Nonetheless being up to date and nonetheless being performed by loads of folks, Dragon Ball XenoVerse 2 is a major instance of Dragon Ball’s seemingly everlasting attraction. The fighting-RPG is nearly eight years outdated, and has simply been handed one more shot within the arm by means of this native PS5 port. It is even getting a model new, four-part DLC saga over the approaching months. The longevity is just unbelievable.
Should you’re unfamiliar with the XenoVerse pitch, you primarily play as your personal customized Dragon Ball character, who fights to revive corrupted timelines in franchise canon. This acts as the right excuse to replay iconic battles from the supply materials, all whereas a time-travelling story unravels within the background.
It is a enjoyable premise that ties neatly into Dragon Ball’s tone, however a mixture of slowly-paced plot factors and a few awkward, barely animated cutscenes maintain the storytelling again. Whereas it is cool to see how varied timelines might twist if left untreated, the overarching narrative is not actually the primary draw of XenoVerse 2.
Certainly, it is the character development that’ll maintain most gamers invested. It is a grindy recreation, as you degree up your hero, distribute talent factors, purchase new assaults, and get your palms on stat-boosting gear. Every mission comes with its personal set of loot drops, and so that you’re inspired to retry quests time and again to get the gear that you just want.
And that is just about the crux of XenoVerse 2. Even simply the bottom recreation — with none of its many DLC packs included — is completely huge. Should you’re completely new, the sheer quantity of stuff will be overwhelming, however as soon as you have settled into the grind, you may most likely be grateful that there is a seemingly endless provide of missions and subsequent rewards.
The one drawback with XenoVerse 2, right here in 2024, is that its core gameplay has by no means actually advanced. Sure, increasingly more methods to improve and customise your character have been added over time, however the precise fight feels fundamental and a contact too finicky by right now’s requirements. Wailing on CPU opponents over and over with the identical outdated combos and tremendous strikes will get repetitive loads earlier than you would possibly assume, and with a lot content material to chew by means of, diving into this title as a newcomer could be a very tall order.
XenoVerse 2’s excellent longevity have to be praised, and it is nonetheless a enjoyable recreation to discover, however it may be troublesome to suggest. Components of this time-travelling journey have not aged nicely in any respect, and though the sport’s spectacular scope does counterbalance numerous its flaws, you want to know that the core gameplay loop is an almighty grind — now greater than ever earlier than.
