Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is expected to be released in only a couple of days, but the review embargo was lifted recently. The Nintendo Switch exclusive is already getting gushed over by most reviewers.
The third entry in the beloved Nintendo Xenoblade Chronicles series has already gotten 64 reviews on Metacritic before even getting released. Eleven of the aforementioned reviews are giving the game a perfect score of 100, while a total of 35 reviews are giving the game over 90. There are only 3 reviews that have given the game a mixed rating, and so far, no one has given the game a single negative review.
The reviews add up to an amazing score of 89. But since the reviews currently available are prior to the release of the game, after the complete release, more reviews will start adding to the total score, and the total could go either way.
It looks unlikely that the game will be able to compete with the likes of Elden Ring since that game currently has a legendary Metacritic score of 96.
What Makes it So Good?
The reviews that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has received so far praise the game’s combat, characters, narrative, and musical score. The only demerits brought up in the reviews were mostly related to technical issues like resolution scaling problems and glitches. No major bugs have been pointed out yet, though.
But keep in mind that Metacritic and review scores don’t mean everything. Because if you have been playing and enjoying the series since the first installment, you will probably enjoy the new addition regardless of what review scores it receives.
Nintendo has done a fine job, being able to release Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on time, and that too in a fairly acceptable state. All open-world games launch with some technical problems, which should be expected. What shouldn’t be acceptable is a game that launches in a completely broken state like Cyberpunk 2077.