A reader states that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the best game of 2022 and superior to Elden Ring, even though it’s unlikely to win many awards.
One of the side effects of 2022 being such a quiet year for games is that this year’s Game Awards are going to be a pretty straightforward affair. There are very few contenders in any of the categories and even the more common ones are pretty much unchallenged. Which is another way of saying that Elden Ring is running away with everything. I mean, they might as well award it now, and every other game of the year nods, because obviously there’s nothing else even in the running.
God Of War Ragnarök is the only upcoming game that is guaranteed (as much as anything is guaranteed) to score well, but I don’t see it beating Elden Ring unless it’s something radically different from the original. However, I can easily see that it’s worse as they put a lot of hard work into the story, which is much more limited by the legend of what Ragnarök is than the first game’s completely original plot.
I could easily tell that God Of War Ragnarök was a disappointment and, frankly, the fact that they haven’t actually shown any of it so far scares me that they are hiding something. Maybe a secret that is a game changer, but more likely there have been problems and they haven’t felt confident to show anything yet.
I have similar feelings about Bayonetta 3 and I doubt anyone expects Gotham Knights or Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to challenge Elden Ring. But there’s one game that’s already out that I think is better and, as you probably inferred from the title, that’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
I don’t expect Xenoblade Chronicles 3 to win many games of the year, especially not The Game Awards, because like everything from the Oscars to the Grammys, these things are as much about popularity as they are real quality.
Now I’m not saying Elden Ring is a bad game, far from it. I put in about 30 hours, but that was enough for me. I’ve also played Dark Souls and for me Elden Ring was just too bloated and too repetitive. It’s one of an increasing number of games that gain nothing by being an open world, mainly because not only do you have the earlier games to compare it to, but the best parts of Elden Ring are the more linear dungeons and castles.
In comparison, Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s open world is astonishingly varied, filled with just as many secrets, but at no point does it feel bloated or unnecessary. You don’t have to use the same bosses ten times over, and the penalty for failure isn’t the video game equivalent of a slap in the face (but it’s not nothing either, just as it should be).
The most important thing for me is that there is a story that I understand and characters that I like. That’s something I’ve never understood about From’s game, why is the story so obscure? Does your character not know what’s going on? So why are you so groping in the dark as a player? Would it really have hurt to explain what the Lands Between are between and what the Elden Ring actually is? Why are there no people around? Have there ever been people? Are those soldiers zombies? Were they always zombies?
Was the world always in pieces like this or did it just happen? What do all the other characters want and why are there only half a dozen who can talk? Who do those traders sell things to when you’re not around? Why do some characters seem unconcerned about their lives? What do they do when you’re not there? Especially the ones who seem to be in a small room all day?
As far as I’m concerned, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has all the positives of Elden Ring but none of the negatives. It has a huge open world, enjoyable (but original) combat, great graphics and art design, and plenty of secrets and rewards for exploration. In addition, it has enjoyable characters and villains with plausible motivations, an interesting but understandable plot and no exaggerated repetitions.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 100+ hours I put into it and it is definitely my personal game of the year, I just don’t expect it to be a favorite of any of the judges.
By reader Caliban
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