Is Xenoblade Chronicles X Underrated?

[StuOhQ]

Hynad said:

StuOhQ said:

Apparently somebody missed the fact that "Skyrim", "Witcher 3" and, "Fallout 4" can literally all fit within the world of "XCX" together with shoulder room. 

And that makes it better than those... why?

Xenoblade is big, sure. But many of you here consider it the best thing since sliced bread and the only argument that's brought up is that it has a massive map. How does it make it good, when the map is mostly barren and only serves as a battleground with barely anything unique to find other than monsters? That, or people mention that it has unmatched art direction. Which I really don't see. Ni No Kuni, for example, had much better art direction. And so does Zelda U. And when it comes to the other parts of its game design, it may have some interesting ideas, but the execution feels archaic on most accounts. That's not mentioning the very badly designed user interface. 

Don't get me wrong. I am currently playing the game (Don't believe me? Add me: NNID = Hynad81), and it's still quite fun and mostly a joy to explore. But for all it does very well, it does something bad on the side. For me, it prevents it from feeling as good as the greats that came before it. 

 

I don't necessarily think it's better than those games. I love "Fallout 4". I just think XCX deserves a spot at the GOTY discussion. I knew it would be large, complex, and pretty to look at. The most pleasant surprise that came with the game is how addictive it is. It's the most fun I've had with a game this year. Also, the story has been heavily trashed in the gaming press - especially in Japan. At first, I could see where that commentary was coming from. Half way through the campaign, though, things are starting to get very interesting... It's almost as if the journalists put 30 hours, max, into the game before reviewing it.

 

EDIT: I also think the art design is excellent. Hardly the best to come along, but it definitely has an edge on most of the generic AAA releases of 2015.