. I certainly am going to give Xenoblade Chronicles X the multi-article treatment, though, taking a look at its mechanics, narrative, setting, worldbuilding, aesthetics, music and all manner of other good stuff in a frankly obsessive amount of detail. Because, dammit, it deserves it.
My whole thinking behind the Cover Game feature on MoeGamer when I first started it was that I wanted to give niche-interest games the same level of blanket coverage that big-name triple-A stuff gets. And, while I've covered a few games that some might argue were triple-A in and of themselves — most notably Final Fantasy XV — I stuck to that philosophy, without clickbaiting and without resorting to a million pieces of "guide content" to juice up the SEO.
It's been a long time since I've done that over on MoeGamer, primarily because when I was in my prime of doing it, I was working an incredibly boring job that afforded me an extraordinary amount of time to doss off during the daytime without anyone noticing. So rather than just sitting around being bored, I used that time to write. And I wrote a lot.
Today, my day job is more actively involving, and I'm busy pretty much every day, so any kind of writing has to be done in my free time. I don't begrudge myself that time, to be clear, but it does mean time I would otherwise be spending researching what to write about has to be taken up… doing the actual writing, y'know.
Anyway. Xenoblade Chronicles X is worth it. It's a spectacular game. If you've never come across it before, it, for me, remains the benchmark "lost on an alien planet simulator", even beating out far more sprawling affairs such as No Man's Sky and Elite Dangerous. These games aren't directly comparable, of course, but taking a look at Xenoblade Chronicles X — and indeed the Xenoblade series in general — shows what a difference having a large but nonetheless handcrafted world can make to your immersion in something. No Man's Sky and Elite Dangerous may have a bajillion killion haptimillion planets and solar systems to explore, but since they're all procedurally generated, a lot of it is… well, a bit boring. That's how I feel about them, anyway; I've struggled to hold my attention with either of those games, despite respecting what they're doing.
Xenoblade Chronicles X, meanwhile, dumps you on just one wonderfully crafted world and tells you to get on with things. One wonderfully crafted world with several very distinct areas, at least one of which will be heaven for anyone who has ever appreciated a Roger Dean album cover, from what I recall.
But anyway. Xenoblade Chronicles X is nearly here, and I'm looking forward to it. The press may yet surprise me and give it some solid coverage, but regardless of whether or not that actually happens, I will be there, pen in hand, ready to report from the front lines of Mira.
BLADEs assemble!
Want to read my thoughts on various video games, visual novels and other popular culture things? Stop by MoeGamer.net, my site for all things fun where I am generally a lot more cheerful. And if you fancy watching some vids on classic games, drop by my YouTube channel.
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