Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Details, details

You know it's a fetish of mine to linger and agonize over details in video games, dear fellow gamers. Without further ado, here's the XC2 edition of my beloved "Hell is in the details — and heaven too" feature!

"Yes please": 

—Instant save system AND instant travel! Oh, the extasy! I fully expected a long JRPG like XC2 to feature (too sparse) save points and to force some slow and unpractical travelling contraption on me, and I nearly cried with happiness when discovery the game's delicious player-friendliness.

—Not status effects in battle. I don't think I've ever mentioned that before, but I hate status effects in battle in general, and I despise them twice as much in real-time fighting. There's nothing that breaks the flow of combat quite like having to fumble through one's inventory to snatch an antidote; and gosh, am I immensely glad to be spared that chore in XC2.

—Being able to jump from considerable heights without dying is deliciously heady. Oh, sure, you can die if you really jump from too high; but overall, XC2 is much more forgiving in that department than, say, Tomb Raider or Breath of the Wild. I just love diving from a cliff into a lake 1000 feet below in Uraya, or taking a shortcut by jumping from the 3rd floor at the Argentum Guild. Cherry on the cake, you can find secret places and extra safes by taking such leaps of faith!

—No equipement galore (insert eyes teary with happiness). Characters can equip two pieces of gear and Blades two Aux Cores, and that's it. I had read many complaints about the menus and customization systems being overblown prior to playing the game, and I feared some overkill in the equipment department; so imagine my surprise and relief when discovering those mere two slots.

"No thanks": 

—The game is often too dark, especially in towns, caves, buildings and at night time overall. I find myself staring at my reflection in the Switch's screen while I'm playing way too often for my taste, and I sometimes cannot play at all unless I retreat in a dark room.

—I hate how loot flies all around the place when I kill foes, forage or open safes, forcing me to gather items one by one afterwards. It's messy, sloppy and it makes me lose some precious time. It's especially annoying when fighting several foes in a row, because all that shit clutters the battlefield and I'm always wondering if some of the items will despawn if I take too long to wrap up the fight. I've also lost some (presumably) excellent loot because of that stupid feature, just because some items fell off a cliff or into deep water, or because a cutscene was triggered before I could pick up everything. Oh, and let's not forget all those times I fell to my death trying to gather loot next to a cliff.

—Pyra is too unremarkable compared to other Blades. She's supposed to be that top-tier Blade, a league of her own; yet nearly all rare Blades look cooler, fancier and edgier than her. I have a hard time seeing her as an exceptional, mythical Blade when she's strutting around dressed like a dorky Europop singer. And no, her "alternate outfit" is no better.

—I cannot fathom why Rex doesn't automatically draw his sword when being targeted by foes. I always take a couple of unnecessary hits because of that omission, not to mention that having to draw my sword in a hurry is so darn stressful that I often find myself fumbling with the buttons and taking even more damage.

That's it for the hellish&heavenly details, dear fellow gamers; I'll see you soon with more XC2 goodness! Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!