XDefiant review: Defying genre norms, and looking good while doing it

What do they say about trains? Better late than never? Well, XDefiant has pulled up to the station with its swanky carriages and promises of a golden-era first-person shooter throwback as the destination.

It has taken a year of delays, tests, and further development to get XDefiant over the line. Still, Ubisoft has finally found its window to slip the title into a very saturated and competitive market. It is now full-steam ahead towards its main goal of conquering the genre and serving as the best live-service arcade shooter that there is.

But, was the year delay to XDefiant worth it? Has this competitive-first title fulfilled its promises? Can XDefiant actually break the mould and find standing in a genre filled with monsters?

Yes, yes, and yes. 

Defiance on display

From the get-go, XDefiant was dubbed the "Call of Duty killer". I've fallen into the trap too, knowing that Mark Rubin has been spearheading the development and with plenty of CoD alumni on the development team.

It was always intended to be a bit of a throwback to CoD's finest hours, where modern-day gaming mollycoddling was discarded, adding emphasis on allowing players of all skills to be rewarded.

It is an easy comparison to make to Call of Duty, but XDefiant is its own game.

First off, aesthetically, Ubisoft deserves a lot of credit. For so long the shooter genre has been brown, beige, and grey, pushing 'realistic' maps to try and capture the mil-sim audience alongside those who are avid FPS fans. But XDefiant’s first rule-breaking disobedience comes with its palette of colour and vibrance. This game doesn’t give a toss about digging out the trenches or carving slits in castle windows, its maps are just pure brilliance filled with colour.

Each map is specifically designed for its game mode too, rather than modes being fit to concepts. There are no square pegs in round holes with the maps and modes, everything fits like a glove.

Then we've got the UI. It's quite easy to forget the user interface, but that's complimentary in itself, if there's nothing to moan about, then it's a job well done. Everything about the minimap, kill feed, and objective trackers is clean, and there's little that you'd add.

XDefiant's character appearance is a celebration of what games should be too. There are emo-goth characters with pink hair and brazen attitudes. There are brute-force military heavy vets with shields and a 'get-the-f-out-of-here' vibe. And, there are Splinter Cell's Third Echelon as silent assassins who can pack a damaging knockout punch without so much as a whisper in the ear.

With influence from other Ubisoft franchises like Far Cry and The Division, there's a character for everyone, and there's soon to be more *cough* Assassin's Creed *cough*.

Defying norms has paid off for XDefiant gameplay

This is why you're really reading this review though. Colour is fun, but what about the gameplay?

Ubisoft has been well-documented in this regard for ditching a lot of the hand-holding features that shooter games have been using for years, but it did leave a worrisome feeling that these systems were used for a reason.

Kicking off with the gunplay, Aim Assist has become a crutch to most gamers who aim with analogue sticks, yet XDefiant has toned this down quite severely. There is still aim assist for controller users but it's minimal, and this does make you think twice before firing your weapons across the map. 

Initially, I thought this might have been a mistake, as lower-skilled players might see this as the biggest deterrent, but it actually works superbly. XDefiant challenges you to think about which engagements to take and allows you to find a method that suits you well, encouraging slower and methodical users to pick up Marksman Rifles and Snipers, while those who can really excel can charge in with an SMG or Assault Rifle.

It also opens up a skill gap, and it's about time a game took this on the nose and made a title that champions its champions. If you can shoot straight without Aim Assist with a gun that you've earned, then why shouldn't you outshine others? It's a risk, but one that has paid off, in my opinion.

There are five game modes in XDefiant at launch (plus ranked), all of which require you to be guns up and competitive. Early standout Escort is a gripping take on a tried-and-tested formula of pushing an objective through the map, and its climaxes make for some of the best fun I've had in a shooter for years. You'll also find Domination and Kill Confirmed-style modes, too.

Then there's the characters. Each of XDefiant's four factions does have some cheese, and the abilities are very powerful, maybe too powerful. Echelon's invisibility cloak comes as one of the more entertaining abilities, while the one-way shields of Phantom are enough to make you want to scream.

Together, the Factions, the maps, the modes, and the gunplay all coalesce nicely, but there's one question on everyone's lips - what about the matchmaking?

XDefiant's final finger-flip to the rest of the FPS world was switching SBMM completely off (aside from Ranked). Ubisoft's executives have firmly stood behind the stance of SBMM being a terrible habit, and have instead opted for a ping-based matchmaking system, pooling together players of all abilities. 

In XDefiant, this works perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I've seen the odd game when a newcomer gets pooled against a team of demons and drops a woeful K/D, but this will be ironed out as players progress past the "Welcome Playlist" that protects players until level 25. Once you've learned the trade for long enough you're free as a bird to take on the world, and it's refreshing to have a mixed bag of enemies.

This isn't predatory either. In fact, it makes you really cherish coming up against better players. When you do come up against a good squad, it's still hugely entertaining as you butt heads and test your mettle. But it's also a nice balance that this doesn't happen every game and you don't get burned out without having a rank to reflect your efforts; for those who do enjoy consistent close matches, that's why there's a Ranked mode.

Ultimately, ditching these norms has been a resounding success for XDefiant, and its gameplay is a stroke of genius from Mark Rubin and the Ubisoft San Francisco crew.

Why am I already running out of steam?

There’s something here that just doesn’t quite scratch the itch. It's like winding up a jack in the box and it never pings. Lining up dominoes but they fall before you place the last one. XDefiant is really fun, but I’m left begging the question, what is the point of these games? What is the point of me going on killstreaks, or playing the objective better than anyone else? Having played over 100 games, simply winning isn’t enough, and this is where XDefiant has fallen on its sword a little bit. 

After the initial wave of refreshment of how good the game is, you’re left with very few ways of staying hungry to progress. There are a few weapon mastery camos that can motivate you for a big grind. I’ve used the ACR rather consistently after trialling out other guns like the M4, MP7, and P90. I have it Bronze and there is a little intrinsic devil on my shoulder that would love to have it gold, but that seems like the only reason to grind. 

Aside from these gun camos though, there’s not enough in XDefiant that pulls me back day after day. 

In-game, this is the same too. Each character has its own Ultimate ability which unlocks after earning points throughout a game, but you’re not really rewarded for playing well. They have been reluctant to add killstreaks amid the character's abilities, which is fair, but it makes performing well rather redundant. The same goes with objective players.

For example, suppose you’re using Phantom’s shields to escort the robot to its checkpoint. In that case, the added reward for playing this way is getting your Ultimate quicker which just allows for more objective progress, which seems rhetorical and mundane.

A thumbs up from peers in the post-match lobby isn’t satisfying enough for dropping 60 kills and carrying a squad on your back for 15 minutes, or clutching up when the team needs you most, either.

XDefiant really needs to figure out a way to keep players motivated, because there is a fantastic product here, but if there are no legs it can’t really race with the big boys of this genre.

I’m not just going to moan though, because it is fixable. When I look at the issues, some simple Apex Legends-like medals to unlock wouldn’t go amiss, allowing players to earn and flex their best achievements; "5,000 damage in a game," "25-Kill streak," and "three minutes on the objective," to name a few, would serve as great medals to pop on your player profile. I’m not saying that this is the answer, but something of this token would go a long way to making XDefiant more grindable.

Ubisoft has already promised a live service model which will bring more and more content to the title, with Search and Destroy modes imminent alongside more weapons and maps, which will keep the game fresh. Ranked being activated will also help nullify a lot of the progression woes.

The Verdict

XDefiant is a fantastic game. I haven't been this excited about a shooter game since Apex Legends, and we know how that turned out.

Ubisoft has carefully crafted a product that defies the lazy norms that have crept into the first-person-shooter genre and has championed skill and creativity.

Aside from a few progression gripes, which can be easily ironed out, and the odd desync problem that is being actively worked on, nothing is holding XDefiant back from going the distance like Rainbow Six Siege.

4/5

Reviewed on Xbox Series S.