Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 places the player in the world of Alrest, where humanity survives on the backs of giant living Titans sailing an endless sea of clouds, since dry land vanished long ago. The main hero Rex, a salvager diving to the bottom of this sea, accidentally awakens the mysterious Pyra, one of the legendary Blades – living weapons in the form of companions, who bond with humans called Drivers and lend them extraordinary abilities. Together they set out to find the mythical World Tree on the back of the Titan Architect, in exchange for which Pyra promises to grant Rex's wish.

The combat system builds on the fluid connection between characters and their Blades, elemental combo effects, and strategic on-the-fly weapon switching, making it one of the more complex combat systems in the genre; its high point is several-minute-long chain combos, during which elemental orbs gradually build up on screen and the player finally lets them all explode at once. Mastering it takes a while, though, because the game explains its layers gradually and somewhat unsystematically, which was the most common criticism from reviewers. Blades are also obtained by randomly opening crystals, a mechanic that split players into two camps.

The world is divided into several giant Titans, each functioning as a separate open region with its own culture, fauna, and side quests, and the player can easily spend hundreds of hours exploring its nooks, hidden treasures, and collectibles. Visually, the game relies on anime stylization and monumental vistas, albeit at the cost of a softer resolution in handheld mode. The soundtrack, led by a team including Yasunori Mitsuda and Manaka Kataoka, ranks among the most praised in the genre. The Torna: The Golden Country expansion then functions as a standalone game telling a prequel story set long before the main storyline. Thanks to its expansive world, emotional storytelling, and inventive Blades system, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 became one of the pillars of the JRPG genre on Switch.