Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is presented as Monolith Soft’s ambitious, story-led return to the mainline formula, following young scavenger Rex and his Blade, Pyra, on a long quest to reach Elysium. The review considers its expansive narrative, memorable world and deep systems major strengths, while acknowledging occasional awkward humour and flaws. Its rerelease coincides with the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, with added impressions of the Upgrade Pack’s performance improvements.

Set across vast Titans floating in a “cloud sea”, the game combines an ancient conflict and power struggle with smaller stories of nations, friendship and isolation. It offers dozens of hours of main story, side quests, layered menus and resource management, punctuated by lengthy, often impressive cutscenes. Unlike Xenoblade Chronicles X, it follows a more linear, checkpoint-driven structure, but its interface is said to be more manageable than its Wii U predecessor’s.