There is no doubt that XDefiant is a well-made arena shooter and some aspects of the game feel like classic Call of Duty. M
aps are designed with the three-lane philosophy and high-octane gameplay is at the core of the experience. However, all the supporting systems have completely ignored what makes COD enticing in the first place. Simply put, the game isn’t satisfying to play.
Call of Duty nailed down what made moment-to-moment gameplay so addicting in the franchise. But that’s just the base on which the rest of the system is build to keep players returning year after year. It’s about what makes players continue to jump into another match instead of replicating the gameplay itself. XDefiant only has the base.
XDefiant is Missing Reasons to Play
Numerous systems exist in Call of Duty that make players come back on a yearly basis. The most significant one is the camo grind. Over the years, the camo grind has become more complex, but it has existed within most of the games. Even Call of Duty 4 had a small camo grind for all the weapons.
Fast forward to Modern Warfare 3 (2023) and the camo grind is more extensive than ever. Multiplayer weapons have four unique camos each that lead to gold. Then gold leads to platinum, which leads to the animated Priceless camo. For Zombies and Multiplayer, those all lead to a final animated Mastery camo. And in Season 4 of the game, there are additional mastery camos for all the weapons across the board.
Why is this important? Because tons of COD players find themselves attempting to reach mastery or they finish all the challenges on their favorite weapons. It’s a massive part of the gameplay loop that resets with each new release. Instead of an extensive camo grind, XDefiant only has three based on weapon levels. Each gun in the game can reach bronze, silver, and then gold camos based on your total weapon levels. No other camos exist for the weapons unless you get them for free in the Battle Pass or buy them. In essence, the camo grind in XDefiant is more bare-bones than a game like Call of Duty 4.
At the time of this writing, XDefiant is also severely lacking in progression or modes. The Ranked Play mode is still in testing and Prestige levels are delayed. Then you can add the fact that there are no Search and Destroy modes, which account for a fairly dedicated part of the Call of Duty community. Each modes is based around different versions of respawns that can be fun, but ultimately lack variety.
Moment to Moment Gameplay Needs Help in XDefiant
Aside from the camo grind, there is one thing that hooks COD players, and it’s the movement to moment gameplay. In the years since the original Call of Duty, all of the studios have mastered what makes the game so satisfying. Players head into a match with their favorite perks, deadly killstreaks, and ridiculous weapons. The goal is almost always to earn some crazy killstreaks and get the whole lobby to submit. Even less experienced players always have the thought of calling in a Chopper Gunner in the back of their head. Nothing is quite as satisfying as running around the map as you rack up the streak and your screen lights up with your progress.
On top of the streaks, the sound design and rewards are a core part of the experience. There is a reason Activision or Blizzard games spend so much time thinking about sound design. Even the act of shooting your favorite weapon needs to click. But it’s the sounds you get when you get a multikill or land a headshot that really separate Call of Duty from other titles. Battlefield and Halo are also games that were aware of this. We all know exactly what the Halo shields and an Overkill sound like.
Related: XDefiant Roadmap for Year 1 – All Upcoming Content
XDefiant doesn’t have that. The match is filled with voice lines from the numerous faction characters. I would say too that ability-based Operators have no place in games like this regardless, and it just adds to the dissatisfaction of the moment-to-moment gameplay. Between the Operators and the decent sound effects, the game doesn’t click the same.
Killstreaks also don’t exist in XDefiant. Earning a streak has no bearing on the match and even the medals don’t have the same ring. So you enter a match in XDefiant and there are no camos to earn, no streaks to call in, and half the sound design we’re used to. COD has always been a satisfying gameplay track used as a reason to earn streaks and camos.
Is XDefiant a True Alternative?
I don’t like using COD Killer as a term because we all know it’s ridiculous. Ubisoft hasn’t used the term either. However, XDefiant has been pushed as an alternative to Call of Duty. A game that calls back to what old fans used to enjoy about the series. Features like SBMM are being removed and maps getting full attention. However, there just isn’t enough.
The Call of Duty community was ready for XDefiant last year because MW2 was essentially an anti-COD game. But Sledgehammer Games did the opposite with MW3. Everything you can get in XDefiant can be done in MW3. I would even say the movement and mechanics are more satisfying in this year’s title and Black Ops is on the horizon. So we can talk about all the systems, but even core gameplay is going to be tough to sell.
XDefiant is a good game. By all means there is some fun to be had and it feels like a classic arena shooter. But even with more updates, it’s going to take a while to make it a true alternative to Call of Duty.
XDefiant is available now on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.
