If ever a games developer had a name to describe their games so thoroughly, Monolith Soft has this in spades with its latest monolith of a game. Xenoblade Chronicles 3, announced at the start of 2022, has dropped just a few short months later, and it is arguably the most important title of the year for Nintendo. This JRPG, action-adventure is set to consume all of your free time while simultaneously pushing the Switch to its absolute limit!

Set in the land of Aionios, an all-consuming war ensues between the people of Keves and Agnus, a war which is fuelled by the very souls that are locked in this eternal battle. Each army is created, tailored, and pitted against each other with a mere ten-year life span. Death is expected and there is little reprieve for those that make it to such age. Through ferocious battles, each side attempts to slay the other, all in the effort to feed the energy of their enemy’s souls to their own Flame Clocks and colossal Ferronis beasts, akin to a mechanic Kaiju. The magnitude of war, the scale of the combat, and the repercussions of a never-ending cycle are on full display in both the world’s various locations and characters within them.

Revolving around the Off-Seer, Noah from the Keves army is a skilled swordfighter and one who has taken on the selfless task of seeing off the fallen, regardless of which side they were fighting for. A formidable group follows him into battle with their own charm, wit, skills, and sometimes, clashing ideals. While still at war with each other, an unlikely bond between the two sides kick starts a marathon of a journey to seek the truth, discover their true purpose in life, and defy the almost insurmountable weight of destiny. Mio, from the Agnus army, plays a significant counterpart to Noah’s journey and their companions create a diverse and engaging opportunity to learn who they really are through combat, and maybe a hot meal or two.

Quite often I was swept up in the grandiose nature of the world through extensive cut-scenes of the science-fiction-inspired world. Neon glowing energy emitting from the tools of destruction wielded by both armies, created a visual epic as they clashed. Seemingly based in a timeless realm that was futurist yet grounded in a medieval mindset, I was treated to impressive technological achievements among the ruins of war. With a deep and multilayered story to unpack, intimate moments between characters are explored during these cut-scenes which help to unpack the heavy exposition early on.

The proverbial thread that tied all this emotion together was the beautiful and well-orchestrated musical score. A relaxing melody could help me connect with a player’s ambitious monologue, whereas the escalating rhythm could spur me on to string together a battle-changing combo. Even when a familiar tone rolled around again, it felt like it belongs rather than simply set to a loop for that moment.

Traveling through the lands and being dwarfed by hulking wildlife who roam the vast open spaces was a reminder of how big Aionios really was. Considering you will be spending a considerable amount of time pilfering the landscapes, it was a pleasure to see such vibrant backdrops far into the distance. The idea of the monolithic world did have to bolster the minor setbacks the Switch faced when rendering such a grand scope. During pre-rendered moments, the environments and character models were impressive and detailed, right down to the finer workings. In the moment-to-moment sections, however, the frame rate could take a bit of a hit and the pop-in of the environments was somewhat regular, but rarely egregious enough to be unforgivable.

With so much involved in the extensive world-building and dialogue-heavy cutscenes, it was nice to get your hands dirty and put your party to the test in combat. Featuring a party of 6 with additional heroes available along the journey to aid in battle, it’s up to you to manage the heal, tank, and attack triangle that comprises the base of combat. With an auto attack system, you can set each character on a specific target and proceed to push the advantages in your favour through positioning. Noah, starting off as a swordfighter, had a distinct advantage when being positioned behind the enemy, as it works in with his ‘art’ for extra damage from rear attacks.

The combat arts are a powerful move-set that are assigned to the face buttons that, when timed correctly with your team, can stagger or even topple an enemy for a huge bonus in attack. For the most devastating attacks, combining two characters together for the Ouroborus mode creates a destructive golem-type suit character that can tower over your other party members. Then, to place the cherry on top, chaining together arts, toppling enemies, and generally beating up on a boss can lead to the chain attack bonus that delivers a pre-rendered explosive attack that was always exciting to achieve. The only thing that seem to stick out like a sore thumb was the one line of dialogue each character seemed to have that was their go-to for every encounter.

The continual pursuit of perfection is a major contributor to the overall investment of the game. With 23 playable classes, your starting class for each character is simply that; a starting point. Once you master a class you can keep some of the benefits you have earned while you work on a secondary class. Furthermore, your constant pursuit of gems, Nopon coins, and crafting materials all feedback into strengthening your builds.

Through the staggering amount of side quests, you can earn these materials and even increase your affinity in each colony. There are the inevitable fetch quests that seem unavoidable in these games, but most side quests lead to more than a few surprises, and in some cases, they were as important as the main storyline.

With so much to wrap your head around, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 does a friendly job with the tutorial systems that you may see still popping up 20 hours in. As much as I love to skip through tutorial pops-ups, I must say I sorely needed them as I am fresh to this franchise. Having played many titles that require a deep investment before things start clicking and then you can enjoy the game, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 keeps things interesting and spreads out the features which will eventually become an addictive pursuit. I was able to enjoy the world from the start as I peeled back the layers and warmed up to the cast in real-time as they grew to work with each other.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 explodes onto the scene with its engrossing war-torn world. This one will keep you coming back for more in the pursuit of absolute perfection and domination on the battlefield. It will rope you in with its huge array of characters that each face their own triumphs and revelations in the pursuit of a greater purpose. With a road map of expansions already lined up, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is set to be the most immersive entry into the long-running franchise.

Written by: Shane Fletcher