- Ubisoft's latest FPS XDefiant feels like an old classic arcade experience in a modern skin.
- The gameplay UI is clean and kills feel valuable, while the performance is smooth with the right settings.
- Some things still need to be fixed, such as the balancing of characters and weapons and a few video quality settings.
Ask any of my friends out there, and they’ll tell you about my extraordinary love for FPS games. Perhaps it was that reason that made me stay awake the whole night checking XDefiant’s server status just so I could get into a match. Well, after finally getting a few matches and going through a few rounds, I have some thoughts about XDefiant and how it made me feel. Let’s talk about that below.
An Arcade Shooter I Was Waiting for
When I initially joined a game, I had a feeling XDefiant would be another run-of-the-mill Call of Duty or Overwatch clone. Luckily, the game defied this expectation and set a different tone for itself immediately. From the get-go, I was pulled into the various XDefiant game modes. Even though the game modes are a template we have seen, they offer different experiences.
Most of the XDefiant factions were fun to play and had their own impact on the game. This added to the game as I had to adapt according to my enemy while spreading for the unpredictability that would follow.
XDefiant treats its combat in an interesting way. I found the shooting satisfying as the game ensured not to bog me down with extra screen effects and unnecessary audio. It gave the game that arcade feeling without distracting me. Kills in XDefiant meant more, as 100 HP is exactly what you need to take down an enemy unless they use some ability. This makes the game more arcadey than tactical.
Although I can say the game is not extraordinary, XDefiant feels like the real arcade shooter we miss from the original Call of Duty multiplayer era. Undoubtedly, XDefiant will make you believe in fun from multiplayer shooters at a fast pace and excellent gameplay.
Minimal UI That Mostly Gets It Right
A multiplayer game that is fun but gets you down with UI may as well not be a game at all. Thankfully, Ubisoft knew that full well and designed XDefiant’s UI in a clean and non-cluttered way. The entirety of the menu has been neatly divided to show everything at a glance while still being useful.
Players can see their abilities at the bottom of the screen, which provides them with essential information on their abilities, grenades, and other utilities.
Having said that, XDefiant did pack some things that annoyed me just a bit. While nitpicking here, I don’t understand why XDefiant needed settings like Water Reflection and other added effects. While I know the visuals are top quality, these could have been skipped.
Furthermore, why does the loading screen only have a single video that keeps looping? I know R6 Siege does the same thing, but maybe a different approach would have been better here.
There’s a reason I’m speaking of these settings. As an avid FPS lover, I would turn them off to enjoy the game to its fullest potential. That brings me to the final point that impressed me.
As Optimized as Expected
I live in the constant fear of AAA opening up to broken launches and ports. As someone who has seen his fair share of stuttering and buggy messes, one of my biggest concerns about XDefiant was hoping it would run well.
While Ubisoft ensured players would have an amped-up experience, I turned down my graphics to enjoy a steady stream of FPS. Guess what? The game ran comfortably at a constant 120+ FPS.
It’s refreshing to see that the company paid enough attention to ensure that XDefiant would be smooth like butter on launch. Even if the servers were down, players wouldn’t run into other issues.
XDefiant Verdict: Logging In Again
Sitting down and writing my little verdict for XDefiant, I realize I had a lot of fun. While I did enter this shooter with a lot of skepticism, that has turned into what I can best describe as the beginning of admiration. However, that is to say that the game doesn’t have its issues.
For example, I still have not recovered from The Finals invisible light players and am now encountering that here. Thankfully, XDefiant gives enough counters to deal with them.
The power imbalance happens to almost every live service shooter game in its early stages. If balanced at the right time, I feel XDefiant can shape up to be one of the best ways to kill time for every gamer.
With all these green flags going for it, I am also glad XDefiant has crossplay support and works well with both a controller or mouse and keyboard. So, if there’s anything I can end with, it’s telling you that I will definitely be logging in again to join the fun in XDefiant.
Have you tried the game yet? What are your thoughts on XDefiant? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
