PC Critic Reviews

Those tiring of Overwatch 2, Call of Duty or Counter-Strike, who want a fresh take on the format and have a penchant for Ubi franchises, have many happy hours of shooting, hiding and grinding for XP ahead.

XDefiant is a confident shooter that's far more than a Call of Duty knockoff. The Tom Clancyverse crossovers are somewhat cringey, but if Ubisoft doubles down on the great gameplay, and the weird faction warfare, we'll keep coming back for months to come.

XDefiant is an online shooter with balance problems but still fun, solid in some aspects, and (far too) generic in others.

Compared to other FPS games, XDefiant offers limited initial content and significant balance issues, and even its most distinctive skill designs aren't particularly innovative. As a result, after a few hours of exploring different factions, game modes and maps, players may find it hard to stay motivated to grind for characters and weapons once the novelty wears off, leaving only a sense of endless fatigue.

XDefiant is a solid multiplayer shooter that may not surpass the leaders of the genre anytime soon, but it proves to be a notably alluring, free alternative.

Despite varied factions and excellent maps, XDefiant’s shootouts are let down by a lack of identity and sluggish weapon progression. Outside an emphasis on making skill-based matchmaking optional, the game plays like every shooter from the last decade, leaning into nostalgia over attempting a breakthrough. While technical pitfalls can be resolved with seasonal updates, XDefiant needs novelty to sustain a player base.

The fundamentals of XDefiant are good, but conflicting ideas and mechanics stop it from standing above a crowded shooter field.

XDefiant will likely divide competitive shooter fans, as it did us here at Gaming Nexus. Fans of classic competitive shooters will find a lot to like in the Ubiverse shooter, even its take on hero abilities. But it may not go far enough in any direction to truly stand out in a crowded market.

If you are still wondering, the answer is no: XDefiant is not the COD killer that many expected. The new free to play from Ubisoft is a good shooter, which certainly has the ability to entertain for a few hours, but which will hardly be able to establish itself on the market due to some problems related to balance and progression. The current version of the game represents only a fair starting point, which will require constant commitment from the developers to improve on all fronts. In any case, this is not an impossible situation, given the precedents of the French software house.

XDefiant feels like a niche, that knows it’s a niche, and tries to sprinkle some broad appeal on top. Just enough to draw in more than the hardcores, without risking alienating them too much. At the same time, it’s a line in the sand moment for all the FPS hardcores who are sick and tired of SBMM. On top of all that, crossing over Tom Clancy series has the appeal of mixing a bowl of potato chips from different brands that are all the same flavor. And Watch Dogs? Anyway, there’s a solid foundation here with rock-solid arena shooter mechanics. If the matchmaking experiment works out and some key adjustments are made, I can see this game sticking around for a good while.