First announced in 2021, XDefiant is finally here after delaysName changes and a failed start. Although the game had a bumpy road to release, it’s now out and that means we can finally play Ubisoft’s new free-to-play call of Duty-like online shooter with multiple characters from various Ubisoft franchises, such as Far away And Ghost Recon. And the good news is, XDefiant is a mostly solid, well-made, good-looking and entertaining arena shooter that is not bloated and slow like modern call of Duty. And even better: it doesn’t even take up 200GB of your hard drive.
It is practically impossible to talk about it XDefiant without mentioning call of DutyThe games have a lot in common, and it’s clear that Ubisoft wants to compete with Activision’s superior military FPS with this new free-to-play shooter – out now on consoles and PC.
Ubisoft is not the first publisher to try to face the beast that call of Dutybut his approach is not just a copy of the modern cod (but free). Instead XDefiant removes a lot of the digital ballast and annoying nonsense – like multiple game installations and additional modes – that call of Duty a difficult to understand disaster for newbies or returning players. This simplification of the cod Formula also applies to the gameplay.
Fast and deadly
Cards in XDefiant are smaller than many modern cod Playgrounds and are built around goal-oriented game modes. This helps you get into action and keeps XDefiant a fast and exciting feeling.
The speed at which you move also helps keep the speed high. XDefiant. When you draw your pistol, you run like a world-class sprinter and you can slide and hop around the map like a rabbit being chased by a hungry wolf. Characters in XDefiant are extremely nimble and responsive and remind me more of how call of Duty played during the Xbox 360 era of the franchise. The time to kill is also a bit higher than some other modern shooters, giving you the opportunity to escape or turn around to strike back.
Outside of combat, XDefiant offers a handful of modes, about a dozen weapons, some attachments and skills, and that’s it. You can create custom classes with characters from other Ubisoft games – like the rebels from Far Cry 6
I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the options, and although future updates and seasons will add more, XDefiant seems to be designed to be easy to jump in and have fun. And I appreciate that.
Small is beautiful
This may sound strange, but a big advantage XDefiant has the game’s digital footprint compared to so many other modern multiplayer shooters. On my Xbox Series X, XDefiant takes up a little more than 30 GB of storage space, which is not a small amount, but compared to Battlefield 2042 (90+ GB) and Call of Duty MW3/Warzonet (130+ GB), it’s pretty small. You probably don’t need to delete a few games just to install XDefiantwhat is nice in 2024.
At this point, XDefiant has laid a solid foundation for an online FPS. Combat feels snappy and fun, maps are well-made and look good, and the game isn’t too big and seems focused on keeping players in the action rather than the menus. What’s here is solid, and I’m looking forward to playing more.
The key to XDefiant’s Success now depends on Ubisoft and its developers. These days, games like this can’t just come out and be done. XDefiant must regularly receive new content – such as new maps and characters – to stand a chance against the Fourteen daysS And call of Dutyof the world.
I can’t see into the future – if I could, I wouldn’t be writing about games for a living. Since I’m not clairvoyant, I can’t tell you whether in a year XDefiant will do well and receive new content, or whether Ubisoft will fail to keep the game active and it will die.
I hope that XDefiant has a long future ahead of it. The game is good and I’m happy to have a modern arena shooter in my life again that isn’t burdened by battle royale nonsense, too many modes or massive installs. But only time will tell if XDefiant succeeds, or if it joins so many other games that have tried and failed to Call of Duty.
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