XDefiant

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.

XDefiant has been built to scratch a very particular online FPS itch, and the more bloated and complex AAA shooters have become, the more we've come to appreciate an experience like this. The game could do with a little more content, and some tweaks to gunplay and progression wouldn't go amiss, but we can't see why XDefiant shouldn't have a bright future ahead of it. Ubisoft has shown us all that it has the patience to stick around with online shooters if they have a solid community — just look at the near decade-old Rainbow Six Siege — so this should definitely be one title worth investing so...

The multiplayer shooter genre has been in an odd flux these last few years. Call of Duty just isn’t quite what it used to be, Battlefield 2042 missed the mark somewhat, and even Apex Legends has dipped in interest as it cruises into its 21st season of content. This is where a crop of new kids on the block have reared their heads, and XDefiant is one we’ve been waiting quite some time for. But is this really the CoD killer we’ve been promised? XDefiant may not be the slam dunk we were hoping for, but it’s got the legs to grow into something special.

XDefiant is off to a good start, but to compete with the likes of Call of Duty or Overwatch, it still needs some tweaks and additional content.

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...

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.

Ubisoft still can’t land on any compelling identity for XDefiant, but it remains a genuinely exhilarating F2P shooter I wish was more active.

XDefiant is unoriginal, and its disparate styles don't quite fit together, but solid gunplay and excellent map design elevate Ubisoft's free-to-play shooter.

XDefiant isn't a Call of Duty killer or even a close competitor. It has potential despite its many issues, but it has a long way to go before living up to it.

The world of competitive arena FPS titles needs fresh blood. Call of Duty is still mostly good, but the genre sorely needs an injection of new titles and ideas. XDefiant doesn’t offer that, instead preferring to package together disparate ideas for better or worse. When XDefiant clicks, it clicks. The core mechanics that are so reminiscent of old school Call of Duty feel good and deliver an exhilarating experience. Weapons and maps are solid, though don’t do much to help XDefiant stand out amongst the military shooter crowd, something that could have been helped if the selections leaned more i...

XDefiant’s core modes offer temporarily fun stabs at the competitive multiplayer arena shooter, but Ubisoft’s latest attempt at carving out a slice of the lucrative esports pie feels half-baked. Core modes like its practice mode and ranked queue are gated off by construction tape at the time of writing. This leaves a bland battle pass with head-scratching progression decisions and standard weapon-based leveling systems as the only tangible means of rewarding you for playing the game or doing well beyond an individual match. And with questionable netcode and missing mainstay features and modes,...